“They have been tried, they have been tested, and they have been proven to be the very best,” says Dewald Olivier, Executive Officer of The South African Feedlot Association (SAFA), announcing the winners of this year’s Cleaver Awards in a virtual presentation this week.

An initiative of the Red Meat Industry Forum, the annual Cleaver Awards recognise the best butcheries based on quality, service, hygiene and value for money.

“The butcheries are at the end of the value chain. They are the representation of our product to our consumers, their customers,” Olivier says, and explains that this year these sought-after awards were run slightly differently.

Butcheries were asked to register upfront, resulting in approximately 600 butcheries signing up. Their customers were then given the opportunity to vote for them. All butcheries that received over 100 votes were then anonymously visited by SAMIC, The South African Meat Industry Company, tasked with ensuring the quality and safety of meat in South Africa.

All butcheries were audited against an extensive 212-point checklist and for the first time in the history of the Cleaver Awards, all participating butcheries will have the opportunity to view their score sheets, to see where they may have fallen short. “This will then give them the opportunity to better themselves, and better their butcheries, ahead of the Cleaver Awards next year,” Olivier says.

Year-on-year, the top butcheries all seem to have 3 attributes in common: they are customer-centric, they invest in the training and upliftment of their staff, and above all else, they are passionate about what they do, particularly when it comes to quality, service, hygiene and value for money for their customers.

“To the over 600 butcheries that made it into the initial round of this year’s Cleaver Awards, we congratulate you on an exceptionally high standard across the board.
Each delivered above and beyond to keep our butchery standards amongst the best in the world, even during a turbulent and disruptive year. The smallest percentages differentiated this year’s winners as the exceptional among the very, very best,” Olivier says.

Feedback from consumers every year reveal that the majority perceive the Cleaver Awards to be a seal of approval, most importantly because a butchery cannot enter themselves, they have to be nominated by their customers.

A special thank-you must also go to Freddy Hirsch for supplying all the actual Cleaver Awards for the winners. These trophies of actual meat cleavers are imported from Germany and make a bold statement when proudly displayed in the butcheries of all the winners for all their consumers and staff to see.

Below are the national and provincial winners for this year. Many are familiar names on the annual list of the country’s best butcheries, while some brand-new winners have shown themselves to be worth their beef this year too.

Entries for the next Cleaver Awards will open again in March 2021.
For more information about this and other initiatives within the Red Meat Industry in South Africa, go to www.beeftalk.co.za.

NATIONAL WINNERS

4 and more tills

1. Vleislapa Marshall Street, Polokwane                             Platinum
2. Impala Vleis, Brits                                                         Gold

Up to 3 tills

1. Franks Meat, Middelburg Mall                                        Platinum
2. Frank`s Meat Supply Retail City, Middelburg                   Gold

Meat Markets

1. Saveway SuperSpar, Witbank                                        Platinum
2. The Grove SuperSpar, Nelspruit                                    Gold

GAUTENG

4 and more tills

1. Boma Meat Market, Moreleta Park                                 Platinum
2. Meat World, Elarduspark                                               Gold

Up to 3 tills

1.   Boma Meat, Olympus, Pretoria                                      Platinum

2.   Delft Butchery and Deli, Johannesburg                           Gold

Meat Market

1. Karaglen SuperSpar, Johannesburg                               Platinum
2. Uitkyk Meat & Supermarket, Silverton                            Gold

NORTH WEST

4 and more tills

1. Vision Meat, Klerksdorp                                                 Platinum

MPUMALANGA

Meat Market.

1. Malelane SuperSpar, Malelane                                      Platinum

FREE STATE

4 and more tills.

1. Fredilia Meat, Welkom                                                   Platinum
2. Power Meat Centre, Welkom                                         Gold

Up to 3 Tills.

1. Country Meat, Kroonstad                                               Platinum

EASTERN CAPE

4 and more tills

1. Cuyler Butchery, Uitenhage                                           Platinum

Up to 3 Tills

1. Continental Butchery, Port Elizabeth                               Platinum

Meat Market

1. Levyvale SuperSpar, Uitenhage                                     Platinum
2. The Acres Spar Butchery, Port Elizabeth                        Gold

WESTERN CAPE

Up to 3 tills

1. Akeru Butchery, Gordonsbaai                                        Platinum
2. Tollies Slaghuis, Mosselbaai                                          Gold

Meat Market

1. Malmesbury SuperSpar, Malmesbury                             Platinum
2. OK Foods Elto Towers, Kuilsrivier                                  Gold

KWAZULU- NATAL

4 and more Tills

1. Bluff Meat Supply, Bluff                                                 Platinum
2. Bluff Meat Supply, Chatsworth                                       Gold    

Up to 3 tills

1. Medina Meats, Chatsworth                                            Platinum

Meat Markets

1. Bluff Meat Supply, Richards Bay                                    Platinum

NORTHERN CAPE

Up to 3 Tills

1. West End Vleismark, Kimberley                                     Platinum
2. Kokis Slaghuis, Kimberley                                             Gold