Apprentice butcher at the CFA of Mende, Titouan Valles competes at the Agricultural Show

Titouan Valles vise la finale nationale pour le titre de Meilleur Apprenti de France. Midi Libre – Lucas Manouvrier

The young butchers' competition takes place this Thursday, February 29, 2024 in Paris. The other big meeting in Lozérien will take place on March 11 in Montauban with the regional finals for Best Apprentice of France.

Titouan Valles, CAP butcher student at the CFA in Mende, is participating in the International Agricultural Show (SIA). He is one of the apprentices entered in the young butchers competition. A great opportunity for anyone who has never been to SIA before.

The 17-year-old from Lozère competes this Thursday, February 29, 2024 against five other candidates, including a comrade from the CFA of Mende, Adrien Rebellere. During the first event, the six participants will prepare a shoulder of lamb and the four best will continue the competition. They will then have to put their technical skills at the service of the traditional roast veal. Then the two winners of this second event will compete in a final round: the prime rib. 

"You have to be good everywhere"

The jury will be vigilant about the fineness and quality of the meats, the presentation and the cleanliness of the workstations. In other words, not a single detail should be overlooked. "There is a little stress because it's my first competition and there will be an audience, explains Titouan Valles. We will have to prepare several different meats, you have to be good at everything."

To do this, he can draw on his experience at the Goeury-Lebre butchery, in Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole. He has worked there as an apprentice for over a year, alongside Anthony Goeury and Charlotte Lebre. "We do everything, he continues. We collect the carcasses at the Antrenas slaughterhouse then we work on each piece until we put them on display." This professional experience reinforced his idea of ​​pursuing a career in the meat industry. "I would like to continue my studies to do a CAP in charcuterie-caterer then a BP butchery."

Anthony Goeury, the apprentice master, can provide valuable advice to Titouan Valles. Midi Libre – Lucas Manouvrier

Vying for the title of MAF

His participation in the young butchers competition was made possible thanks to his butchery teacher at the CFA, Robert Pradeilles. "I selected him because it's good preparation for him before the regional finals for Best Apprentice of France (MAF ), he justifies. There will be the public, the media… When students train at the CFA, they don't have this whole environment which can be destabilizing. ;quot; 

Because the big meeting of the year for Titouan Valles will take place on Monday March 11, in Montauban. First in the MAF competition in Lozère, he will participate in the regional finals. "It's a big challenge for him but we can help and advise him. At the moment, we're talking about it a lot", confides Anthony Goeury, who himself made it to the MAF national finals in 2014. Besides, the two managers of the Goeury-Lebre butchery will go to Tarn-et-Garonne to support their apprentice. 

"I'm aiming for the final", announces Titouan Valles, who is returning from an internship  of a week in Paris, at the National School of Meat Trades (ESNMV) to prepare for the regional MAF exams. "It'was the first time I went to Paris, and all alone!" he says, without forgetting a memory that makes you smile again: "I was supposed to take the metro but I got lost so I walked thirty minutes."

Coveted distinction

Advised by butchery experts, notably the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (MOF), Titouan Valles emerges from this internship with a wealth of experience. "That made me grow and progress." As the busy weeks continue for him, he will have to respond in mid-March to hope to continue the MAF adventure. To do this, he will have to be one of the two best during the regional finals. The road is still long until the title but he can count on the support of his loved ones and his classmates. Additional strength necessary to achieve this distinction coveted by 9,000 apprentices in France.

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