Anica is a whole-animal butcher and founder of Bonjerk—an East Asian-spiced jerky company based in San Francisco.
She is a first-generation Chinese American. In the years of growing up in Kansas, where Asians were the minority, food was a means for her family to keep traditions alive and celebrate their Chinese culture. Her love for food, especially meat, led her to the realization that Good Meat was mostly absent from Chinese grocers in America.
Experimenting with jerky recipes became a way for Anica to rediscover and share flavors connected to her Chinese heritage with friends and family. In 2018, she started training as a whole-animal butcher and began her journey into the regenerative meat industry. Learning this craft has helped her to realize just how much work is required to get meat on our plates. It made her think about ingredients differently, the experience of eating food differently, and she was empowered by the control small farmers had over how the animal and land was treated. Alongside making some seriously delicious jerks, her hope is to be able to share her butchery skills, and help grow the support system for others, especially women, in food and agriculture.
Links:
From Farm to Canal Street by Valerie Imbruce*: https://amzn.to/3f3TCbF
Connect with Anica:
Try Bonjerk: https://bonjerk.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bonjerksnacks/
*This star is for affiliate links, which help me receive a small commission from your purchase. No pressure to buy anything. Thank you for the support :)
Discounts
- Get 10% off delicious local farm-fresh food delivered to your door with my link for FarmMatch: https://farmmatch.com/jane
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Connect with Jane Z.
- Instagram: @farm.to.future
- Email: jane@farmtofuture.co