SOUTH BEND — La belle vie. The good life.
When customers enter La Belle Vie Charcuterie Café, they’re met with sunlit seating, fresh floral arrangements and the warm smile of owner Monica Hoban or one of her staff members.
It’s difficult to ignore the rustic map of France along the wall or the vibrant lunches sitting on tables as customers chat with their friends and family.
In a way, the Charcuterie Café is Hoban’s retirement passion project, but it means so much more when she sees how her customers light up when she gets an order just right, she said.
“When we build a platter, it’s like a work of art,” Hoban said. “We had so many graduation parties over the weekend. I didn’t eat for three days, and nobody got any sleep,” she added jokingly.
Bienvenue en France
Hoban describes herself as a Francophile thanks to the year she and her parents spent in France when she was in first grade. While her American friends were learning phonemic awareness, Hoban was learning penmanship and thrown into the world of French.
“My parents put me in a French school, and I was 6 years old. I remember making stuff up because I didn’t know what it was,” Hoban said. “I speak French fluently, and I have a very good accent.”
After returning to America, Hoban’s parents enrolled her in the Stanley Clark School so she could catch up on important curriculum she missed. But that year in France stuck with Hoban throughout her life.
Hoban retired from the University of Notre Dame Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning and decided to open a small space at The Commerce Center on Colfax Avenue in 2022. With her daughter doing charcuterie as a full-time job in Fort Lauderdale and a background in cooking where she hosted a cooking segment at WNDU-TV for five years, Hoban decided to take a knack at creating a charcuterie café.
Her husband’s family owned a building on North Hill Street for around 80 years before they sold it to South Bend developer Frank Perri. Perri allowed Hoban to rent the building, and she moved her small shop “Boardgasm” from The Commerce Center to its own space. But a rebrand was needed after Hoban said she realized South Bend is “very conservative.”
Doing a French theme felt like a no-brainer, Hoban said.
From there, La Belle Vie Charcuterie Café was born, and Hoban said she believes her business outdoes any competition in the area.
“Our Boards are gorgeous. Our catering is off the charts,” Hoban said. “I just had a customer in this morning; we did her son’s graduation. They live in San Diego, but they own a South Bend home. We did a carving station with beef tenderloin. … Her husband called me the morning after the party and talked for half an hour, [saying] ‘We’re going to do this again, and I need to get on your books for football season.’”
Creating a work of art
Charcuterie café boards come in a variety of sizes: small, medium, large, extra-large and XXL. The smallest board can feed up to four people, Hoban said, while the largest can feed more than 25.
Every board gets meat, cheese, fruit and a flower. Kathleen Kobach is the mastermind behind the floral arrangements that are added to the charcuterie boards and said working at the café allows her to blend her two favorite interests.
Floral arrangements are, “something I’ve always been passioned for. It’s my happy space,” Kobach said. “I love to cook, and this is the perfect way to marry two of my loves together. It’s been so much fun to see how that has worked.”
Each board, whether it’s been created with the same ingredients or not, always looks slightly different, Kobach said. The layout of certain cheeses, fruits or seasonal ingredients allows each board to be its own unique work of art.
“There’s something very methodical about it and relaxing,” Kobach said. “It’s like putting together a painting. I want this color here or this there.”
Hoban said every board gets a mild cheese, and larger boards get cheese with a little more spice. Right now, the picante cheese is a cheddar with scotch bonnet chili peppers. Hoban said she tries her best to source her ingredients at local outlets such as Oh Mamma’s On The Avenue, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.
Smaller boards will get up to six cheeses while larger ones can get up to nine, Hoban said. Often, prosciutto or an Italian salami will accompany the cheese as well as crackers, bread and nuts. The café also offers beef or turkey salami for customers who don’t eat pork and gluten free options for gluten-sensitive clientele.
Catering to the customer’s needs
Beyond creating elaborate charcuterie boards, Hoban gets to play a part in some of the most important days in her customers’ lives.
For one specific customer, Hoban has done that family’s Christmas dinner for the past four years. Hoban has also contributed to the customer’s Thanksgiving meals and catered her grandchildren’s weddings.
“She knows exactly what she wants; She’s 81,” Hoban said. “Her husband pulled me aside either this past Christmas or at the last bridal shower, and he told me, ‘I just want to thank you because she still wants to do all of the entertaining, but she just can’t anymore. With you, she can, and I’m thankful for that.’”
While she enjoys making elaborate charcuterie boards, Hoban also appreciates her customers who simply stop in for coffee or a quick sandwich. The café’s menu includes breakfast options, sandwiches, soups and salads as well as what Hoban named “luxable charcuterie boxes”, which serve as a meal for one.
Whether a retired couple visits the café for lunch or a college student sets up shop at the café to study all day, Hoban hopes all her customers know they’re welcome to enjoy the beauty charcuterie has to offer or just the quiet, calm environment of the café.
“That’s our niche: To make food delicious but also beautiful,” Hoban said. “I’m happy that they feel comfortable here and spend time with us.”
La Belle Vie Charcuterie Café
● What: A charcuterie café with breakfast, lunch and catering opportunities.
● Where: 233 N Hill St, South Bend.
● Hours: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; Closed Saturdays through Mondays.
● Price: $4.50 – $290
● For more information: Call 574-340-2023 or visit its Facebook page.
If you know of a restaurant that should be featured in an upcoming Taste column, email Tribune staff writer for Taste Jessica Velez at jvelez@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: La Belle Vie Charcuterie Café turns cheese and meat into works of art
Reporting by Jessica Velez, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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