FOR 115 years the shop on the corner of Brown and Fenwick streets in Portarlington, on the Bellarine Peninsula, has been a butchery.

For most of those years there were just four owners and when Tony Lewer took over the reins in 2005, he became the fifth.

"Given that it's tucked away and not on the main street it's stood the test of time," Tony says .

From the original floorboards at the shop's entrance, to the old hand-made bricks out the back, Portarlington Country Butchers echoes old-fashioned food production.

"They used to bring cattle into the back yard off the farm and slaughter them on the bricks," he says.

"The shed is still here, too, where they had separate bays for the sheep and cattle.

"There's a block with a hole in it where they split the heads of the sheep and took their brains out, and old copper where they put the fat."

Tony has an added appreciation for the work of the shop's forefathers given that he is new to the business himself.

Prior to moving to Portarlington 10 years ago with his wife, Nicole, and two children, he ran delicatessens in Prahran, Chadstone and Williamstown.

"It wasn't a big stretch to go into butchery. They are reasonably related and both are strong on value-adding," says Tony, who will soon finish his butchery apprenticeship.

"I do have a new-found respect for the job though. It's fairly physical. In the old days before they had a band saw they broke bodies with cleavers and hack saws.

"It is an art form. To see a good apprentice at work you can see their knife work, they hold it better and their cutting action is better."

It is his deli background that is seeing the butcher shop filled with local produce, including vegies, honey, eggs, olive oil and marinades.

As to his meat - both fresh and smoked - he says the secret to top quality is to ensure freshness and quality cuts.

"A lot of butchers will build up stocks through the year but we use fresh product. We do it the crazy way," he says.

"So for Christmas we processed 180 legs in two to three weeks. It was a crazy time.

"It's important to de-fat meat, take the sinews out and have clean brine."

But is is Tony's old-fashioned approach that earned him a gong last year for best ham in the district in the Sausage King Australian Meat Industry Council Awards.

"When they guy came to pick the meat up for the awards I just picked a ham out of the (display) window," Tony says.

"He told me I was the only one who did that. Others went through 15 or 20 hams to find the right one. But whatever I serve to the customer is fine for any award."

    CHECKLIST
  • Portarlington Country Butcher, 12 Brown St, Portarlington, phone: (03) 5259 2224.