TWO young butchers have proved they are a cut above the rest after winning a talent competition to land jobs at a farm shop.

Apprentices Adam Thatcher and John Norman beat off stiff competition in the final of the ‘Can You Hack It?’ competition hosted by Pendle shop and bistro Roaming Roosters.

The pair prepared their own selection of meat to sell to the public during the Lancashire Day celebrations in Nelson in the final stage of the selection process.

Roaming Roosters, based in Barrowford Road, Higham, teamed up with Pendle Council, Nelson and Colne College and Ashberry Recruitment to find the best young butchers in East Lancashire. Adam, 21, from Nelson, is the son of a butcher and came across ‘Can You Hack It?’ during an online search for apprenticeship schemes.

The former Fisher-More pupil said: “It is a really nice place, the people who work here are very friendly and helpful and I think I will enjoy it here.”

John, 23, from Clayton-le-Moors, had previous experience working on butchers’ stalls in Burnley and Blackburn He said: “This really does give you the whole process from the farm to the plate and I think I can learn a lot here.”

Simon Mellin, who co-owns Roaming Roosters with his brother, Nick, said all ten candidates on their shortlist had gone away with work experience and food hygiene training.

He said: “We launched the competition to try to promote butchery as a trade with good prospects and pay once qualified.

“Our own search for apprentices had, to this point, drawn a blank. As both myself and Nick were trained in traditional butchery, we were keen to keep these methods alive.”

“Adam and John proved to have the all-round skills which we needed We are happy to welcome them to the brood.”