Butcher's handiwork is no hogwash, say Windsor students

A crew of Windsor-Essex high school students took a stab at cutting up dead animal Wednesday afternoon, quickly learning a butcher's handiwork is no hogwash.

Grade 11 and 12 students, participating in the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program, were a little repulsed as they watched professionals carve up a pig.

Sabrina Dobson could stomach watching, but she wasn't too eager to take up the knife.

"I don't mind watching a pig get cut up, but I don't want to touch it myself," said the Grade 12 student from Honourable W.C. Kennedy Collegiate Institute. "I'll be a chef, but I'm not going to cut up the pig myself."

But there there was still a valuable lesson in the day, even for those who didn't find their calling, explained Jamie Waldron, a butcher in the program.

"I think they're going to get a better understanding of how the pork chops get into that cellophane package," he said. "They're hands-on right from the beginning."

There was a bit of shock among students dealing with raw meat — only a few days removed from the farm — but they still had an appreciation for what they were learning.

"I'm not really turned off by this, I find it quite fun actually," said Cameron Kozora, a Grade 11 student from Tecumseh Vista Academy. "I think it's just part of the cooking that you need to learn."