Students bring new flavour to Boort’s local butcher

Boort District School students have teamed up with Arnold Family Butchers to develop two new sausage flavours, bringing local business and young people together through a program called Passions and Pathways.  Over 10 weeks, students have enthusiastically participated in Passions & Pathways, learning about themselves and how their strengths and interest strengths and interests provide a foundation for the opportunities, and pathways they will explore in the future. The program is designed for students in upper primary school and aligns to the Victorian Curriculum and the Australian Blueprint for career development.  

Students from Boort District School visited Arnold Family Butchers in Boort, where they were welcomed with a behind the scenes to learn about sausage making and the experience of running a small local business. 

The butchers, Jye & Kristy, shared their personal career journeys, demonstrated how sausages are made and gave students the opportunity to take home a sausage of their choice to taste. 

Following the excursion, students brainstormed 25 potential sausage flavours before Arnold Family Butchers narrowed the list to six options that could feasibly be produced. 

Students then voted for their two preferred flavours: Chicken Parmigiana and BBQ Bacon. 

Arnold Family Butchers brought the students’ ideas to life, making a batch of each sausage for the school community to try. 

Students cooked both flavours at lunchtime, inviting fellow students and staff to taste the creations and vote for their favourite. 

In a closely contested competition, the BBQ Bacon sausage came out on top by just one vote. 

Samples of the winning BBQ Bacon sausage available for purchase in Arnold Butchers for the wider community to enjoy and was also available for tasting at the Passions and Pathways Expo last week in Bendigo. 

The project provided students with a valuable opportunity to learn about food production, product development and the realities of operating a small business. The collaboration has demonstrated how connecting students with local businesses can create meaningful learning opportunities and fresh ideas for the community. 

We are tremendously grateful to our industry partners for this project – Arnold Family Butchers. Jye and Kristy were so positive and helpful during this project. We really appreciate the time they put into engaging with the students and of course making the sausages!  

This program is facilitated by North Central LLEN, in partnership with Goldfields LLEN.