The Community We Carry to Brisbane

Before the first knife was lifted at the World Butchers’ Challenge in Paris last year, something pretty special was already happening.

Butchers from around the world were coming together. Some were meeting for the first time, while others were reconnecting with friends they had made at previous competitions. These were people who had spent months preparing to compete against one another, yet there was a genuine warmth in being together again. It is one of the things I find most compelling about the WBC. Beneath the national rivalry and the pursuit of world-class standards sits a community of people who have found something in one another that extends well beyond the competition itself. And I believe that community is our greatest asset.

The WBC was established showcase the talent and excellence of our industry and to platform those striving for excellence within it. That ambition remains fundamental to everything we do. But I have come to believe that some of our most important achievements are far less visible.

They are found in the relationships that develop between people who may never have crossed paths. In the willingness of an experienced butcher to share a technique with someone just beginning their career. Or in the confidence that comes from discovering that, on the other side of the world, someone understands the demands of your working life as well as you do. These connections can have a profound influence on a person's career.

Take Taryn Barker, who will captain Team Canada in Brisbane. Her journey has taken her from a teenage counter assistant to business owner and international competitor. Along the way, encounters with butchers in New Zealand, Brazil and Germany expanded her understanding of the profession and helped her find her place within it. Today, she is creating similar opportunities for others through competitions and industry connections in Canada.

Or, French butcher and 2025 WBC All Star butcher, Godefroy Piaton, whose early inspiration came from a mentor involved in Team France's first WBC appearance in 2016. Years later, Godefroy would represent his country and earn recognition among the world's finest. His story is proof that the influence of a good teacher can reach far beyond the person standing beside them.

These are the stories that give our competition its depth. The achievement belongs to the individual, but rarely is it theirs alone.

There is something particularly meaningful about this in an industry where so much knowledge has traditionally been passed from one generation to the next, often within a single business or local community. Today, the opportunity to learn can extend across continents.

As we prepare to bring the WBC to Brisbane in March 2028, I see an extraordinary opportunity for the Australian industry.

Australia has an immensely talented butchery community. Across the country, there are hardworking people building successful businesses, training apprentices and finding new ways to inspire the customers they serve.

For a few days in Brisbane, the international industry will come to them.

I want Australian butchers, whether they are established business owners or just finding their feet in the trade, to feel that this event belongs to them - to meet their international peers, exchange ideas and build relationships.

Of course, I want them to be inspired by what they see on the competition floor. But equally, I hope they leave having made connections that change how they think about their own possibilities. That opportunity must extend beyond those selected to represent their country. There are remarkable butchers who may never compete internationally, but whose experience and contribution to the profession are no less valuable. Our responsibility is to make this community accessible to them, too.

As WBC grows, I think we also have a responsibility to be deliberate about the culture we are building.

Growth brings greater visibility and opportunity. It allows us to attract new countries and create a stronger platform for the profession. These are important ambitions, but we are committed to the community which made people want to be part of WBC in the first place. A genuinely strong community makes room for newcomers. It respects different approaches and encourages people to share what they know. It celebrates exceptional achievement without suggesting that only champions have something worthwhile to contribute.

The WBC will always be a competition, and a fiercely contested one at that. I would never want to diminish the effort it takes to represent your country or the extraordinary commitment required to become a world champion. But I hope we continue to measure our success by more than the standard of the competition itself.

When the international community leaves Brisbane in 2028, I want them to have experienced the very best of Australian butchery and the generosity of the people who make up the local industry. I want Australian butchers to feel more connected to a profession that reaches far beyond our shores. Above all, I hope people return to their businesses with the sense that they are part of something bigger.

Because the real legacy of the World Butchers’ Challenge is not confined to the days we spend together. It is carried home by the people who take part, through the relationships they maintain and the knowledge they pass on. That is something worth building, and something we must be equally committed to protecting.

- Ashley Gray, CEO, World Butchers’ Challenge