BRUSSELS: Christophe Hardiquest, chef of two Michelin star Brussels restaurant Bon-Bon had to adjust over the past few weeks. After taking a two week rest following the forced closure of the restaurant, together with Rob The Gourmet market, the Brussels foodie supermarket par excellence, he started to prepare food for hospital staff on a daily basis using produce that was about to expire.
Now, his sous-chef Adrien Cunnac has also joined helping Rob’s prepare food for the homeless using the same material.
This has led to a new collaboration and something that Christophe wants to retain even after the lockdown.
“This week, I am proposing three different dishes at Rob The Gourmet Market . One is stuffed tomatoes with oxtail and olives (see picture), the second dish is quinoa meatballs with red beet and lovage (all local ingredients) in a tomato sauce and the third is a classic of his from around 15 years ago which is home made pasta (Cannelloni) stuffed with a garlic, parsley, breadcrumbs, parmesan and shellfish and a gratin of shellfish sauce. I am pleased to be able to offer some of my classic dishes in this way and so far the response has been very good,” he told Food and Wine Gazette.
Christophe Hardiquest’s dishes are available at Rob’s from Monday to Saturday.
Christophe is using this time to cook and to think about the future of the restaurant business (see interview tomorrow).
“Today, I am in the kitchen from 7am to 7pm to prepare the dishes for Rob’s but I also use the time to prepare the new menu at Bon Bon for the reopening. I believe that it is essential to be in movement and to continue to work on different projects even if these are not a lot. It is necessary both for the mind and the mood. I cannot stay at home and wait for the date of the restaurant open, just reading the newspapers or watching the news. I need to have something that keeps me busy,” he said.
[…] After having prepared the menu for the restaurant reopening, when this materialises, he started to prepare food for hospital staff in collaboration with Rob’s Gourmet market (see story here). […]