Award-winning Wetherby butcher 'determined to help more women into the profession'
A talented young butcher who works on a Wetherby farm is celebrating after winning two national awards.
Nikita Somma has been crowned Champion Meat Apprentice of the Year and Best Retail Butchery Apprentice 2025 at the Institute of Meat (IoM) and Worshipful Company of Butchers Annual Prizegiving.
The IoM judges cited Nikita’s impressive and composed performance at the Battle of the Butchers, along with her technical ability and creativity, as they announced the awards.
For the 24-year-old from Skelton on Ure, who works at Sykes House Farm at Moor Lane in Wetherby which has supplied restaurants for 50-plus years, the awards represent further recognition of her remarkable progress.
Last year she competed in the Battle of the Butchers at The Dalziel Apprentice Butcher Competition and came away with the Golden Cleaver award, along with the Best Innovative Lamb and Best Innovative Beef Product titles.
Increasing numbers of women are entering butchery but statistics, from Unionlearn in 2025, for example, show that around 90 percent of the workforce is still male.
That is something Nikita is determined to help change, and she has plans to start an educational platform that will support women in the industry and create equal opportunities for the next generation.
Speaking during National Butchers Week’ 2026, which runs until March 8, she said: “Winning the Golden Cleaver Award at the Great Yorkshire Show was a huge moment; competing against so many talented apprentices and being recognised was an honour.”
Nikita, who did her apprenticeship with Leeds City College where she was recently named the Apprentice of the Year in the Luminate Apprenticeship Awards, said she had found her apprenticeship “invaluable”.
“Learning alongside people my age and experimenting with different cutting techniques made me feel a lot more confident,” said Nikita who completed her 21-month apprenticeship in just 15 months.
“Apprenticeships provide invaluable learning opportunities, especially when employers may not have the resources to teach everything in-house.
"Being able to gain knowledge from tutors, peers, and practical experience is an amazing feeling.”
Leeds City College is a member of Luminate Education Group, whose members also include Harrogate College.