Other competitors in the butchery competition at Oakland’s Eat Real Festival backed down rather than face David Budworth, aka “Dave the Butcher,” but Taylor Market’s Danny Johnson pulled out his knives and saws and got to work last Saturday.
Johnson and two of his employees – meat manager Paul Carras and butcher Mitch Lind – wowed the judges and brought home the 2013 grand champion trophy to Taylor’s, 2900 Freeport Blvd., in Sacramento.
“We showed the judges some things they’d never seen before,” Johnson said. “They were blown away. Paul cut the femur bone in half. They’d never seen anybody do that with a handsaw before. I showed them an old-fashioned rump roast, with the bone in, just like the one that’s in the counter.”
Johnson’s wife and business partner, Kathy Johnson, was in the audience, and she told him later that she could tell from the judge’s body language that his team had carried the day. The Taylor’s team, however, had been in their own little world as they worked, and they weren't so sure their display had a chance until the crowd surged toward them going wild.
“They were talking to us and saying, ‘You guys are the winners. If you guys don’t win, we’re protesting,’” Johnson said.
There’s always next year for Budworth, who is the house butcher at Marina Meats and Avedano's Holly Park Market in San Francisco.
