For seven generations the Princi family has been working in the butchering industry, both in Italy and in Perth. The Perth chapter of the family tradition started when Pasquale Princi immigrated to Australia in the early '50s and immediately took up a butcher’s job in Osborne Park. He opened his first store on the corner of Fitzgerald and Newcastle streets in Northbridge in the early 60s before moving the business and his young family to Fremantle. Pasquale’s son Joe, who now heads the family business, remembers those days well. In fact, Joe first picked up a butchering knife in his dad’s butcher shop at age three and despite a few years working in an associated industry, hasn’t put down the tools of his trade. The life of a butcher came naturally to Joe who left school at Year 7 to work in the shop and take up an apprenticeship. By the young age of 18 he had taken over the store and hasn’t looked back since. While the meat industry may be the family industry, it has been Joe’s passion to inject the flavour and love back into the product he serves. In recent years, Joe has been at the helm of Fremantle based Princi Food Services’ refocus to bring back the farming, flavouring and aging techniques of his forefathers. It has been the successful mix of entrepreneur and traditionalist that has taken Joe and Princi Food Services from butcher to meat master – winning dozens of awards across Australia and earning him the reputation as a pioneer among his peers.
