Growing up in Hawaii, Kelly Kawachi enjoyed cooking with her grandma and auntie. “They were a big influence on why I like cooking,” she says. So when Kawachi moved to Grand Junction for college at Colorado Mesa University (then Mesa State College), she first thought about nursing, before trying her hand at culinary school. “I gave it a go and never looked back. It was so much fun taking classes and being in that environment. I felt like this is what I should be doing,” she shares.

Kawachi had found her path, and in 2023, this path led her to the summit of the culinary world as the first-ever MICHELIN Guide Colorado Culinary Professional Award Winner presented by Rémy Martin. In addition, Boulder’s Blackbelly Market, where Kawachi is head butcher, was also honored with a MICHELIN Green Star for sustainability.

After graduating from Colorado Mesa University with a culinary degree and a BA in business administration, Kawachi returned to Hawaii, where she worked as a sous chef at one of the top restaurants in Hawaii. Yet even in what many consider paradise, she couldn’t shake Colorado. “I missed the mountains, the open road, and snowboarding,” she recalls.

Ready to make a change, Kawachi drew upon positive experiences with whole-animal butchery and started googling, landing at Blackbelly Market, one of a handful of licensed whole-animal butcher shops in Colorado. As it sounds, whole animal butchery uses the whole animal “from snout to tail,” with a goal of eliminating waste and supporting local ranchers and suppliers.

“We get carcasses from nearby ranchers, take the meat off the bone, use the bones for stock, render the fat for tallow, use the meat for steaks, and the leftovers are trimmed and turned into ground meat or sausages,” Kawachi explains.

Looking back on the MICHELIN award, Kawachi says that the experience “still feels incredible and surreal.”

“We were asked to cater the awards event,” she explains, “so I thought we might get a nod. But I had no idea we’d win two awards.”

When asked how things have changed for her, Kawachi mentions the pressure of “knowing that people are watching,” while simultaneously sharing that her Instagram (@kk_akemi) has blown up as she has focused on getting the message out about sustainable meat.

“People want to see what we’re putting out. This helps our bottom line and our main goal of supporting ranchers through our work,” she adds. “It’s a big old circle.”

Originally published in the Spring 2024 issue of Spoke+Blossom.

Kelly Kawachi: Passion + Skill Leads Butcher To Top Michelin Colorado Honor