BRUSSELS: Nick Bril, chef and owner of iconic Antwerp restaurant The Jane is the new Belgian chef of the year according to Gault & Millau which launched its 2023 guide today. The Dutch chef has crowned a year which has seen him climb the rankings of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, launch a music project and feature in a Brussels pop-up with this prestigious title.
“As a passionate chef, Nick Bril likes to lead his guests to a special experience. With an 18.5 rating, he has the gift as a chef of being innovative and in doing so he continues to reach exceptional levels. He has strengthened his position as one of the best chefs in the country and his cuisine of the highest level makes a dining experience at The Jane one of the best in the world,” said March Declerck, CEO of Gault & Millau in Belgium.
The chef of The Jane has been in the limelight over the past year not only for his work at The Jane and August, his second restaurant in Antwerp but also for his restaurant in Maldives, his collaborations including the Brussels pop-up with Lionel Rigolet of Comme Chez Soi and his music projects.
Gault Millau has also named the young chefs of the yer. These were Alexandre Ciriello of L’Horizon in Chaumont-Gistoux for Wallonia, Davy Devlieghere for Restaurant Julien in Lievegem for Flanders and Alexandre Sapco for La Bonne Chère in Brussels.
Four newcomers have been awarded by the guide in Flanders. These are Willem Hiele in Ostend, Misera in Antwerp, Atelier Gist in Geraardsbergen and Modest in Oudsbergen. All four achieve a score of 15 out of 20. For Wallonia the highest newcomer was La Grappe d’Or in Arlon with a score of 15.5 and for Brussels the highest newcomer was Ivresse with a score of 14.
Following the closure of Bon Bon, and therefore the removal from the guide (it closed in June this year), the guide has awarded three restaurants with an 18.5 score. These are Boury in Roeselare, The Jane in Antwerp and Zilte in Antwerp. The highest ranked restaurant in Belgium is Hof van Cleve followed by L’Air du Temps.
Other restaurants that improved their score were Ralf Berendsen in Lanaken at 18, Cuchara in Lomment and L’Eau Vive in Arbre at 17.5, Altermezzo in Tongeren, Castor in Bevernen-Leie, De Kristalijn in Genk, Sir Kwinten in Lennik, Toma in Liege and La Villa Lorraine by Yves Mattagne got 17 points while Le Cor de Chasse in Weris registered a 16.5 score.
In addition, as every year, the following thematic laureates were awarded:
Host of the Year: Serge Sierens (Hof Van Cleve, Kruisem)
Italian of the Year: Felicità (Waterloo)
Asian of the Year: Old Boy (Brussels – Ixelles)
The most beautiful terrace: Hoeve de Bies (Sint-Martens-Voeren)
The most beautiful restaurant design: La Grappe d’Or (Arlon)
Sommelier of the Year: Maxime Sanzot (Racines – Floreffe)
Dessert of the Year: Bozar Restaurant (Brussels)
Brasserie of the Year: Fortune (Kontich)
Gastro-bistro of the Year: Bistrot Blaise (Marche-en-Famenne)
Craftsman of the Year: Eric Fernez (d’Eugénie à Émilie – Baudour)
Vegetable Dish of the Year: Elements @ Indrani (Loupoigne)
Wine List of the Year: Paul de Pierre (Maarkedal)
Beer card of the year: Hop Gastrobar (Leuven)
The ‘price-pleasure ratio’ of the Year: Onism (Blankenberge) for Flanders, ÖTAP for Brussels and L’O de Source (Jalhay) for Wallonia.
The 3 discoveries of the Year: Côté Préféré (Jabbeke) for Flanders, Entropy for Brussels and Recto Verso (Ciney) for Wallonia.
Nearly 30,000 presale guides sold
Print is far from dead. Despite the success of digital, CEO Marc Declerck points out that Gault&Millau remains by far the Belgian-Luxembourg leader of the sector with almost 30,000 copies sold in pre-sale. For this, he once again thanks the loyal partners who make it possible to realize the guide, as well as the entire Gault&Millau team, which works every day to make the guide as realistic and objective as possible.
The Gault&Millau Belux guide 2023 will be available in bookshops from the middle of this week and costs 34 euros. It can also be ordered on the shop.gaultmillau.be website. On the website www.gaultmillau.be you can search for restaurants on the basis of various criteria.
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