SOUTH BOISE, Idaho — You could cut the tension and the steaks with a knife at this unique culinary competition at Idaho IceWorld. 13 butchers from Texas Roadhouse locations across the West competed in a meat cutting competition for a chance to win a $25,000 grand prize.
- Competitors cut large slabs of ribeye, filet and sirloin into steaks with the goal of reducing waste and improving yield.
- The winners of this qualifying round of competition will move on to the semi-finals and national competitions will take place in March.
- These competitors work in your local restaurants.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
“Well, I don’t know about many other restaurants that actually take their employees and do a competition with them," said Joe Harris, a Meat Cutter for Texas Roadhouse in Coeur d'Alene Idaho.
This is his 5th time competing in one of these cutting competitions.
“It's nice because it lets us know how important we are and makes us feel appreciated," Harris added.
Meat Cutters like Harris are tasked with breaking down three different large cuts of meat into steaks while reducing waste.
“So, right now it’s making sure that all the steaks are perfect so it’s that picture perfect quality that we try to put on the plate in front of our guest, is what they’re producing right now. So, the competition is how much of that overall meat can you make into a beautiful perfect steak," said Derek Ellis, the Managing Partner of the Meridian location of Texas Roadhouse.
“But right now is the quarter final round, so these guys are going for a chance to go out to Vegas. The top 25 will all match up for that chance to win that grand prize,” Ellis added.
He tells me they do this event every year to highlight the work of their Meat Cutters.
“They’re the heartbeat of the restaurant, at the same time it's when we put these competitions on and show people how much you care about them… like our job is not just to serve food, that’s not who we are, we’re people business. And so for us, we invest in people," said Ellis.
He tells me that butchering these cuts of meat is not as easy as it looks.
“It is that art form, it is like not only understanding how to do something, but then physically being able to do it. It’s one of those things where, just because you know how to do it doesn’t mean you physically can do it well. And all these guys in here, they’ve proven that they can do it really really well.”
“We want to show off the guys and gals that make it happen. Our meat cutters are extremely talented and this gives them the opportunity to show how great they are," added Kendra Crump, a Marketing Coach for Texas Roadhouse.
