BONNEAU: BUTCHERY IS IN THE BLOOD $0--&$5*7*5 r$0..6/*5:
ANDREW COPPOLINO andrewcoppolino@gmail.com
You might say that the Bonneau family has the butcher’s craft in its very DNA: Benoit Bonneau’s great-grandfather and grandfather were both butchers in Quebec and his father, Jean-Guy, who moved to Ontario in 1971, taught him the noble and venerable trade. “I grew up in this business. I learned by XPSLJOHXJUINZGBUIFSBOEVODMFT :WBOBOE Claude. I like to say that I learned to walk at a young age in a butcher shop,” says Bonneau, 46, owner-operator of Alfred-based Boucherie #POOFBV.FBU4IPQXIJDIPQFOFEUISFF years ago. That was just before the pandemic came crashing in, but the fact that the business is FOUJSFMZPOMJOFBOECZEFMJWFSZ GSPN)BXLFT - CVSZUP0SMFBOT IBTWFSZMJUUMFUPEPXJUI UIFTPDJBMEJTUBODJOHBOEDPNNFSDJBMQJWPU many companies had to execute from their original brick-and-mortar operations. “I actually had been thinking about this NPEFMMPOHCFGPSF$PWJEIJU u#POOFBV says. “But certainly, people got used to online shopping.” The business model is a simple one, and IFBEETUIBUUIFDVTUPNFSEFNBOEQSPWFE UPCFUIFSFWJTJUUIF#PVDIFSJF#POOFBV website and place an order for beef, pork BOEDIJDLFOCZ'BDFCPPL.FTTFOHFS FNBJM or by telephone. #POOFBVTFMMTJOEJWJEVBMGSP[FODVUTBOE pre-made ready-to-cook packages; if you place the order early enough in the morning, JUTQPTTJCMFZPVDPVMEUBLFEFMJWFSZMBUFSUIBU day, he says, if the timing is right. )FTPVSDFTIJTNFBU NVDIPGJUGSPN local farms in the area, from processors located in Quebec. Boucherie Bonneau will also cut and pro- cess beef, pork and lamb for local producers selling on-farm or at markets. Their website notes that they also butcher “wild meat” EVSJOHSFTQFDUJWFIVOUJOHTFBTPOT As a side bar that notes the long history PGUIFUSBEF UIFXPSECVUDIFSFWPMWFEGSPN UIFPSJHJOBMiCPVDIJFSTuPG.FEJFWBM'SBODF who slaughtered only goats and sold the meat – the word “boc” meaning he-goat – VOUJMCVUDIFSTDBNFUPQSPDFTTBMMWBSJFUJFT of meat as they do now. For Bonneau, with only three employees, he explains that he set up his business in BXBZUIBUBMMPXTIJNUPCFJOWPMWFEJOBMM its aspects, perhaps like those bouchiers PGT1BSJT i*MJLFEPJOHUIFEFMJWFSJFTBOEUBMLJOHUP people but also working on new recipes and trying new things out. When you’re in a big CVTJOFTT ZPVDBOUEPFWFSZUIJOH uIFTBZT #FFGJTEFMJWFSFEUP#POOFBV ESZBHFE GPSUISFFXFFLTBOEUIFOWBDVVNFETFBMFE NBLJOHJUBCPVUEBZTBHFE)FTFMMT SBOEPNXFJHIUJOEJWJEVBMTUFBLTPSRVBSUFS beef. If you want a two-inch-thick T-bone, Bonneau will cut you one. In another Boucherie sales category, and while they say one ought not ask how the sausage is made, Bonneau proudly says that in Eastern Ontario, he probably makes more sausages than just about anyone – roughly UISFFEP[FOWBSJFUJFT The shop breaks down the pork, trims it, grinds it and makes the sausage; plain WBSJFUJFT m CSFBLGBTU TBVTBHF BOE NJME *UBMJBOmZJFMEUPNPSFFYPUJDáBWPVSTPG #SB[JMJBODIVSSBTDP KBMBQFÒPBOEDIFFTF and red curry and coconut.
Benoît Bonneau shows off one of his frozen mixed-meat boxes. (Andrew Coppolino)
IBWFBMXBZTDPOWFOUJPOBMMZEPOF QFSIBQT GPSIVOESFETPGZFBSTUIFZTFSWFDVTUPNFST who care where their meat come from and are willing to pay a bit more for it. But the corollary is that customers are likely eating a bit less. “For some people, that is the reality. But there is a lot of interest and appreciation for the butcher’s trade,” says Bonneau adding UIBUJDPOJDàHVSFTMJLFCVUDIFSBOEBDUJWJTU %BSSJP$FDDIJOJJO$IJBOUJ *UBMZ BSFWFSZ popular and “good for the trade.” The reality hasn’t pre-empted Bonneau from looking ahead either: he admits that he is getting busy – three years of growth IBWFFTUBCMJTIFEUIBUGBDUmBOENBZIBWF to consider hiring extra staff to keep up with demand and ensure the sustainability of the
CVTJOFTTBOEUIF#POOFBVi%/"u “I don’t want to get too big. I want to be BCMFUPUPVDIFWFSZUIJOHJOUIFCVTJOFTT u he says. “Of course, I want employees to be able to do the job when I’m not there. And getting young employees would be good for the future of the meat shop too.” Visit www.boucheriebonneau.ca to learn more about how to order Boucherie Bonneau products. Food writer Andrew Coppolino lives in Rockland. He is the author of “Farm to Table” and co-author of “Cooking with Shakespeare.” Follow him on Instagram at @andrewcoppolino.
i8FUSZPVUOFXáBWPVSTSFHVMBSMZ*GXF feel they work, we make them,” says Bon- neau. “We’re also doing nine or ten kinds of chicken wings. They’re something that’s WFSZQPQVMBSUPPu The recipes and ingredients are all well and good, according to Bonneau, and while they can make or break a sausage, it is the RVBMJUZPGUIFQPSLBOEIPXJUJTQSPDFTTFE and ground by the butcher that will determine the taste, texture and appearance that ends up on your fork. “We use natural casings for our sausage. *UTNPSFFYQFOTJWF CVU*UIJOLUIFRVBMJUZJT CFUUFS uIFTBZTPGXIBUFOWFMPQTUIFNPSTFM The reputation of this small producer has made its way into the wider business com- munity: Boucherie Bonneau was a finalist in the “independent worker” category at the (BMBPG&YDFMMFODFBXBSETPGUIF1SFTDPUU 3VTTFMM%FWFMPQNFOU$PSQPSBUJPOJO In the sphere of food consumption across populations, if you examine the broader trends, including at restaurants, customers IBWFCFDPNFNPSFBXBSFPGUIFJSFBUJOHBOE dining habits: they’re simply ordering fewer meat-focussed dishes, and therefore cooks are preparing fewer. It’s a fact that Bonneau appreciates HJWFOUIFOBNFPGIJTCVTJOFTTJODMVEFT the phrase “meat shop.” )PXFWFS IJTMPOHFYQFSJFODFJOUIFCVTJ - OFTTUFMMTIJNUIBU DPNQBSFEUPUIFNBTTJWF RVBOUJUJFTPGDPNNPEJUZNFBUTUSVDLFEJOUP grocery stores from across the country, the MPDBMRVBMJUZPGIJTCVUDIFSZDBSSJFTBDFSUBJO weight. i1FPQMFLOPXNFBOEIBWFDPOàEFODF in me. I put my name, my reputation, on the packages,” he says. *UTOPUBQPMMZBOOJTIWJFXCVUSBUIFSPOF that expresses what smaller butcher shops
LES CHEVALIERS DE COLOMB D’ALFRED DONNENT 4 500$ POUR LA RÉSIDENCE
Les Chevaliers de Colomb d’Alfred ont donné 4 500$ à la Fondation de la Résidence Prescott- Russell dans le cadre de la campagne de financement Soulève-moi, visant à amasser 1M$ pour l’achat de 204 moteurs pour lève-personne de marque Maxi Sky, au coût de 3 300 $ par unité. Les Chevaliers d’Alfred ont d’ailleurs fait appel aux autres groupes dans la région à faire un don monétaire à la campagne de financement de la résidence. (Photo fournie)
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