A meat cute story: How Kelly Kawachi became head butcher of Blackbelly Market and won a Michelin award

There aren’t many women who are butchers in Colorado, but that didn’t stop this Hawaii native

Butcher Kelly Kawachi, butchers a 120 lbs half-carcass of a hog at Blackbelly on September 27, 2023 in Boulder, Colorado. Kawachi, the head butcher at the popular restaurant, received the only Michelin Guide Young Professional Award from the 2023 Colorado Michelin ceremony becoming the only one in the state to receive this award. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

The first time Kelly Kawachi tried to carry a cow’s leg from the delivery to the cold room at Blackbelly Market, she realized she’d miscalculated. The leg was heavier than she anticipated, and with every step, Kawachi felt like she was sinking lower and lower into the ground.

“Over the years, I definitely realized I needed to up my arm strength because I wanted to be helpful,” said Kawachi, who started at Blackbelly in 2016 and is now head butcher.

Then, there’s the fact that she is a woman in a world dominated by men. Customers often assume she’s a male when they ask for the manager, said Ethan Perry, who works for Kawachi as her lead butcher at the Boulder restaurant. “You don’t meet a lot of female butchers.”

But the culinary world met Kawachi in September when the Michelin Guide named her as its top Young Chef or Culinary Professional in the state. In its review of Blackbelly, Michelin highlighted “her handiwork across the menu, and in the charcuterie boards showcasing duck rillette, pork terrine, headcheese and saucisson, as well as the “supremely flavorful” Koji-cured pork.

It was fitting then that Kawachi was serving wagyu beef tartare and salami at the Mission Ballroom when she heard her name called during the Michelin ceremony there on Sept. 12.

Blackbelly, which was catering the event, also won a Green Star from Michelin for its sustainable practices, including the in-house butcher program and sourcing from local ranches and farms, and for utilizing every aspect of the whole animals they butcher.