Pat Whelan: Cutting waste, keeping quality

The enterprising fifth generation butcher hopes to lead the craft of butchery into the future, balancing the serving of both people and the planet.

Fifth-generation butcher and face of James Whelan Butchers, Pat Whelan

With a growing butcher empire, diversification into sustainable production and launching the World's first degree level butchery course, Pat Whelan believes craft butchery can thrive while serving both people and planet.

The fifth-generation butcher intends to showcase Irish butchery to those in attendance at the Agricultural Science Association (ASA) Conference this September 4.

I often say to people, we're in the people business, we just so happen to be selling meat,” Mr Whelan told the Irish Examiner.

With his growing empire of butcher shops across the country hosted by Dunnes Stores, and his business diversification on the app ‘Too Good To Go’, he's an anticipated speaker at the event and hopes to offer an alternative view to the industry, as well as opportunities and advancements indigenous businesses can make.

Mr Whelan still holds onto the original values of James Whelan Butchers with ‘Quality and Service’ set by his parents, who founded the original butcher shop in Clonmel 60 years previously.

Mr Whelan holds his fifth-generation butcher title through his mother’s side of the family; she taught his father, a farmer’s son, the craft of butchery, which was later passed down to Pat.

Mr Whelan recalled living above the original butcher shop in his youth with the family’s domestic abattoir behind the house.

“The dining room in our house was always a place where people were fed, and it was almost a test kitchen or a new product development environment, because eating was all part of it, and it was always the conversation. And whether we were eating breakfast, dinner or tea, something was being evaluated or considered,” Mr Whelan recalled fondly.

Mr Whelan also has deep-seated roots in the farming side of his family history, with the family farm still ticking over in Clonmel. “That end-to-end supply chain is something that has always been a unique part of what Whelan’s is about. And as it has grown and developed, it has built relationships with people who have the same philosophy on the supply chain... So it's something within the business model that we have preserved, that we see is a sustainable part of what makes it unique.” 

Even the farm has been undergoing transformations with organic principles and regenerative farming techniques being employed on the farm.

Mr Whelan looks to the likes of Dyson, who has diversified and continuously developed farming technology, research and practices as inspirations for development.

With the joining of the EU and the phasing out of domestic abattoirs across the country, favouring larger plants, butchers began to diversify to keep up, embracing the ‘convenient’ or ‘kitchen-ready’ meal trend, and demand was a detriment to the industry. “It diluted the uniqueness,” Mr Whelan explained.

With the new age of butchery also came new ways to deliver to customers. When he was young, Mr Whelan explained he would accompany his mother on rounds, delivering cuts and food to people who might not have had the means at the time to make it to the shop.

“She taught me that customers had a lifetime value, being a kind of cornerstone of your business,” Mr Whelan said.

Taking inspiration from his mother's local delivery business, Mr Whelan diversified his Clonmel butcher shop to cater to customers via online orders. The first of which was made in 2004. 

Building a reputation and diversifying his clientele led him to expansion and subsequently landed him the now almost 10-year relationship with Dunnes Stores, who host a James Whelan Butchers counter in some of their largest outlets.

The new James Whelan food stall in Dunnes Stores in Douglas Court Shopping Centre, Cork. Picture: Chani Anderson

“There wasn't a light bulb moment where somebody approached somebody; it seemed natural. It evolved. It belonged. When that opportunity came, it fitted. And we knew where the strengths were, because they'd been laid down so well by my mom and dad, and they gave me everything that I understood to be the principles of business.” 

A topic that Mr Whelan is passionate about and features as a main topic in the ASA conference is food waste.

“We produce today enough food to feed 10 billion people, and the world population is less than eight,” he explained. In an effort to make his branches more sustainable, he set up his butcher shops on the app Too Good To Go. If any of his branches have overproduced a product, they then get listed on the app for people to buy at a discounted price to reduce waste.

“That has worked really, really well, not only to combat any food waste, but also in introducing the brand to people and getting people to eat our products; it has been a recruitment for customers into the business.” 

Mr Whelan strongly believes in educating current and future generations to help curb food waste, improve sustainability, but also to keep craft butchery alive.

On May 23 of this year, Mr Whelan was involved in launching the world’s first degree in sustainable butchery and gastronomy at Munster Technological University (MTU).

“That was a huge, momentous occasion for me as a person, as a professional, as an industry, and as a person in this industry,” Mr Whelan explained.

On the same day, he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Buenos Aires, furthering his vision of building a global network of learning through the industry.

Mr Whelan brought it back to the community, saying that that was the foundation his family business was built on, like so many other indigenous Irish businesses.

“To me, that is the essence of what James Whelan is about. It's about community, it's about people, it's about education, it's about making a difference.” 

• Pat Whelan is set to speak at this year’s ASA conference, ‘Ireland - Leading the way in global food security’, which will address both the global challenges of food security and Ireland’s role in delivering relevant solutions, bringing insights from both Irish and international food industry leaders. This year’s conference will also address food production, food waste and the environment, new scientific developments, the cost of living and its many implications, what we can expect from the next Common Agricultural Policy (2028 – 2034), the challenges of farm succession and much more.