St. Louis’ own Chris Bolyard, head butcher and owner of Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions will take his star turn this week on “The Butcher,” a new television series on The History Channel.
Bolyard will appear on the show’s fifth episode, which will air at 9 p.m. CST on Wednesday, June 19.
“Being on the show really validates my decision to switch gears professionally from the culinary/ kitchen world to focus on the butcher world,” Bolyard said. “In making that switch, I have the opportunity to provide St. Louis with an alternative to big box, grocery store meat.”
Bolyard adds that teaming up with The History Channel will further educate the public on the skills that it takes to butcher whole animals.
“In working with local farms and their families, I get to hone in the craft of butchering, but also I get to be a part of the bigger ‘food picture,’ he said.
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of American in Hyde Park, New York, and former chef de cuisine at Sidney Street Café, Bolyard is as much a chef as he is a butcher. He and his wife, Abbie, opened Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions in Maplewood in 2014.
The butcher shop offers pasture raised, hand-cut meat, house-made provisions, charcuterie, fermented items and more. Bolyard’s partners with small Midwestern farms for its products and uses the whole animal, from head to tail. Every order is cut fresh to the customer’s preference.
Bolyard, whose name was given to the producers of “The Butcher” by a friend in the industry, flew out to Los Angeles to participate in the show. “The Butcher,” which focuses on the historic and skilled craft of butchery, hosts four butchers per episode in an “extreme, high-stakes competition, where best-in-class butchers battle in a showdown designed to put their knowledge, strategy and technique to the ultimate test.” Each butcher must overcome challenges and use their expertise to adapt to historical twists in the task at hand.
On this episode, “Raising the Steaks,” Bolyard will break down an entire deer using a traditional flint knife with a limited amount of time. The competitor with the least number of acceptable retail cuts is eliminated. The remaining butchers must cut steaks to the perfect thickness by eyesight. The final competitors must butcher a wild boar and yield the most meat value. The winner takes home a monetary prize of $10,000.
