Mark Henshaw claims the ‘Sausage King of Tasmania’ title…with some help from the 3 TasTAFE learners in his butchers’ shop

Abigail Lucas, Bronte Henshaw, Mark Henshaw and Michelle Henshaw at Mark on Macquarie Meats in South Hobart, with their 4 AMIC 2025 ‘Sausage King’ gold trophies.

At TasTAFE’s Collins Street Campus in Hobart recently, the Australian Meat Industry Council (AMIC) held its annual Tasmanian ‘Sausage King’ Competition. There was a runaway winner on the day: Mark on Macquarie Meats from South Hobart won gold in 4 of the 6 categories, and silver and bronze in the other 2.

Mark Henshaw has operated his Macquarie St butchers’ shop for 7 years, after he and his wife Michelle relocated from Sydney in 2000. The business is very much a family affair, with strong TasTAFE connections.

Michelle, a former hairdresser and high-school maths teacher, now works full-time in the shop as a 4th-year butchery apprentice: she’s almost finished her Certificate III in Meat Processing (Retail Butcher) at TasTAFE.

Mark and Michelle’s daughter Bronte is a 3rd-generation butcher, following her parents and Mark’s father into the trade. She’s been working in the shop since she was 15 and recently completed her Certificate II in Meat Processing (Food Service) at TasTAFE.

Bronte is passionate about the butchery trade: “In supermarkets, everything is pre-packed and trucked in. There’s no skill behind it. But we take the time to trim everything and make sure it’s top quality and up to standard. It’s worth supporting your local butcher!”

Working alongside the family is Abigail Lucas, a TasTAFE school-based apprentice in Year 12 at Hobart College. Abi is in the first year of her Certificate III in Meat Processing (Retail Butcher) course – and she appreciates her TasTAFE teachers’ enthusiasm: “The teachers are really helpful. They like to get really in-depth, explaining how things work. You can tell that they’re really into it,” she said.

Driven by this positivity, Mark, Michelle, Bronte and Abi keep the shop humming with cheery neighbourhood vibes, as loyal customers arrive for their favourite meats. Especially Mark’s sausages.

“We do 14 varieties of sausages, and we make about half a tonne each week – and we sell-out every week,” Mark said. “It’s a full-on job. I work 7 days just to try and keep things moving. We’re very fussy about what goes into them – a lot of TLC!”

Clearly, this fussiness gets results. And it’s not the first time that Mark on Macquarie Meats has tasted Sausage King glory. On their first attempt in 2023, their spicy lamb merguez sausage won gold at state level, then gold at the national finals on the Gold Coast.

“That one’s got harissa, cumin and chilli in it,” Mark said. “I ate that sausage every day for 3 months before the competition, just to get it spot-on.

“We’ve got a frypan here where we cook up our sausages: The staff have a taste, the customers have a taste… Everybody’s got an opinion, and it all helps to give the recipes a tweak.”

“You’ve got to choose flavours that balance each another,” Michelle added. “You can push the boundaries a little bit, but you’ve got to have that balance. If something’s too sweet or too salty it’s not going to work.”

One such balanced, boundary-pushing snag is Michelle’s pork, pear cider and maple syrup sausage, infused with flavours from the Huon Valley.

“I’m proud of that one!” Michelle said. “It’s a dry cider, so it’s not too sweet and it works really well with the maple. That’s where the balance comes in.”

The 2025 Sausage King competition judges liked it too: Michelle’s sausage won gold in the ‘Gourmet’ category.

Scenes from the 2025 Australian Meat Industry Council (AMIC) annual Tasmanian ‘Sausage King’ Competition at TasTAFE’s Collins Street Campus.

On competition day, TasTAFE Butchery teacher Darren Scott was kept busy preparing around 90 types of cooked and uncooked sausages for judging – with the makers of each sausage kept secret until the winners were decided.

“We get a tray of 4–5 sausages identifiable by category only. We cook up 2 of those sausages that we serve to judges, alongside the open packet of remaining raw sausages,” Darren said.

“The judges examine both the raw and cooked product and look at texture and ingredients. They’re very thorough and follow the same criteria – even down to the ‘bite’ quality of each sausage.

“Winning gold for the best pork, beef, lamb, poultry or ‘Open Class’ sausage has quite a bit of kudos attached to it,” Darren said, “– and for the butcher it can lead to increased sales.”

Mark knows all about this: “After we won the national competition, we were making 16 times more sausages that we’d normally make,” he said. “I stayed back every night making more – we couldn’t get enough! It really took the business to another level.”

For the record, here are Mark on Macquarie Meats’ results in the 2025 AMIC Sausage King Competition:

• Continental category: Gold – Nuremberg sausage
• Gourmet/Open Class category: Gold and silver – Pork, pear cider and maple sausage; French Toulouse sausage
• Poultry category: Gold and silver – Chicken and chive sausage; French provincial chicken sausage
• Australian Lamb category: Gold – Spicy lamb merguez sausage
• Traditional Australian Pork Sausage: Silver – Old English pork sausage
• Traditional Australian Beef Sausage: Bronze – Traditional beef sausage

Congratulations also to Vermey’s Quality Meats, who collected gold in the Traditional Australian Beef Sausage category; and Meat Mistress at Bayside Meats, who won gold in the Traditional Australian Pork Sausage category.

We wish Mark, Michelle, Bronte and Abi all the best in their ongoing TasTAFE training, and in representing Tasmania at the AMIC national Sausage King finals!

Inspired? Check out TasTAFE’s Sausage Maker's Basics skill set.

Clockwise from top L: Michelle Henshaw, Bronte Henshaw, Mark on Macquarie Meats in South Hobart and Abigail Lucas.