The meat sommelier needs to grow up

Sometimes it takes a trip to the other side of the world to have a thought confirmed that you have carried around with you for a long time.

Yesterday, I sat in on a class for aspiring meat sommeliers at the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires. I had wanted to see this training programme for years. Not to determine afterwards who does it better. But to understand what others do differently. It quickly became clear to me once again: we need to talk about meat sommelier training. Not about whether it is good or bad. But about whether it still meets the standards we now set for this title ourselves.

What I experienced in Buenos Aires was sensory analysis as training. Not as an item on an agenda to be ticked off. Samples are tasted, described and compared. Then they come back again, some of them blind. You have to remember, question, reassess and identify them again. Perception is not merely explained, but trained systematically. For me, this is one of the major tasks facing European meat sommelier training.

You cannot learn sensory analysis in two hours. You can explain how sensory analysis works in two hours. You can convey terminology, show an evaluation sheet and taste a few samples together. But you do not build a sensory memory in two hours. That takes repetition. Comparison. Mistakes. Uncertainty. References. Tasting again. And again.

Perhaps our training programmes do not simply need to become longer. Perhaps, above all, we need to organise them more intelligently. Not every aspect of theory necessarily has to be taught in person nowadays. Fundamentals, product knowledge, scientific interrelationships or preparatory content can in part be delivered excellently online. The valuable time spent together could then be reserved more for what cannot be learned through a screen: smelling, tasting, comparing, discussing and training.

And something else became very clear to me again yesterday: An outstanding butcher is not automatically an outstanding meat sommelier. This is not criticism of the craft. Quite the contrary. Strong craft training, product knowledge, cutting and processing are a fantastic foundation. But a sommelier is a different role.

It involves sensory analysis and communication. The ability to structure perceptions and make them understandable. To place products in context. To recognise connections. And, at some point, also the question: what exactly is our sommelier culture? I have been discussing this for years in my courses. What distinguishes a meat sommelier from a butcher, chef or salesperson? What can we learn from the wine sommelier? Where should we specifically not copy them? What responsibility does a meat sommelier assume towards the product, the producer and the consumer?

What was exciting for me in Buenos Aires was this: this discussion has long been taking place there as well. With different emphases. Rooted in a different meat culture. But with great openness. And that is precisely why it would be wrong to write now: the Argentinians do it better. They do not.

Argentina has an impressive depth when it comes to beef and its sensory differentiation. That is logical. This country lives with beef, from beef and, in many respects, because of beef. Europe, in contrast, has other strengths. We work with meat from a wide variety of countries, production systems and breeds. We deal intensively with ageing, international specialities, B and C cuts, different preparation methods, hygiene, HACCP and a product diversity that is also something special in this form. Japan brings yet another completely different perspective.

And perhaps that is exactly where the future lies. Not in the question of who trains the best meat sommelier. But in the question of what we can jointly develop from the best elements of different systems. Through my teaching work in three European countries, my close exchange with the Federal Meat Academy in Japan and now this insight into Buenos Aires, my own perspective on this is changing more and more. I believe the meat sommelier movement is at a long-overdue turning point. Continue thinking nationally or grow together internationally? Defend one’s own culture or confidently share it with others? Work alongside one another or learn from one another?

For me, the answer is quite clear. Argentina should remain Argentina. Japan should remain Japan. And Europe must by no means give up its diversity. But we should finally begin to connect these strengths.

Perhaps that is why my visit to Buenos Aires yesterday was more than just a pleasant appointment at a university. Perhaps it was a small glimpse of what meat sommelier training could look like in the future. And I like that thought damn well.