butchers still manage to appeal in the region

In the microregion, experts from meat are numerous. Just Ghisonacciathere are four butchers who share a loyal clientele. A big presence for a demand that remains solid year after year.

And for good reason, in recent years, supermarkets have taken the shift towards quality. Now they include traditional butcherswhere meat is not just a product, but an experience.

“We work like in an artisanal butcher's shop. We cut the carcasses on site, nothing to do with the vacuum-packed pieces”, assures Nicolas Cavagnara, butcher at Spar de Ghisonaccia.

An adaptable situation

A move upmarket that does not worry local artisans: “We don’t have the same clientele,” tranche Dumè-Marie Guidicelli, artisanal butchery of Ventiseri.

For her, competition from supermarkets is a false problem. The two models complement each other more than they oppose each other. “Customers come to us for specific products and advice they can't find elsewhere. she adds.

Then for this restricted staff, nothing more is needed: “Today, this pace suits us very well. We cannot follow a summer pace all year round,” explains the butcher.

An observation that could seem pretentious. But to understand this success, we just need to contextualize it. The Eastern Plain is an agricultural land where meat has a central place.

“Here, the families of butchers often come from breeders. We are the pillar of Corsican livestock farming, we have always eaten meat,” says Nicolas Cavagnara. As Christmas approaches, there is excitement in the butcher shops of the Eastern Plain. After a summer marked by skewers and grills, this crucial week is one not to be missed. Orders are exploding, and flagship products are being snapped up.

“On December 23 and 24, we exceeded 180 orders. Everything must be perfect,” reveals Dumè-Marie Guidicelli.

At Spar de Ghisonaccia, Nicolas Cavagnara came as reinforcements to face this exceptional demand. “It’s an intense, but essential, period. Between stuffed poultry, tournedos and foie gras, customers want the best for their holiday meals.”

Meat is therefore a festive product. As long as there are celebrations, it will find its place on Corsican tables. Nevertheless, feasts are reinventing themselves, and this, on a more general level.

For the president of the Haute-Corse butchers, this Christmas is very different: “We sell fewer kids and lambs than before, but more roasts. I’ve never seen that,” Louis Constant is surprised.

As for inflation, it has not completely broken the dynamic.

“Customers are adjusting their purchases, but they continue to look, perhaps even more than before, for products that are worth their price,” adds the Spar employee.

So, when it comes to planning, finances come second to an even more worrying factor: labor.

“The problem is not economic, it is above all that we lack qualified butchers. There are many offers here, but few young people choose this profession,” deplores Nicolas Cavagnara. But faced with this challenge, Louis Constant tempers: “Quality must remain the priority. Training young people en masse makes no sense if we don't give them the tools to be truly qualified.”