A boentje, in Brussels speech: a soft spot.
The house pig. Free-range pigs, bought whole from the Porc Qualité Ardenne cooperative. Almost all the charcuterie of the house starts here, in Temmy's hands. Boentje also means little bean. Check the sign above the door.
Where it comes from
We work with Porc Plein Air: pigs outdoors full-time, on pasture. There is no stall. The farmers grow most of the feed themselves, lucerne included, and the group stays together. A pig that needs antibiotics leaves the scheme. Ben picks each Boentje for its cover of fat and its build. Slaughtered at the co-operative's own abattoir in Malmedy, close to the farms. This is how pigs were always raised.
The whole animal
A pig is far more than chops and bacon. We work the whole animal, from head to tail and trotter to belly. The charcuterie and the sausages, the pâté and the rillettes, all of it comes from the same pigs you buy as fresh meat. Nothing is wasted.
What makes it special
The trade slaughters a pig at six to nine months. Ours live over a year, outdoors, and you taste it: darker, firmer meat, with real fat. The ageing is ours; pork too hangs a week or two. Small batches, no rush.