MAKING THE CUT

AT BOLYARD'S MEAT AND PROVISIONS IN MAPLEWOOD, MISSOURI, OWNER AND HEAD BUTCHER CHRIS BOLYARD LINKS FARM TO TABLE.

- 

On Christmas morning, the Bolyards enjoy this Cheddar and Leek Breakfast Strata with their own housesmoked baconand they've shared recipes for both.

Chris Bolyard burst onto the St. Louis culinary scene in 2004 as chef de cuisine at the acclaimed Sidney Street Cafe. A decade later, seeking better worklife balance, he and his wife, Abbie, opened Bolyard's Meat and Provisions, a full-service butcher shop and daytime cafe in suburban Maplewood. The kitchen turns out hearty fare like pulled beef nachos, Cubanos, and tallow fries, while butchers practice their craft for all to see. The goal: ensuring customers know exactly where their ingredients came from. As told to Erika Ebsworth-Goold.

A CUT ABOVE

The main difference between our shop and, say, the meat department in a grocery store, is that we're purchasing whole animals from local farmers and utilizing the entire thing. As the week progresses, we tend to run out of cuts, but it's our responsibility—our job—to educate people on comparable substitutes.