Kobe Desramaults, one of the most internationally recognised Belgian chefs, has announced he will close his restaurant In de Wulf in December 2016.
Speaking on a radio programme on Studio Brussel yesterday, Desraumaults said “I am 35 years old and I have been working hard in this restaurant for 12 years. It is now time to reflect on what to do next,” he said. “I have given my all for the past 12 years at In de Wulf. I would have to be mad to continue doing the same thing,” the Flemish chef said.
The Flemish chef created one of the top destinations in the world for foodies (it was number 1 in the Top 100 European list of Opinionated about Dining in 2014 and 4th in 2015) in the ‘middle of nowhere’ in Dranouter.
In De Wulf, which has a Michelin star, and which disappeared from the 51-100 list in the 50 World’s Best Restaurant list this year, has been Kobe’s focus for the past 12 years.
Desramaults, who also has two restaurants De Vitrine and De Superette (also a bakery) in Gent, has not announced any further plans though he said he had lots of ideas. He simply does not remain wedded to the same place (Dranouter) any more.
His Michelin starred restaurant in Dranouter, a village in West Flanders on the border with France has become a major culinary destination because of the unique style of cuisine without classic dishes or traditional sauces.
When he announced that he had not made it to the top 100 list of the World’s 50 Best restaurant earlier this year, Kobe said all the people at In De Wulf have been pushing very hard for the last years and he cannot explain why or how this happened. “What I know for sure is that I have never before worked with a bunch of people so passionate, caring and so striving for perfection.”
When we interviewed Kobe last year, he explained how he would work day and night to turn the restaurant around. “My mother gave me one year to turn it around. She told me that if I was not successful after one year she would shut it down. So I worked day and night. I really worked day and night. We were two people in the kitchen and we worked from 8am to 2am again and again and just kept going. Sometimes I worked even through the night. I still remember those nights. I still remember when after a dinner service, I went back to the kitchen to start preparations for the next day, only to leave the restaurant, look out to the fields and watch the sun rising. I would just have a coffee and then continue to work. It was too much. But after a year we started to get good press and the tide started to turn,” Kobe said. “People started to come and the word started to spread.”
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