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Native New Yorker Jacquie Ottman’s family’s meat purveying business Ottman & Company was dubbed the “Tiffany of the Meat Business.” In this talk she will take us on a fascinating journey, starting when horse-drawn carriages delivered fresh meats to America’s finest hotels, restaurants, steamships, and wealthy families, to the days in the 1970s when advances in packaging and container ships enabled her family’s firm to purvey the finest meat in America to Saudi princes. Ottman & Company began in 1859 at NYC’s historic Fulton Market before settling into the West Washington Market in the now-famous Meatpacking District in 1918. Its history illuminates the story of New York City‘s Meatpacking District — including a deep dive into its architecture, Belgian block streets, and thriving street life — through the lens of her family’s fascinating journey. 

Jacquelyn Ottman is a member of the 5th generation of her family to work at Ottman and Company, a storied meat purveyor. She has presented the exciting experiences of her family, their business, and NYC’s now famed Meatpacking District to audiences across the country, authored 8 books, and is currently writing another. She advocates for zero food waste.