My name's Charlotte Harbottle and I'm a butcher.
Thanks so much. Thank you.
I used to enjoy visiting the butcher's shop when I was little and it was fun I enjoyed it but when you see this big rosy man behind the counter you don't as a little girl imagine "You know what? Some day I want to be like that." So… but then when I went to university I ran out of money. You fall into a job and you fall in love with it and that's how it works.
Safety is so important. It's very boring but it's something that you have to take into account. You've got to make sure that your hair's tied back. Wearing chainmail is something I didn't really anticipate I'd have to wear. On top of everything else it weighs about the same as two house bricks. It's kind of lots of little circles. It means the knife point can't actually touch your skin.
One of the biggest challenges for me with working with meat is trying to remember everything because I'm the sort of person who can't learn by watching I need to learn by doing it I need to get stuck in.
You want to have a go?
Yeah sure.
So… OK just so that I'm… Cos I don't want to cut it then…
No no listen cut it. Get onto that bone. That's it now go round. That's it. Beef is probably the hardest part to learn in butchery. They always say that if you perfect beef you can do anything. Her first attempt at doing a top bit of beef today which she's doing really well. What it's doing is giving her knife skills because she's having to move her knife find the bone find seams it's not easy. Put your fingers in there cos that's going to fall.
It'll fall I know.
Just keep your knife to the bone yeah? That's it brilliant well done. That'll keep me going for about a week. That is really good. That is really good. Yeah. You ain't going to get cleaner than that. It is a lot of money. That piece of beef would have cost over a couple of grand easily. Anybody who eats meat I don't really think they can be squeamish about it because it has to have come from somewhere.
You need to make sure that the product you get is as good as it can be and the way that it can be as good as it can be - basically by ensuring it's happy and it's well fed while it's alive and just generally has a lot of fresh air.
I could work in an office I know I could work in an office but my mates couldn't come in here and do what I do even to this stage. And I'm still so… I've got so much more to learn still. If you don't listen you won't learn. You've got to always be trying to get better. When I started butchery I started writing a blog just to record different teaching and different methods of butchery. As a result I am writing for different magazines writing for all sorts of different people. You have to write your ideas down or else you forget. I certainly forget. But it's so important to kind of you know write down different things that I want to learn and different ways for me to remember.
Many of my friends do more glamorous jobs they work in an office they get to wear nice clothes to work. But I get so much more pleasure from doing my job and I'm lucky at the moment because I'm given the opportunity to learn in one of the best butcheries in the country.
If I was to go back to my younger self I would probably say just pursue and enjoy the things that I like doing. So no matter what it is even if none of your friends are into it or it's not fashionable or not cool or whatever I think that you should just do it anyway.
Video summary
She’s the only girl on the shop-floor but Charlotte Harbottle, who always imagined that she would become a writer, just loves her job as a butcher.
We spend a day with Charlotte at a high-end butchery as she explains just what it takes to do her job well.
We see her sorting the best from lesser cuts of meat and physically moving large slabs of meat around on hooks.
We come to understand the passion she has for her job, and feel the pride she takes in the presentation of her work.
She also introduces us to her butcher’s blog, which harmoniously combines her love or words with everyday work.
Teacher Notes
Charlotte has demonstrated strength of character by following an individual career path, which she recognises is not glamorous in the way that some of her friends' jobs are.
The class could look at other 'unglamorous' professions that are actually highly valued or needed by society. Do they all agree? What do they think is glamorous or unglamorous and what does this say about the individual?
The children could write down what sorts of qualities and attributes it takes for a person to follow an individual path.
Explore the dimension of 'blogging' about her career experiences - what does she gain and what do others gain from her blogging?
How is blogging used positively in other fields? The class could discuss what kind of person might be suited to this type of work.
The key message is "If you don’t listen, you won’t learn" - what do the children think this means and how can this message help them?
This clip will be relevant for teaching Modern Studies at KS2 in England and Wales, 2nd level in Scotland.
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