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Ceiling spotlights brightly illuminate the exhibition halls at Frankfurt. The aisles are filled with curious trade visitors wandering between the stands. On this day in May 2025, the IFFA (Internationale Fleischwirtschaftliche Fachausstellung) will welcome more than 10,000 visitors. In Hall 12 one particularly lively area catches the attention of the guests: the stand of the German Butchers’ Association. A whole row of workstations, that really look more like small stages, stand side by side, each one decorated with the national flag of a different European country.
Each one of them is bustling with intense and concentrated work. The audience, which has gathered all around, is looking at focused people, whose precise hand movements are executed with absolute confidence. Their hands do not tremble – they know what to do, are familiar with the movements and are performing long-practised routines. Slowly but surely meat products, which closely resemble works of art, are taking shape on the work surfaces: delicately stuffed roasts, colourfully garnished finger food, lovingly decorated skewers.
Trophies await those who showcase their craft at its very best on a table set apart from the hustle and bustle.
EuroSkills 2025 Qualifying at IFFA
One colour stands out in this setting, both among the participants and in the audience. In the packed exhibition hall, around two dozen young people are wearing bright red. Their outfits are more than just clothes. They symbolise unity and teamwork. A national team.
Joint Performance, Powerful Impact
As with any national team, the way this team presents itself as a unified group attracts attention when its members walk around the exhibition together. “Complete strangers come up to you, strike up a conversation and ask to have their photo taken,” says David Hilpert. You can see him towards the end of the video above, beaming as the winner of the EuroSkills 2025 qualifiers.
The 24-year-old from Bavaria was crowned European Butcher Champion last year at the Independent Skills Championships Europe, a competition for skilled trades held across Europe. Over the course of several days, he showcased his expertise in a variety of disciplines, ranging from boning a beef leg and butchering a whole lamb to preparing finger food. Ultimately he took home the gold medal.
Lots of Professionals, One Team
Naturally the young master butcher is delighted to receive the award. However his main motivation for being part of the German national butchery team is the time spent with the team, such as at the recent IFFA event mentioned above. “You get to know people and make contacts. At times company owners and senior representatives approached us. That’s when you realise: It is possible to be recognised, people are not indifferent.”
Another standout was Laura Reckmann, a 23-year-old from North Rhine-Westphalia, who made her mark on the global stage. At WorldSkills 2024 she won a silver medal for the national team. “I was, of course, absolutely delighted,” recalls the young master butcher and trained chef. However, she beams even more brightly when she talks about a very different success: “One of my students came second in the German Championships after his journeyman’s examination. I was really pleased that he’d got further with my advice.”
In fact motivating the next generation is much more important to the members of the national team than competing for themselves. “Our goal is to address the public, raise awareness, and conduct extensive youth outreach,” explains David Hilpert. “We attend trade fairs, apprenticeship days, and together with vocational schools, also public and other major events.” The summer’s party of the Parlamentskreis Mittelstand of the CDU/CSU counted the young butchers among their invitees – here they shook hands with and chatted to Friedrich Merz: “Not everyone gets that opportunity.”
Finding The Best Young Talent
The members of the German national team are happy to invest their time in representing their sport for experiences like these. Typically each one of them is part of around five public appearances a year. Care is taken to ensure sensible regional distribution, so no one has to travel from Bavaria to Schleswig-Holstein, for example. This is easily achievable thanks to the size of the team. Founded in 2018, the national team currently comprises 40 members. “That allows us to cover the whole of Germany”, explains team manager Benjamin Pfister. There is no age limit, and those who have been with the team for a long time eventually step back and leave the stage to the younger generation.
Benjamin Pfister and his team identify new young talent for the squad through regional and national, as well as their own selection competition. “If regional associations put forward young talents, who might have come in only second in these regional competitions or did not take part in the chamber championship, they can participate in our selection competition alongside the German Championship.” However, there is much more to it than just making ‘a good sausage’: “They should be able to present themselves well, speak confidently and have charisma and presence.”
Facing The Next Championship
All of these qualities describe Hannes Maisel from Bad Berneck in Bavaria. Thanks to his current level of performance, the 20-year-old master butcher is the clear favourite to represent Germany at EuroSkills 2027 in Düsseldorf. He explains that preparation isn’t simply a matter of revising for an exam, it involves genuine competitive training. “It’s not just about completing the tasks. It’s about ensuring that everything is absolutely perfect, from the roast to the butchering. That means giving 110 per cent throughout the two or three days of the competition, not just 100 per cent.” Intensive training for the competitions takes place at the butchery school in Weiterstadt over several days each month.
"The pressure is on", says Hannes Maisel, as he has two very strong predecessors. However the team spirit is even stronger: “We all share the same interests, which is why we’ve really become a huge group of friends,” says David Hilpert, summing up the positive atmosphere within the team. Interested parties can also follow this on the team’s social media channels1. Even over a beer after work, they often chat and learn from each other. “I learn something new from every getting together, how others do things”, says Laura Reckmann. The three of them agree that there really is such a thing as ones own ‘signature’ in their craft. “As a layman, you can’t tell the difference”, says the master butcher, “but we can certainly tell which product comes from whom.”
A Fascination With Craftsmanship
That said, master butchers do have some leeway to put their own ‘stamp’ on their work. “A bricklayer, for example, has to build the wall exactly as specified in the plans. An electrician can’t just suddenly connect a power cable differently”, says Hannes Maisel. “But if we want to develop something new, we can simply give it a go.” It is this freedom that Maisel particularly likes about his profession. He is also delighted when he can explain this to others. “You notice, especially with young people, that they still have this misconception about our trade.” He himself has an apprentice who is currently practising how to prepare roasts and is allowed to choose the filling. “He was absolutely thrilled when he realised that he could experiment here too. It’s this diversity that defines us in the trade.”
For Laura Reckmann it is the combination of tradition and modernity that makes the profession so fascinating. “We use some recipes that are 50 or even 100 years old, but we put a modern twist on them.” She never gets bored. “I’m in the cutting room, sausage production, picking area, kitchen and shop every day. I really am everywhere every day, and yet every day is different.” David Hilpert also values this holistic approach: “From a food technology perspective, meat is an extremely valuable raw material. When you can say: I have products that I can fully vouch for from start to finish, I was involved in the process from beginning to end, and I can pass that on to my customers – that’s just brilliant.”
From Internship to National Team
For young people interested in pursuing a career in the trade, the national player has some valuable advice: “Go for an internship, maybe even two or three. Get a real feel for the job and give it a go, perhaps at different companies.”
But what if you encounter difficulties during your apprenticeship? “It’s worth sticking it out”, says the European champion. Passing on their enthusiasm for the craft is probably the national team’s most important task. If you stick it out, you can go far in the butchery trade and one day become an ambassador for your craft, wearing that bright red outfit.
Sources
1 The German National Butchers’ Team’s TikTok channel 31.03.2026.
Photos: © Deutscher Fleischer-Verband e.V.
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