Quality, service and delivery are at the heart of everything N1 Restaurant Suppliers do. While service and delivery are paramount, these follow-on core values can only succeed if quality is the starting point, which is why N1 spend a great deal of time hand-picking only the best suppliers. Held to the highest standards these tried-and-tested suppliers help N1 deliver only the best-quality products, and in our new series ‘Q&A with N1 Best-Quality Suppliers’ we’ll get to know more about who these preferred suppliers are.

First off in our new blog series is Sarie Esterhuizen of Meadow Meats. Sarie is their Abattoir Manager and she kindly took some time out to answer a few questions.

1. Your industry plays a very important role in the food chain – how was it that you first began working in this field?

It was a gender thing. I wanted to prove whatever men can do, woman can do better. Many moons ago I went to the owner of Sparta and asked him to give me a chance to start a deboning department for Sparta, and if I could turn the department into a profit I wanted the job as deboning manager. At that stage I was the deboning clerk. He gave me six months to make a profit, and I did.

2. You have a long and well-respected track record in the industry – can you give us a few highlights of your career to date? 

N1 and the 12 new cuts they developed, today those cuts are well known in the trade. I asked Paul to look at a good piece of bone and find a market for it. Three months later I had 10 tons of Beef ribs and no market. N1 bought it from me at R3.50, I was very impressed with myself for selling my piece of good bone at a profit of R3.00 / kg. Just to find out 20 years later over a cigar, Paul sold the beef ribs that same day at R12.95 / kg.

3. Your association with N1 is a long-standing one, what is it that you value most about this association?

Since 1992 – 25 years. Trust and respect. N1 is one of a few companies that value their suppliers. There are times in a year that they need us and they will pay more for our cuts. The only problem is Paul knows when we need N1 and we will meet his price. N1 keep us honest, every Friday you get up knowing that there will be a price war with Paul.

4. We know hygiene and food safety is strictly controlled and monitored at Meadow Meats – can you elaborate on the audits in place?

We comply fully with the red meat safety act and we work closely with the department of agriculture to comply in every department. Meadow meats have an audit within the next month to qualify for export. 

5. Can you talk us through a typical day as Abattoir Manager?

I oversee marketing; pricing and block tests; hygiene; operations (offal, whole carcasses and deboning); finances and purchasing of cattle. Most important is every day maths on all of these operations to know if we lose money and why.

6. In terms of capacity, how much is your abattoir able to process on a daily basis?

 We slaughter 120 cattle a day, and debone 14 to 20 tons a day. It all depends on the amount of cattle purchased.

7. And in closing, what do you feel could be done differently or improved upon in your industry at large?

A message to all meat traders please don’t buy meat if you can’t pay for it, meat is not a product that we can take back if you don’t pay. The farmers must be paid in time or they cannot put food on the table for you and your family. We have a high no payment risk and I would like to change that.