Sebastion Butchers provides locally-sourced meat at Kalamunda

Sebastian Butchers opened in 1973 when Sebastian and Tereasa Caltanisetta put everything they had into purchasing the store.

Now, the shop continues to be run by Sebastian alongside his son Pep.

"We run it together," Pep Caltanisetta said.

Prior to joining the family business Pep went away to school, completing year 12, then went on to study for another year before ultimately deciding to do a four-year butcher apprenticeship.

"I originally tried to avoid getting into it but I came home one day and helped out at the shop and that was it,' Mr Caltanisetta said.

"I think it's in the blood."

They continue to provide an opportunity for people to complete a butchery apprenticeship but in recent times have found it challenging to find young people who are interested.

"I think a lot of people in all types of industries are struggling to get young people, we just haven't been able to find someone willing," Mr Caltanisetta said.

"This is an industry that is still prominent and has a place in society and we would like more people to get into it."

Three of his current staff members completed an apprenticeship.

Mr Caltanisetta said he has tried to create a positive environment for both employees and customers.

"Working with this great team of people makes the job even better," Mr Caltanisetta said.

He said Kalamunda was a tight-knit community and with the family being well established in the hills they have built friendships over the years.

"We have a pretty loyal following and I'm very proud of that," he said.

The business also supports plenty of community events and activities, such as sponsoring local sporting clubs.

"What you put in is what you get," he said.

A good customer relationship is essential for the business and Mr Caltanisetta said he prides himself on putting customers first and catering to everyone as best they can.

"Sometimes we do custom made sausages so people who have a home recipe bring it in and we make it for them if we can," he said.

"We do our best and we always put our customers first because we want to see happy people - and good food brings people happiness particularly in these difficult times."

Having a strong customer base means that Sebastian Butchers remains consistently busy throughout the week and there is a spike in sales during the holidays such as Christmas, Australia Day, Easter and long weekends.

When sourcing all of their meat, Mr Caltanisetta said they take pride in everything being 100 per cent Western Australian produced.

"We want to support farmers and we buy straight off the farm as much as we can," he said.

At times Mr Caltanisetta said he would go up to Muchea Livestock Centre or Midland saleyards when they were open to purchase stock, but because of the shortage of staff he hasn't been able to take the time to attend those types of sales lately.

Their meat is carefully selected with the beef being hormone free, all of the pork is free range, contains no hormones or chemicals and is from from Linley Valley, Wooroloo.

They also source meat from farms at Bencubbin and Merredin.

The chickens are also free range and reared without chemical antibiotics or hormones from Liberty and Mt Barker, while the lamb comes from the South West and Bunbury.

"We also try to go grass-fed as much as we can,'' Mr Caltanisetta said.

"We strive to buy the best quality meat all of the time."

Free-range has always been something that Sebastian Buchers has stocked and is increasingly being sought after by customers.

"We were doing it long before it became a trend," he said.

Sausages have always been gluten-free using rice flour instead of wheat flour because Mr Caltanisetta said it makes a better product and it just tastes better.

They also like to change it up and stock a different variety of products each week.

"We haven't got the same meat every week, we always have something different," he said.

Mr Caltanisetta said they create and make all of their own marinades.

"I like to know what ingredients are in it," he said.

"It also just makes it more challenging and exciting to come up with different ideas."

The biggest seller is beef with chicken close behind, followed by pork and then lamb.

Sausages and mince remain a popular choice and Mr Caltanisetta said he has noticed their value-added product line is on the rise because people don't have a lot of time to cook.

With people becoming busier, pre-prepared meals have been customers' preferred choice when it comes to selecting products.

Due to the rise in lamb prices it hasn't been as heavily demanded by customers compared to some of the more affordable meats.

But customers have continued to purchase expensive cuts, such as french cutlet lamb chops.

"People are willing to pay for quality," he said.

In terms of lamb products the most popular is butterflied lamb, diced lamb and french cutlets.

Mr Caltanisetta said his personal favourite cut of meat was chuck on the bone.

"I like anything that has a bit of fat on it and the tendon, I just like those gelatinous meats," he said.

Seasonal selections for winter include casseroles, lamb on the bone as there's a bit more of an emphasis on the slow-cook products.

Whereas summer is more barbeque type meats and is mostly kebabs, sausages and chops.

In addition to the traditional meat products they also offer more game meats including geese, rabbit, quail, deer, kangaroo, crocodile and free-range duck purchased from Wagin Duck and Game.

There is also a wide selection of smallgoods, which are made in-house and they offer a range of fresh fruits and vegetables, which are sourced from Bickley Valley and Roleystone.

"I have two brother-in-laws and they both have orchards so a lot of it we source from them,'' Mr Caltanisetta said.

"In terms of small-goods our ham is especially popular with customers."

The number of butcher shops has decreased from eight in Kalamunda to just Sebastian Butchers.

Supermarkets are the main competition for local butcher shops but Mr Caltanisetta said that butchers provide a higher quality, fresher product that can't be replicated in the supermarkets.

"Cleanliness and freshness is the main thing for us," he said.

Supermarkets having times of low stock as a result of lockdowns over the past year, meant customers had re-discovered butcher shops.

This has seen Sebastian Butchers gain return customers and since last year, Mr Caltanisetta said customers kept coming back and business hadn't slowed down.

"You don't really want to admit it because it has been disastrous for many people but it has definitely brought in more business for us and it hasn't stopped,'' he said.

"It brought people back to butchers."

Lockdowns also meant people have had more time to spend cooking.

"People were at home more so they might have wanted to slow-cook or do something that they wouldn't usually cook," Mr Caltanisetta said.