Pastorale: the 10 corona commandments

REET: Pastorale, a two Michelin star restaurant in Reet, Belgium reopened earlier this week with 10 corona commandments, taking inspiration from the fact that the restaurant is housed in a former presbytery. The restaurant also has as an ozone generator in the cloakroom after 12 weeks closed due to COVID-19.

“As chefs, we are often challenged, but today we are being challenged in a way that we have never been before. I have a million questions: How will our sommelier present the bottles of wine? What about the live preparations in front of our customers? And will customers now have to get their own coat in the cloakroom? Those aspects used to be obvious, but suddenly they aren’t so obvious anymore and require a creative solution”, says chef Bart De Pooter.

The answer to the last question led to a solution, an ozone generator in the cloakroom. This generator disinfects the air and fights bacteria and viruses among other things. Apart from that the restaurant will have a personal menu for each customer, a huge amount of hand santizers as well as 10 written down corona commandments to guarantee a corona proof restaurant experience.

“We are not allowed to take the customer’s coat any more. That is why customers will be asked to hang their coat on a rack first, following which the coat will be hung in the cloakroom with an ozone generator. This generator will purify the air and then disinfect the room and the customer’s coats.

Transparent masks to ensure interaction with customers

“It’s obvious that the hygiene and social distancing measures will be part of the restaurant experience from now onwards. It is up to us to make sure that the measures don’t have a negative influence on the customer experience. To guarantee an exceptional service, we took the time during lockdown to look at every aspect of our service and think about how to make it coronaproof. The interaction with our customers is an important part of that. That’s why we choose to work with transparent masks, so that the facial expressions are guaranteed and so is communication with our customers,” said Bart.

In order to further guarantee a safe service, the whole team has been tested for COVID-19 and will be tested at least once a month.

The 10 corona commandments

Not only the staff, but also the customers have to follow a number of rules. Bart has incorporated these in what he calls the 10 corona commandments of Pastorale – a reference to the history of the former presbytery in which the restaurant is located. 

1.  You shall have no parking stress – there is a free parking next to Pastorale, on the street and on the ‘Brooikensplein’.
2. You will be warmly welcomed – doors are wide open for you.
3. You shall use hand sanitizer – when entering, during the meal and after each visit to the bathroom.
4. You shall not be bothered by the Belgian capricious weather – you will be able to hang your coat safely.
5. You shall be seated on disinfected tables and chairs – disinfected before and after each service.
6. You shall receive a personal menu – you can take it home as a souvenir.
7. You shall choose your favourite wine from a digital menu – disinfected before use.
8. You shall have enough napkins – you get two new ones during service.
9. You shall use disinfected sanitary facilities – disinfected every half hour. 
10. You shall preferably pay by card – though cash remains possible.