A Cut Above

WORDS KATE MONAHAN RIDDELL | IMAGES BRYDIE THOMPSON

A passion for sustainability and good, old-fashioned service drives the husband-wife team behind Expleo Butchery in Te Awamutu. Shawn and Nells Nicholas opened their Mahoe Street butchery and deli almost three years ago, in March 2018.

The shop celebrates artisan, handcrafted products, including free-range, quality meat sourced from New Zealand farms. People travel from as far away as Hamilton and Tauranga for products, including Shawn’s black pudding, which is a hit with British expats. Word has also got out in the South African community about Expleo’s biltong and other speciality meat. “We’ve become a destination for people,” says Nells. Expleo is like a butchery of old. Cheerful greetings hit you as you arrive in the beautiful, light-filled shop. Meat is wrapped in brown paper or can be taken away in the customer’s own containers—a nod to the Nicholas’ sustainable ethos. Under glass counters, meat is beautifully presented. Today there are handmade delights such as chicken roulades stuffed with cream cheese and pesto, lamb koftas, plump gourmet sausages, pork pies and juicy cuts of beef and pork, many seasoned with custom-made spice blends. Their large gourmet hamburger patties are also popular with customers including their minced brisket blended with smoked gouda from Meyer Gouda or Mount Eliza blue cheese—exquisite fare for the summer barbecue, says Shawn. Everything is made with care and attention to detail. Their handcrafted hams are a labour of love, a seven-hour process of smoking and cooking. Expleo supply wholesale meat to many of the region’s best restaurants and cafes. Their dry aged bacon is also a hit, especially with the breakfast crowd at Punnet in nearby Tamahere. “They go through 50 kilograms of bacon a week, all made here by hand on our two little smokers,” says Shawn. Expleo is a family affair. Eldest son William, 19, manages the butchery, with a talented group of young butchers and employees. Shawn’s mum Christine moved from Taranaki to Te Awamutu to help in the business. “She makes wonderful paté, terrines, brawn, a lot of our hand-crafted specialities,” says Nells. Daughter Missy, 18, also helps in the business, while their youngest daughter, Sarah-Kate, 11, is at Te Awamutu Intermediate. Shawn enjoys giving back to youth, training up his apprentices in the art of butchery. “I’m a firm believer in giving kids an opportunity,” he says. Shawn was raised on a Taranaki dairy farm and began working in meat processing as an 18 year old. His early passion was inspired, in part, by his maternal grandfather, William, who was a boning room foreman. “It’s a real skill,” says Shawn. “I’ve always had a fascination for it, butchering is definitely an art.” He met Nells, and the couple moved into dairy farming while they raised their three children. However, four years ago, they began thinking about opening a butchery—one that focused on quality meat, sustainability and good, old-fashioned service. “Being farmers, we know what good quality meat tastes like,” says Nells. Twenty years’ farming has given Shawn knowledge of the importance of raising healthy animals, and how that impacts the meat on your plate. “Being a farmer, when something turns up, I can tell if it has been loved or not,” says Shawn. Trusted suppliers ensure Expleo can offer consistent high quality meat to customers. This includes everything from

organic chicken to Wagyu beef, as well as meat at lower price points. Shawn places high importance in hanging and aging meat, to enhance the flavour. “One of our specialities is dry aging meat,” says Shawn. “It’s the modern equivalent of hanging meat in a macrocarpa tree. The longer it’s left, it enhances the flavour.” The Nicholas’ currently farm at Honikiwi between Te Awamutu and Otorohanga, and Shawn is up before dawn to milk their 720 cows and work around the farm. It’s full-on, but the Nicholas’ have a dream to make Expleo a success. Community is important. “I view all of our customers as part of the Expleo family,” says Shawn. When COVID-19 closed the country down in March and April, Shawn and Nells wanted to support local people who had lost their jobs or income. They launched their online shop, which gave people an option to ‘pay-it-forward’ and purchase a family box of meat for someone in need. Word-ofmouth and social media saw the Waipa community respond, with businesses and individuals donating food and money to help others struggling financially due to COVID-19. “People were very grateful. I saw grown men cry,” says Shawn, who hand delivered meat boxes to needy families with a small team of volunteers. “It was huge,” says Nells, who says they sent out more than $9,000 worth of food boxes. “For a little shop, we saw the power of the community. For us it was about giving back. It was very humbling.”

Expleo Butchery, 51 Mahoe Street, Te Awamutu www.expleo.co.nz Kate Monahan-Riddell

Kate Monahan-Riddell is a Hamilton-based writer who loves telling stories about the delicious food, innovative businesses and talented people of the Waikato region. A former print journalist (Waikato Times feature writer and Tempo editor), Kate juggles mum-life with running her own freelance PR and writing business. She is currently finishing off a book on the Waikato Expressway.