—FOREWORD—

Some time ago, maybe ten years, a butcher of about eighty and on the verge of retirement came to find me in my shop. He shook my hand and thanked me, telling me that my pride and passion in butchery had restored the dignity of the craft in the eyes of the people, and, therefore, in himself. Though I never saw him again and wish him the best for years to come, I will never forget what he told me: "I once was filled with the doubt that I had wasted my life, but now, thanks to you, I now know my doubts were wrong."
      Here is the essence of our craft as butchers: a task crude and compassionate, strong yet delicate, always respectful toward the killed animal, with the ethical imperative of always using the meat in the best manner possible knowing that, since the beginning of time, these animals were given to mankind as a gift from God.
       The true butcher, like the artists of the Tuscan Renaissance, walks the never-ending path in search of bettering his own art and reaching his fullest potential.
       The true butcher knows that his work is a piece of art, the most delicate craft of all that we eat and all that nurtures us.
       A true butcher knows that his objective is not the pursuit of expansion or profit, but rather to become the master of his own art.
       These were the inspirations of the artists of the Renaissance and these, surely, are the same inspirations of the American butchers who, with confidence and pride, have paved the way for a rebirth in this noble and ancient craft. In the end, the question will always be simple: To beef or not to beef...