NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A collection of Texas Roadhouse Butchers from all over the south came together for a meat-cutting competition at Ford Ice Center on Tuesday.
It was the first round of the Qualifier Meat Cutting Challenge.
Each participant received 30 to 40 pounds of beef and was then judged on quality, yield and speed. The winner is picked based on cutting the most steaks with the highest quality cut in the shortest time period.
It was done at the Ice Center to keep all the meat at the perfect temperature: 38 degrees Fahrenheit.
The meat used for the competition was not wasted, either. It will go to local Texas Roadhouse restaurants — which is where all the competing butchers are employed.
"Most restuarants, meat comes in frozen; it's cut somewhere else," said Cookeville Texas Roadhouse owner/managing partner Jim Jolly. "Ours is fresh, high quality, so these guys are cutting, and they trim it so if you look for a six or eight ounce steak and you cut a nine ounce, we're gonna trim it and use that for beef tips, kabobs, kids dillo bites..."
The friendly competition is hosted to encourage good morale among employees as well.
"So, for them to be able to come out here and compete against other meat cutters in the company and have that camaraderie with everybody and get that recognition that they might not always see in the store is a big thing," said Marketing Coach Adam Wesley.
The semi-final competition is set for February.
The winner of the national competition receives a grand prize of $20,000 dollars and is crowned Meat Cutter of the Year.
