Cedar Falls Meat Cutter Is One Of The Best In The Business

While so many people visit the popular chain Texas Roadhouse for the rolls. Others visit for the steak. Those that visit Texas Roadhouse in Cedar Falls get to enjoy the best the chain has to offer.

The Texas Roadhouse National Meat-Cutting Challenge kicks off today in Texas. The contest pins 30 of the chain’s best meat cutters against each other and among these cutters, is Rolando Ruiz from Cedar Falls.

Each of the contestants will receive 30 to 40 pounds of beef in the form of sirloin, rib-eye, and filet. The cutters will be judged on how much quality meat they can trim from the steak. The contestants will be cutting on ice in 38-degree temperatures to replicate the walk-in coolers they typically work in.

There are over 700 Texas Roadhouse locations, each with two meat cutters working. The 30 competing in the contest today are some of the best the restaurant has to offer. The winner will be dubbed “Meat Cutter of the Year” and receive a $25,000 prize.

According to the Waterloo, Cedar Falls Courier, Ruiz can get a “95 percent yield that turns ‘boulder of a steak’ into two pans of meat.” When a meat cutter is able to avoid excessive trimming, a lot of financial burdens are taken off the restaurant. That’s why this position is one of the most important jobs at the restaurant.

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In a one-to-two-day period, Ruiz can trim upwards to 16 sirloins. His ability helps get orders to tables fast, especially since he is typically the only cutter in the restaurant.

Ruiz has been working for Texas Roadhouse in Cedar Falls for 12 years, however, he’s only cutting meat for about a year.