CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- At the Richmond Ice Zone in Chesterfield County, there wasn't an ice skater in sight, but there were blades on the rink; only these blades were being used for cutting meat.
Texas Roadhouse borrowed the frigid venue on Tuesday for its annual meat-cutting competition.
The competition pulls some of their best meat cutters from across the Commonwealth behind the counter to test their mettle against each other.
"There are 16 meat cutters here today from across the state. From Roanoke and Christiansburg, all the way to Virginia Beach, Richmond, and Fredericksburg," Texas Roadhouse Market Partner Jim Farruggio said.
Farruggio said the cutters were graded on the quality of their meat cuts in addition to their speed.
Each cutter had to prepare a full aluminum tray of steak in a variety of styles.
"It's got to be a certain weight, thickness, quality, and yield. That's what we look at," Farruggio said. "As far as I know we're the only company that does this right now and to make such a big deal out of taking care of these guys and rewarding them on what they do is everything."
Bragging rights were definitely on the line, but Farruggio said there is a lot more at stake than simply cutting steak.
"The three best out of this bunch will go to another competition in Nashville and there's another one after that in Florida," said Farruggio "We're looking for as a company to find the top 20 in the whole company and the winner will get $25,000."
Among the 16 cutters is James Wisecarver who made the three-hour trek all the way from Winchester. He's been with the Texas Roadhouse for over 10 years.
Wisecarver was one of the first in his field to finish his meat cuts.
"It takes a lot of talent and dedication," Wisecarver said. It's a game of inches and ounces."
Wisecarver said the precision of the cuts he and his competitors displayed was no different than what they do in the kitchen every single day. He said being able to cut away as much of the inedible portions as possible without losing the meat ensured that the company eliminated waste.
"We try to cut it down to the ounce so that we get the most yield out of each product so that the customer actually gets what they're paying for in addition to getting a quality steak," Wisecarver said.
Twenty-year meat-cutting veteran Jose Lemus knows all about quality.
Farruggio said Lemus has made it to the larger competition multiple times and was seen by many of the other cutters on the rink as the one to beat.
"I want to win!," Lemus laughed. "I've been cutting for 20 years so we will see what happens today!"
"It all makes me really happy. We know that they have a chance to win a lot of money but in addition to that we have a lot of pride in what we do, and we love supporting them and helping them," Farruggio said.
Farruggio said a portion of the meat prepared will go to the employees of the ice rink, with the rest going to local charitable organizations in need.
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