Chef/Butcher

About HQ Meats

HQ Meats is a premium butcher shop built around Cut Concierge - a concierge-style approach to butchery where every customer gets personalized advice and hands-on help. Every animal we sell comes to us as a whole side, broken down by hand in our own shop. We source farm-direct and wet-age our beef in-house.

About the Role

We're looking for someone who's as comfortable behind a cutting block as they are behind a stove - and just as comfortable talking a customer through how to cook what they just bought. This is a hybrid role for someone with real butchery skill, real cooking ability, and a genuine interest in people. You'll break down and portion product, prepare our in-house premade meals, and be the person customers trust for "what do I do with this at home."

What You'll Do

• Break down whole sides of beef, pork, and poultry by hand; cut, trim, and portion to order

• Prepare our in-house premade meals - marinated cuts, ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat items made fresh from our own product

• Operate knives, band saws, grinders, and slicers safely and efficiently

• Deliver the Cut Concierge standard: greet customers, understand what they're cooking for, recommend the right cut (not just the most expensive one), and send them home knowing exactly how to prepare it

• Share real cooking knowledge - cook times, techniques, seasoning, doneness - so customers get restaurant-quality results at home

• Maintain food safety, sanitation, and cleanliness standards throughout the day, including in premade meal prep

What You Bring

• Hands-on meat-cutting experience (whole-animal or primal breakdown strongly preferred)

• Real cooking/culinary experience - line cook, chef, or equivalent background preferred, since you'll be developing and prepping our premade meal line

• Genuine enjoyment of talking to customers - this is a people-facing role, not just a back-of-house one

• Comfort operating knives and butchery equipment safely

• Reliable, in-person, Scarborough-based (no remote)

Compensation

Starting wage: $20.00-$24.00/hr, based on experience, with progression tied to tenure and performance.

How to Apply

Apply through Indeed with your resume. We're hiring for our Scarborough shop and looking to fill this role quickly.

Pay: $20.00-$24.00 per hour

Expected hours: 40.0 per week

Work Location: In person