At Bungendore Country Butcher, the story starts on the farm and finishes at the counter. For almost 30 years, Paul and Sue Darmody have been serving their community through genuine paddock-to-plate butchery, well before ‘paddock-to-plate’ was a familiar term.
Paul has been a butcher for 55 years, a career that began the day after he left school. He finished on a Friday, applied for an apprenticeship on the Saturday, and started work on the Monday. He’s been in the trade ever since, owning his first shop in Queanbeyan before buying the Bungendore store in 1996 with Sue.
Together with their daughter Hanna, they supply the shop with lamb and beef raised just down the road on the family farm.
Owning the whole supply chain means they control every step: buying and breeding, and feeding and finishing their own livestock locally, before having them processed in western Sydney and brought back to the shop for butchering. The result is a consistency and quality that their customers value and trust.
“Dad always wanted to eliminate the middleman,” Hanna says. “What we do gives us complete control over the product and the confidence that we’re selling the best of what we produce.”
The Darmodys produce lamb year-round and aim for a consistently high-quality yearling beef product, all supplied from their own farm. Because they break full carcasses in-store, they can honour the traditional cuts their long-term customers love while catering to modern tastes with convenient, value-added products.
“We handcraft a wide range of options with different flavours and cooking styles,” Hanna says. “That includes marinated roasts and chops, boneless and easy-carve legs of lamb, and pre-prepared chicken schnitzels, Kievs and kebabs. We’re blending old-school butchering craftsmanship with today’s demand for flavour, quality and convenience.”
Bungendore Country Butchery sits in the heart of a growing commuter town, where many locals work in Canberra but shop close to home. The Darmodys’ productive and long-standing partnership with the local IGA means their meat reaches busy customers even when they can’t make it into the shop, while their support for cafés, pubs and sporting clubs keeps them at the centre of community life.
But what really keeps the business thriving is people. The Darmodys have built a workplace that attracts locals of all ages – apprentices, returners and career changers who want a trade with creativity, skill and meaning.
“Dad’s built a reputation for quality and fairness that means a lot in a small town, and everyone who works here lives within half an hour of Bungendore,” Hanna says. “They come in looking for a chance to learn, and when they do, they stay.”
The store itself is a small space with a relatively large staff, so a harmonious environment is critical.
“We work in close quarters for long hours, so creating a positive culture is everything. You’ve got to enjoy where you work,” Hanna says.
Among the team are several qualified female butchers and apprentices who are helping change perceptions of the trade. Hanna says the shift has happened naturally but has made a big impact.
“When customers walk in and see women breaking down beef or serving out the front, it shows other women that this is a career that’s open to them too.”
Attracting staff, though, is still a challenge. Bungendore’s proximity to Canberra means competing with city jobs and public-service salaries isn’t easy, especially when the work is long and physical. Even so, Hanna says the creativity and skill involved means there’s plenty to love about the trade.
“There’s a real pride in learning this craft. Every week our young butchers pick up new skills, take on more responsibility, and see what they’ve achieved at the end of the day. That’s something you don’t get in many jobs.”