For butcher Rodrigo Rodriguez, cutting meat is more than just a job, it’s a passion. He grew up in a family that was in the meat business and began participating in the craft at age 11, he said. In his native Mexico, his father, brothers, cousins and uncles were all butchers.
That heritage as well as the years of practice may soon pay off, as he will participate in a national meat cutters competition Tuesday.
A Harvey resident, Rodriguez, 27, who works at Texas Roadhouse, 18345 LaGrange Road, Tinley Park, will attend the company’s National Meat Cutting Challenge in Kissimmee, Florida.
Rodriguez advanced after taking second place in a regional competition in Kenosha, Wisconsin, according to Randy Warchol, managing partner of the Tinley location.
The competition will open with 112 meat cutters competing from over 500 locations. Then the top 30 will advance during the four-day competition, Warchol said. The top 12 will then move on to compete at the Leadership Conference in Orlando in April. The grand prize winner will receive $20,000 and the title Meat Cutter of the Year.
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“This year, I believe he will be going to the top 30,” Warchol said. “He gets better and better every time, every year.”
Each participant is given 25 to 30 pounds of beef, including a sirloin, a tenderloin and a rib eye, according to a Texas Roadhouse statement.
“Meat cutters are judged on quality, yield, and speed in the timed cut-off,” it said. “The winner is the cutter who yields the most steaks with the highest quality cut in the least amount of time.”
Cutting meat “is truly a lost art,” said Jason Mennie, Texas Roadhouse senior director, in a statement. Rodriguez cuts between 7,000 and 8,000 pounds of meet each week, Warchol said.
“There’s a lot of work that goes into it, a lot of passion that goes into it,” he said. “It’s pretty huge, not only for Rigo and the Tinley Park store, but the whole organization.”
Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.