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Fresh Ontario farmed chicken
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It’s a Wednesday morning and we’re sitting with Mario Fiorucci, owner of The Healthy Butcher, who is telling us to stop eating so much meat. “We eat too much meat!” he says. It might seem like a bizarre statement coming from someone in the meat selling business, but then again this isn’t your average meat shop.
“I have customers that say ‘you’re telling me to eat less meat?!’ ‘Yes! I’m telling you to eat less meat, but eat better quality!” Luckily, The Healthy Butcher offers a plentiful selection of quality meats from local Ontario farms with all of the butchering done onsite at the store. About 80% of the meat is certified organic, but they do offer naturally-raised* meats for the conscientious consumer, who cares about the quality of meat and life of the animal, but may not want to pay organic prices. Each cut of meat is labeled informing the customer where and from what farm the meat comes from.
And if you need any advice on how to cook it, or what to serve with it, a friendly, expertise staff is only too happy to offer some suggestion. Offering more than their name may lead you to believe, at The Healthy Butcher you’ll find a wide array of produce, from fruits and vegetables (of which all is 100% certified organic, but not necessarily local) to ready-made gourmet meals (try Mama Fiorucci's meat balls!), sustainable fish*, dairy, packaged foods, and even an onsite organic cafe with coffee, tea and baked treats.
With high quality, comes a higher price tag, but this is a place where you get what you pay for. While your grocery bill might be slightly higher than at your regular supermarket, you can rest assured that your food is top quality, as organic as it can be, sustainably farmed and often locally grown. The meat is truly delicious and needs little fussing over. As Mario reminds us, “when you buy cheap meat, you'll spend money on a marinade, sauce, or other ingredient to flavour it. A good cut of meat won’t need anything else.” As if he needs to convince us. We’re sold.
Be sure to check out: www.thehealthybutcher.com for more information.
*Naturally-raised meats are raised in similar condition as their organically raised counterparts, but their feed (though nutritionally the same) is not certified organic.
*As Mario informs us, it is impossible for fish and seafood from the ocean to be considered 100% organic and there aren’t very good standards around organic fish farming. The Healthy Butcher is partnered with Ocean-wise, a Vancouver based organization that ensures and promotes the use of sustainable and ocean-friendly fishing.
