By Danielle Kutchel
“Pleased to meet you with meat to please you” – The Meating Place Longwarry certainly lives up to its slogan, with old-fashioned customer service and cuts to turn any meal from bland to restaurant-quality.
Coming from humble beginnings, owner Luke has worked hard to develop his trade.
He’s been lucky enough to work with skilled butchers from around the world, picking up techniques and ideas.
“I’ve been doing smallgoods for a couple of years now, I learned that from a German fleischmeister and made it my own from there,” he says – and his talent shows, with those products now some of the most popular available at The Meating Place.
He said that owning his own shop has given him the freedom to exercise his creativity and try out new products.
“I’ve got as much imagination as my four-year-old daughter. Here, I can show that creative flair.”
All meat is sourced locally: Black Angus grass-fed beef from a farm in Yannathan, lamb and pork from Radfords in Warragul, and the chickens are free-range. All products are gluten free, with a gluten free crumb available for schnitzels and other crumbed products. Now equipped with a cooking and smallgoods manufacturing license, Luke is looking forward to opening Longwarry’s first smokehouse soon.
Initially when lockdown began, Luke expected business to drop off a bit – but in fact, he’s seen the opposite.
“I think it’s because people can’t go to pubs and restaurants, it’s forcing them to be creative and cook with the family.”
He’s pleased to see people having a go, and hopes his products and giveaways will help foster their new-found food exploration.
To make things even easier for local families, The Meating Place is now offering cooked meals each night of the week.
It began with brisket rolls, which went bananas, and has extended now to casseroles, beef ribs and, soon, pizzas.
There are also marinated curries and stirfries filled with veggies and ready to go in your pan. Family favourites like sausages in numerous delicious flavours, meatballs, wellingtons and kievs will add variety to your weeknight dinners, and steak lovers will find themselves spoilt for choice and drooling over perfectly marbled local wagyu.
For lovers of smallgoods, there’s kabana, ham and bacon too, and shelves are filled with extras to round out your pantry, like local honey and eggs.
For those looking to make their weekly budget go further, The Meating Place offers a range of meat packs, each one containing massive discounts on fresh cuts as well as something extra for free – offering incredible value for money in these tight times.
Each week brings new specials, and not just on mince and sausages: the quality wagyu goes on sale too, and there are regular giveaways and promotions on Facebook.
“To see everyone happy, walking away, enjoying their food and coming back and telling me how great it was, I get a real kick out of that,” Luke says.
They’re all about customer service, he explains: helping you out to your car, giving the kids a treat when they walk in the door. If you’re unsure how to cook something, just ask and they’ll tell you.
“You won’t get service anywhere like you do here – people who will bend over backwards to help you,” Luke says.
“Come down and see for yourself!”
The Meating Place is located at 5 Kennedy St, Longwarry and is open Monday – Friday 6am-6pm and Saturday 6am-2pm. Find them on Facebook for specials, sneak peeks and more.
