MONS: Tim Boury and his team have made it to the top of Belgian gastronomy, four years after receiving their second Michelin star. The young chef and his wife whose restaurant is in Roselare clinched three stars when Michelin published the Belgium and Luxembourg digital guide for 2022.
It was the second third Michelin star restaurant in a row for Belgium after last’s year’s award to Zilte in Antwerp and confirmed the rise of a new generation of chefs that are set to revitalise Belgium’s culinary scene in the next few years. He also joins the father of Belgian gastronomy Peter Goossens whose restaurant Hof van Cleve remains a reference with a succession of three Michelin stars as well as many accolades.
Three new restaurants made it to two Michelin stars. Colette in Averbode, Brussels institution La Villa Lorraine By Yves Mattagne in Brussels which finally clinched two stars after the former chef of Sea Grill moved to the iconic restaurant in the leafy commune of Uccle. The newly opened Hertog Jan at Botanic by Gert de Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens also clinched only eight months since opening their new restaurant in Antwerp.
The guide for Belgium and Luxembourg also awarded 16 restaurants with one Michelin star including three new places in Antwerp which remains the centre of gastronomy in Belgium. The three restaurants in Antwerp which clinched one star were Dim Dining, Fine Fleur and Nebo. Young talent Martijn Defauw of restaurant Rebelle also clinched one star as did Tinelle of Malines. 26 year old Ruben Christiaens of Vintage in Kontich earned his first star and as well as young chef of the year. The other new Michelin star restaurants are In den Gert, Sense, Fleur de Lin and Aurum by Gary Kirchens.
!Toma! in Liege by chef Thomas Troupin not only clinched the Michelin star but also was the only new Green star and joined the existing 10 Green star restaurants in Belgium. Quai n4 in Ath was the other new Michelin star restaurant in Belgium.
In Luxembourg, Ryodo and La Villa de Camille et Julien won a Michelin star.
The new guide also awarded 24 new restaurants with a Bib Gourmand.
Brussels comes out as the main loser from this year’s announcements. While the two Michelin star for La Villa Lorraine by Yves Mattagne did not come as a surprise given he had moved his team to a newly refurbished place with that ambition, the closure of Bon Bon at the end of next month as well as the loss of a star by another Belgian and Brussels institution Comme Chez Soi came as a bolt out of the blue though it was announced by book publisher René Sepul in the morning.
In a press statement Lionel Rigolet, his wife Laurence and their son Loic said they were very surprised to learn that the restaurant had been stripped of a Michelin star. They thanks their team, customers, friends and family for their unwavering support through good and bad times and said this is worth all the stars in the world. “Comme Chez Soi is first and foremost a house that likes to welcome people, to please them and to share as it has always been and will always be.”
Another two Michelin star restaurant that lost a star was Hosteller St-Nicolas in Elverdinge.
Brussels now has 11 one Michelin star restaurants after La Truffe Noire also had its one Michelin star removed. Other restaurants to lose their star includes L.E.S.S.
In total Belgium has three restaurants with 3 Michelin stars something that has eluded the country for a few years now following the closure of Hertog Jan in Zedelgem and Karmelite in Bruges.
In Belgium and Luxembourg there are 23 restaurants with 2 Michelin stars, 115 restaurants with one Michelin star, 11 restaurants with a Green star and 147 restaurants that have a Bib Gourmand.
All information is available on www.guide.michelin.com
The new stars
Three Michelin stars: Boury, Roeselare
Two Michelin stars: La Villa Lorraine by Yves Mattagne, Brussels, Hertog Jan at Botanic, Antwerp, Colette – De Vijvers, Averbode.
One Michelin stars: Dim Dining, Antwerp, Fine Fleur, Antwerp, Nebo, Antwerp, Vintage, Kontich, Rebelle, Marke, Tinelle, Mechelen, Aurum by Gary Kirchens, Ordingen, Hert, Turnhout, Sense, Waasmunster, In den Hert, Wannegem-Lede, Fleur de Lin, Zele, Quai no 4, Ath, !Toma!, Liege, Arden, Villers-sur-Lesse, Ryodo, Luxembourg, La Villa de Camille et Julien, Luxembourg.
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