Francesco Bigi, butcher:

“Being a butcher is an art”

The last step of the Chianina's commercial track is sales. After the Chianina leaves its stable and is brought to the slaughterhouse, the meat ends up in the butcher's shop. As a consumer, you have to pay close attention to the Chianina meat on sale, since falsification is common practice . If the butcher has an I.G.P.-label, he can sell real and certified Chianina meat.

Name: Enrico Ricci has a butcher's shop in Trequanda that was founded in 1895 by the family Ricci.
Name: Francesco Bigi owns together with his son, Manolo, a butcher's shop in the Consorzio Agrario Siena in Bettolle.
Name: Nero Loriano passionately runs two butcher's shops in Bettolle.

How did you end up in the butchers' branch?

Ricci : Macelleria Ricci is a family company that was founded in 1895. I represent the third generation that runs the butcher's shop. And I must say, I love my job with all my heart.
Bigi : When I was twelve years old, I started working in the public slaughterhouse of Rome . Consequently I became a professional butcher.
Loriano: Because I thought I would earn a lot of money.

As a “Chianina butcher”, Which problems are you mainly confronted with?

Ricci : I don't experience any real problems, I just do my job. All the Chianina meat that I sell here, is traceable. I have a certificate of all the meat with all the specifications about the origin of the animals. In some butcher's shops, consumers can buy false meat, but that is certainly not the case here.
Bigi : Fierce competition of foreign meat products, the selling of false Chianina meat and other butchers who sell meat of another origin at a lower price.
Loriano: Competition of other butchers.

Enrico Ricci: " All the Chianina meat
that I sell here, is traceable"

What is the price for a kilo of Chianina meat?

Ricci : This depends from piece to piece. The most expensive part of the Chianina costs about 30 euro a kilo and the cheapest about 6 euro a kilo. Chianina meat costs fifteen to twenty percent on average, that's definitely more than other beef.
Bigi : The meat costs between 15 and 20 euro a kilo on average.
Loriano: The price depends on the specific part you buy. It's priced between 15 and 22 euro a kilo.

Francesco Bigi: "Our meat is
of the highest quality"

Suppose that the Chianina would be bred worldwide.

Ricci : That can't be good for the quality of the meat. What makes it so tasty, is the breeding method and the food the animals are treated. The quality depends on the region where the animal is raised. If you have no idea of the state-of-the-art Chianina tradition, if you don't know which recipes are best, the quality will slump. That's why the quality of the Argentinian Chianina beef isn't comparable to ours.
Bigi : The Chianina is a breed which profits from limited production. If the production increases, the quality will certainly drop.
Loriano: That wouldn't be a good idea, because the meat is originated from the Valdichiana. If the Chianina would be bred worldwide, it would lose its denomination of origin, its roots and tradition. It would moreover almost be impossible because there is such a limited production.

Is it an honour to handle Chianina meat?

Ricci : Yes, I think it's a real privilege. Chianina is without doubt the best meat there is. It has been fancied and consumed for about twenty-two centuries and it was even bred by the Etrusks and the Romans. It is literally the biggest cattle breed that exists.
Bigi : It's an honour for everyone who can guarantee quality and safety to his clients. We only sell Chianina meat (I.G.P. – CCBI-certified) that directly stems from the local farmers. Our meat is of the highest quality. We want to watch over the safety and genuineness of our meat. Being a butcher is a real art.
Loriano: Yes, because the Chianina clearly distinguishes itself from other breeds.

Why is the Chianina meat so formidable?

Ricci : Because of the authentic breeding and feeding methods. Some of the special characteristics of the Chianina meat are the lack of cholesterol and fats and, above all, its extreme juiciness, that makes your mouth water. Chianina meat contains the lowest cholesterol levels of all beef.
Bigi : Because it is raised with natural products and is being controlled with strict discipline.
Loriano: Because it has the dear taste of our soil, it really is our product.

Neri Loriano: "It is our product"

Macelleria Ricci
Via Traversa Dei Monti 4
53020 Trequanda (SI)
Italia
Tel. en fax: (0039) 577/66.22.52

Macelleria Bigi
Via G. Di Vittorio (interno Consorzio Agrario Siena)
53040 Bettolle (SI)
Italia
Tel. (0039) 338/399.17.60

Neri Loriano
Via Cassia, 5
Piazza del Popolo, 5
53040 Bettolle (SI)
Italia
Tel. (0039) 557/62.43.02

An extensive point of sales list of the one and only, genuine and super-juicy Chianina meat is available on www.ccbi.it in the section Le Macellerie.

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