Chris Bolyard, owner of Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions (2810 Sutton), is hitting the small screen next week as a contestant on a butcher–themed TV show.
Bolyard will appear on the fifth episode of The Butcher, a new series from the History channel. The episode will air at 9 p.m. on June 19.
The show pits expert butchers against one another in a series of tests meant to showcase their talent, knowledge, and technique. In the episode that will feature Bolyard, titled “Raising the Steaks,” contestants will first break down an entire deer using a traditional flint knife. The competitor with the least number of acceptable retail cuts will be eliminated. The remaining contestants will then attempt to cut steaks to the perfect thickness simply by looking at it—no rulers, no weighing. Final competitors will butcher a wild boar. The winner will take home $10,000.
A television appearance is a professional milestone for Bolyard, who opened his Maplewood butcher shop five years ago with his wife, Abbie, after working as a chef at Sidney Street Café. The Bolyards’ shop features fresh cuts of pasture-raised beef, pork, and chicken sourced from small Missouri farms with humane animal-raising practices.
“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 a statement. “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’. It was an incredible opportunity to team up with the History channel to help educate the public on the skills that it takes to butcher whole animals.”
