Kari Underly is an American

meat cutter A meat cutter prepares primal cuts into a variety of smaller cuts intended for sale in a retail environment. The duties of a meat cutter largely overlap those of the butcher, but butchers tend to specialize in pre-sale processing (i.e., reducing ...

and educator. She is also the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Range, Inc. located in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Underly has provided classes on how to butcher animals, including creating online training. She has also helped develop software and cuts of meat for the

National Cattlemen's Beef Association National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) is an American trade association and lobbying group working for American beef producers. Advertising campaign National Cattlemen's Beef Association is the group responsible for the ad campaign run in t ...

(NCBA). In 2011 she published ''The Art of Beef Cutting''.

Biography

Underly comes from a family of

s. Her maternal grandmother, Harriet Austin, owned a market with her husband and maintained her meat-cutter's license into her nineties. Her paternal grandmother, Cylia, worked as a

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...

on a farm during the Great Depression. Underly grew up in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

. Underly started her career by working in her father's butcher shop. Underly attended

Southwestern Michigan College Southwestern Michigan College is a Public college, public community college with its main campus near Dowagiac, Michigan. It also has a campus just outside the city limits of Niles, Michigan. History Southwestern Michigan College was founded ...

for two years. Then she worked at Martin's Super Market in South Bend, starting in 1988 and was eventually accepted into the apprentice meat cutter's program. Underly worked as an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

for three years. She did experience

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

at work, with some men refusing to train her. However, her ability to cut meat allowed her to make enough money to put herself through college. She graduated from

Indiana Wesleyan University Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) is a private evangelical Christian university headquartered in Marion, Indiana, and affiliated with the Wesleyan Church. It is the largest private university in Indiana. The university system includes IWU—M ...

in 1995. Underly started working with the

(NCBA) in 1997 to create pricing software for retailers. Later, she worked with NCBA to create new cuts of steak, including the

flatiron steak Flatiron or flat iron may refer to various things, often in the shape of a wedge: Objects *Clothes iron *Hair iron Places *Flatiron Building, New York City, at the intersection of 5th & Broadway **Flatiron District, New York City, named after ...

and the Denver Cut. In 2002, she started Range, Inc. in Fulton Market in

where she is the

. Underly has also taught classes on how to butcher animals. She developed online training. In 2011, she published a book, ''The Art of Beef Cutting'', which was a

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

finalist. The book deals with the basic principals of meat cutting and includes 450 color photos of each cut.

References

Sources

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External links

Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Underly, Kari American butchers Indiana Wesleyan University alumni People from South Bend, Indiana American women business executives Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American women