Māori butchers are carving up the competition at the 2026 National Butchery Awards, making a strong mark on the national stage.
Twenty-four of the country’s top butchers and apprentices went head-to-head at the awards, competing in a two-hour challenge of boning, trimming, cutting and marinating. Their final creations were presented in mock butcher shops, where eight judges assessed their technique, craftsmanship, presentation and preparation quality.
Running for over 20 years, the National Butchery Awards give butchers and apprentices from across Aotearoa the chance to showcase their skills alongside the best in the trade.
Among the standouts was 24-year-old Mya Wilson-Hiraka, who took home the Emerging Talent award.
“Overwhelmed! I’m stoked with the awards; I got Emerging Talent. It just encourages me to come back and do better next year as a young butcher.”
Hailing from Opononi, Wilson-Hiraka uses her trade to give back to her whānau and community at the marae, including preparing meat for tangihanga. After winning Best Pork Product last year, she elevated her game this year by transforming a pork shoulder, a lamb leg, two chickens, and a beef rump into 21 distinct, display-ready products.
Butchery sees rising Māori representation
Wilson-Hiraka’s success reflects a broader movement across the industry. Competition judge and New Zealand Butcher representative Corey White notes that while Māori have long been essential to the meat trade, it is encouraging to see more entering competition arenas and securing top results.
“Māori are entering these competitions and are starting to do really well. I think it’s awesome. There have been years where there were none, and now there are quite a few...it’s really positive,” says White.
Sustainability was also top of mind, with judges placing a heavy emphasis on precise cutting and waste minimisation across every carcass.
A clean sweep in the Master category
The event also saw a dominant performance from the Master Butcher Challenge team comprising Bryce Gyde, Luka Young and Calum Sutherland.
Competing against the country’s most experienced butchers, the trio won the Master Butcher Challenge, and went on to pull off a clean sweep of three major awards: Best Display, Best Beef Product and Best Lamb Product.
For Luka Young, the victory was sweet redemption after coming up short last year.
“It would have been easy last year, coming so close, to go ‘maybe it’s not for us,’” says Young. “But we put our heads down, worked hard, and we came back with a goal and we were able to achieve it.”
Their winning display showcased modern butchery at its finest, combining technical skill with eye-catching commercial presentation.
Inspiring the next generation of rangatahi
Looking ahead, Wilson Hiraka hopes to use her journey to inspire rangatahi Māori, showing them that butchery can open doors both locally and globally. She is already working to expand her craft into dry aging and smoking meat.
“I think what helped me was my planning, being a bit more organised, having extra things on hand just in case there are any errors during the cutting,” she reflects.
Her eyes are now set on the World Butchers’ Challenge in Brisbane in 2028, where the globe’s elite butchers will face off. For Wilson-Hiraka and other top New Zealand talent, it represents the ultimate opportunity to take Aotearoa’s craftsmanship to the world stage.
