Moncton Couple’s New Business Will Help You Up Your Charcuterie Game
MONCTON — Husband and wife duo Luc and Emily Doucet aim to bring unique flavours and a better sense of human connection to the Moncton area through their new business, Black Bord.
Black Bord offers uniquely flavoured jams and jellies that aim to bring your cheese and charcuterie boards to a new level.
Emily said the pair developed a bond over charcuterie and cheese boards, which gave them a chance to enjoy the time they spent together on top of what they ate.
“You can’t really eat a charcuterie board quickly – it’s something that you have to take your time with,” said Emily. “We were always going with the same types of jams and jellies and whatnot, so we wanted to do something that was a bit different and take the classics but put a spin on it.”
Emily said the company’s name is a nod to her family’s Dutch background, explaining that the word ‘bord’ means plate in Dutch. When she was younger, she’d ask her parents to make her a plate, which mainly consisted of a variety of cheeses.
“We wanted something that was kind of representative of both of us, and that just seemed to fit properly,” said Emily.
Luc, the CEO and executive chef at Black Rabbit Restaurant on St. George Street, developed Black Bord’s four flavours. Tastes range from a blueberry mojito; a mix of strawberry with cardamom; a combination of peach and jalapeno, and one with pineapple, vanilla and ginger.
The couple wanted to make the experience as accessible as possible, with prices sitting around $7 per jar. And while the products “aren’t your grandma’s jam,” Luc said they were easy to put together. The main challenge was figuring out how to make batches of 100 per flavour.
“It was a bit tricky,” said Luc.
Luc said the pair hopes to develop a “culture of eating.” It stems from the restaurant where diners are encouraged to disconnect from their phones to reconnect. He and Emily also want to give people the chance to entertain friends and family in their own homes.
“A lot of us have been lost in bingeing Netflix and bingeing our phones, so our goal is to disconnect from that and help people find their way back to the conversations with their friends,” said Luc.
Black Bord held its soft launch earlier this month outside The Arches of St George, where Luc and Emily could engage with the public and drive a conversation on social media. The popup stand received a warm welcome, selling around double the amount they expected.
“I think people are realizing that we can make our homes a nice entertaining place and a lot of people are doing things in their own kitchens,” said Emily. “It’s nice that people have different outlets and are finding ways to do this amongst themselves.”
Black Bord products are available through Les Goumandes on Main Street. With less than two weeks away until its official launch, interested jam lovers can find more details on Black Bord’s website.
But in the meantime, Luc and Emily have been posting cocktail recipes – among others – to Black Bord’s social media accounts so local foodies can try them out and experiment with different combinations that aren’t “just typical.”
“We’ve actually seen a few people who have posted that they’ve tried it, which is really cool,” said Emily. “It’s nice to see that people are going out and trying that, and it’s nice to see our work out there.”
Aaron Sousa is a summer intern for Huddle. Send him story suggestions: [email protected].