A FATHER-OF-THREE is aiming to be the top of the chops at next year’s World Butcher’s Challenge.

Head butcher and manager at Huntley’s County Stores in Samlesbury, Tom Wood, will be going up against dozens of competitors.

The 37-year-old and his team will be showing off their skills by preparing a side of beef, a whole lamb and a side of pork in under three hours.

The meat has to be cut and presented to a professional standard with as many different products as possible.

The meat merchant, who will captain the Great Britain side, will pick a handful of other butchers from around the UK.

Mr Wood, from Dutton, said he would love to come first next year, having come second in his last two appearances.

He said: “It’s physically and mentally draining and the three hours flies by.

“The teams are assessed on speed, innovation, finesse and their appearance, so everything has to be done properly.

“Being the captain this year means I cannot pick up a knife, I have to help manage everyone else do their job.

“Everyone in the team has their roles to play and they have to do their bit properly.

“If someone for example cuts a piece of meat wrong, it can have an effect on the later stages of the competition.”

Next year’s competition will be held in Belfast with previous events held in New Zealand and Australia.

Each team is expected to produce around 90 different plates of food.

Mr Wood said: “It’s difficult to practice as a team because the butchers can be from all over the UK.

“But we will do our best and hopefully all the hard work will pay off.”

Mr Wood, who has worked at the Whalley Road site for more than four years, said butchery is a dying art.

He said: “Picking the right people for the job is tricky.

“A football manager wouldn’t ask his players who would want to play, everyone has to be in the team for a reason.

“I wouldn’t just pick a butcher with a good business sense either, as they might run a successful business, but they could be awful with a knife.

“I was vice captain at last year’s event and I was a standard butcher the year before, so I’ve gone up the ladder quite quickly.”

For more information about applying to be in the team, search ‘Tom Wood Artisan Butcher’ on Facebook.