About Us

This is a fourth-generation butchery, beginning with great-grandfather Oupa Alexander and his brood of ten children. From this family came eight sons who all became butchers, and two daughters who did the butchery accounting… and married butchers!

Oupa’s grandson is Parker Kriel, now a beloved member of Darling’s Old Guard. He began life as a butcher when he was just 16 and founded Darling Meat Market in 1982.  Now in his late 70’s, Parker still works in the butchery on Fridays and Saturdays, and visits its smaller branch every day.

Stephen first joined the butchery, later joined by Kevin, and they eventually bought their father out. While Parker relinquished ownership those many years ago, his presence is very much felt, and can often be seen handing out biltong samples from behind the spotless counter.

The Kriel Brothers have been in the butcher business since they were pikkies. Kevin basically grew up on the counter of their butchery in Bonnievale, “My mom would put me in one of those little cradles on the counter, and when I cried one of the customers would come and rock me. And every high school holiday we would always help out in the shop.” His training began when he was around five years old, at the same time as Stephen himself was learning the trade as a young teenager. Leaving school they both travelled and did other work and studies, broadening their perspectives and seeing the world.

The brothers work well together, and their spirit of camaraderie can be felt in the shop. The mood at Darling Meat Market is consistent: busy, bustling, and you always get a friendly hello with one’s purchases. Kevin is more of the people person and customers can always count on him to answer any questions or just have a little chat. He says, “I love working with meat, it’s fun, and when you’re working with people there are never two days that are the same. It’s never monotonous. Always a new challenge, always a new question.”

Kevin’s hobby is competitive shooting, while Stephen’s is recipe development in the butchery, and making his own whisky at home. Stephen is a great recipe experimenter, working tirelessly to improve on their already top-shelf value-added products like hams, parmas and salami sticks. “It’s just my passion,” he says. “The original Darling Boerewors recipe was passed down from my grandfather. It is only more recently that we have had the fancier stuff, besides the basics of chops, wors and mince. I am always finding new recipes and playing around to amend our spice concoctions to get those egte Darling Meat Market flavors.”

Both men love living in and operating from Darling. But the buck has stopped and there are no more Kriel kids coming into the business. “It would be nice to have our sons carry on the legacy, but there are easier ways to make money. Its hard work, a lot of physical labor, you have to be in it for the love or the passion like we are, then there are better ways to make a living,” laughs Kevin.