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Business Minds with Jeremy Thornton of Insurance Advisernet
MENTGES MASTER MEATS BUSINESS minds
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I ’ V E H E A R D S O M E G R E AT S T O R I E S OV E R T H E Y E A R S, B U T T H I S M O N T H ’ S I S S O M E T H I N G V E RY S P E C I A L .
ne of our great local business people is also one of our most loved characters. Mentges Master Meats is renowned in The Manning-Great Lakes for quality smoked smallgoods and traditional European Produce. Walking into Mentges on Kanangra Drive is like stepping into a classical German “Metzger Shop”. Rudi Mentges is a name all locals know and respect, with his attention to a fine tradition and offering locals produce not commonly found in our area. This month I found out there is more to Rudi than smallgoods. It’s a story I’m proud to share. Rudi, paint a picture of the background of Mentges Meats. It’s an amazing story, dating back some 700 years I believe. Well, the first Mentges Butcher business ever recorded starts back in 1260AD at Speyer in Germany, a city south on the River Rhine. Known to me are the last three generations of Mentges. Their records are archived as fearless and self sacrificing in matters of righteousness and honesty, without prejudice against members of other nationalities and religions. For these reasons, some past governments in Germany honoured them with special considerations like free one way tickets to Siberia. In fact, both my grandfathers had been “invited” to prison for standing up against a newly invented tax on grapes for the year to come that had not been grown yet! My parents have six children, of which five learned smallgoods production. When aged 21, I married my dear wife, Jutta. At age 22 I made Master, then by 26 was self-employed with a
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son and a daughter. In 1985 at age 35 we had our very first holiday, which was to the Manning Valley. The peace and absence of fighter jets in the sky was overwhelming. Jutta and I then made an unexpected firm decision which changed our lives and saw the arrival of four of us in the Manning in July 1989, four months before the collapse of the Berlin Wall. We often say a holiday here results in life changing decisions. What was it that led you to establish Mentges Meats in the Manning Valley? Coming from a culture of 1,500 different breads, beers, wines and smallgoods that we were used to, we had a new awakening in Taree. We awakened to a culture of Devon, Bangers and Wonder Whites! Also, learning a new language, driving on the wrong side of the road, the climate and “G’day mate!” It took a while. While working at Skinners Butchery in Wingham, I also attended a business course to get ready to give birth to an old trade of quality produce. In 1998 we opened in the old Northam Butcher Shop. After a few years, the shop became much too small, thanks to our many appreciative customers. Today we are in the very building in which we attended that first business course! Amazing! Do you focus on sourcing produce locally for your meats? Fact: 70% of the hams and bacons sold in Australia are grown overseas! 84 cents from every dollar spent in our three supermarkets leave our towns in the same direction. It’s crazy! We try to buck that trend. Our motto: we are local; we buy local as much as possible.
Mentges Master Meats is famous locally for It’s not only the famous meats you get quality handmade produce. Tell us about from Mentges Master Meats. Tell us about some of the best sellers you have on the some of the other offerings available to the boards ... public? Our best sellers always have been: a Bless others, and you will be - Cheese Kransky; b - Chili Cheese blessed. Our farmers at their Kransky and c - Frankfurter, markets share with all of with 30 others on offer. us their best and freshest , On our web page Quite often German born products every Thursday. r, Karl, the bake customers coming back The flow on effect this t ha w explains briefly d from a holiday there will has for our families, te en correctly ferm It tell me that the Taree community, the land u. yo r wheat does fo to te Kransky are better than and ecosystems plus bu ri nt does not co of ue what they had in Old the local economy is ag pl t the curren ” e. nc ra Germany. It’s hard to even more worth than le to in gluten believe! But I do know we the very dollar spent are spoilt here with quality in exchange for a fresh, produce and products grown clean, living product. So too is and made in the Manning. the sourdough bread Karl bakes. As a long-time local businessman, You must try it! what is one thing you would like to see You still make all your produce by the Manning-Great Lakes locals embrace? hand? Please appreciate the blessings of local Yes, indeed! businesses and local markets. Build local green Is the process as important as the produce? patches in every back yard. Locals sharing This answer will fill some books. In short; the without prejudice with other locals. And, most important process is how the raw materials importantly, listen to the good news from God. become the product. Picture this: it’s like He gives all of us more and takes less ... than Mummy and Daddy having some fun, and nine China. months later ... Life begets life. Life needs life to For you, what is the best part about being thrive. Eat an apple; it is alive. But, anything out in business in the Manning-Great Lakes? of the microwave is dead. The honour and joy to provide for our All natural ingredients are all designed to appreciative customers, whilst living with fresh, work for you and with you to sustain life. On our clean, local products. And the privilege of web page, Karl, the baker, explains briefly what working with honest, friendly locals in our little correctly fermented wheat does for you. It does shop. not contribute to the current plague of gluten Thank you so much, Rudi. intolerance.
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