Our Story
Owner/Operator Brianna Hagell decided to leave her boring office career in 2014 to pursue her passion of learning about food.
Early on she realized she didn't want to be a chef working in a restaurant so she decided she wanted to be the the person who supplied the best ingredients to the chefs. With her experience within the high-end reatail grocery and farm market industry the challenge of butchering was a natural progression in her path of learning.
She quickly realized that people are scared of their food, where it comes from, where it's grown, and how it got to their plate. No industry has done a better job at hiding those steps from the consumer than the meat industry.
Brianna started Vessel Meats at the Alderney Farmer's Market in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. After a few years providing her customers with high quality products in Dartmouth she set her sights across the harbour to Halifax and set up at the Alexander Keith's Brewery Market in 2019.
The next logical step, scary as it may have been, was to design, build, and open a retail shop. In late 2019 the building process began and finished early 2020.
Then Covid-19 rocked the world. Despite the trials and tribulations involved in expanding a small business during a global pandemic Brianna made it work. She built a team of wonderful individuals who all have the desire to provide the people of Nova Scotia with high quality, delicious products.
Now the retail location in Dartmouth is in full swing and constantly producing amazing cuts, delicious value added items, and innovative take and bake products.
Publications
Print Publications
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"Later, gator: Meat the Nova Scotia butcher who carved up an alligator on TV"
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"Buy local, eat local with Vessel Meats"
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"Vessel Meats brings artisinal butcher shop to Dartmouth"
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“Nova Scotia Meat Industry Hanging by a Thread"
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As Seen on TV
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“Women in Butchering: a 101 with Dartmouth’s Vessel Meats”
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The Butcher S01E01 on History Channel
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Stoked on Food S01E02 on Bell Media
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Women Now S02E02 on Eastlink Cable Television
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