The publication of the results of the Michelin Guide for Belgium have been the subject of intense debate on social media and also in the Belgian media with critics hitting out for the difference in treatment of the different regions in Belgium. But Sang Hoon Degeimbre, chef of two Michelin star restaurant L'Air du Temps and the most representative chef of the Wallonia region in Belgium has said that he feels saddened by comments claiming injustice, differences, lobbying and even 'favouritism' for the Flemish region. "This saddens me. Instead of celebrating our culinary heritage and dynamism in our country, we focus on the differences between regions. Of course I believe in Wallonia and its talents, in the work of chefs and producers which I work to promote on a daily basis." While 14 new restaurants received a Michelin star in the new 2018 guide, 12 were in Flanders, 1 in the Brussels region and 1 in Wallonia. The three restaurants that were promoted to 2 stars all hail from … [Read more...]
Boury, Vrijmoed and La Source clinch 2 Michelin stars in Belgium
Michelin today released its guide for Belgium and Luxembourg and upgraded three restaurants to the 2 Michelin star category in Belgium. The Belgian city of Gent was in the spotlight with Vrijmoed of chef Michael Vrijmoed clinching two stars while Oak and Chambre Separee, the restaurant by Kobe Desramaults both getting 1 Michelin star. The other two restaurants that were promoted to two Michelin stars were Boury of Tim Boury in Roeselaere and La Source of Ralf Berendsen in Lanaken. Restaurant critics in Wallonia expressed their disappointment that their region seemed to have been forgotten by the red guide. In fact there was only one new Michelin star in Wallonia, the Bistro Racine in Braine-le- Château. The young chef of Altermezzo, Jo Grootaers, crowned a superb year. After winning the Flanders young chef of the year by Gault & Millau, he was also given the title by Michelin and his restaurant in Tongeren won its first star. The female chef of the year went to Kathleen … [Read more...]
Pastorale: The Belgian restaurant serving over 150 wines by the glass
It is now possible to go to a restaurant in Belgium and choose to try wines like Sassicaia or a Chateau LafiteRothschild by the glass. Since April this year, wine lovers have a unique opportunity at 2 Michelin star restaurant Pastorle, in Reek a few kilometres away from Antwerp. Chef and restaurateur Bart de Pooter told Food and Wine Gazette the restaurant is now serving over 150 wines by the glass for their guests. Using the Coravin system which keeps the wines at their very best even after they have been opened means that this is a win win situation for the restaurant and guests. This is still relatively unique in the restaurant world though Bart said that he first saw the system in Paris. "I saw the system at the restaurant of Yannick Alleno who was serving around 120 wines by the glass." "We thought a bit more about it and decided to offer different possibilities of serving even 8cl and 12 cl so that guests can enjoy two to three glasses of wine and still be able to … [Read more...]
Eric Fernez is the Gault & Millau Belgian chef of the year
Eric Fernez chef of d'Eugénie à Emilie is this year's Gault & Millau chef of the year. This was announced during the launch of the 2018 guide which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. The chef of the restaurant in Baudour, Bergen was given this award for his perfectly executed classic cuisine. The anonymous inspectors of the guide have visited and reviewed over 1,280 restaurants this year. Peter Goossens, the chef of Hof van Cleve has retained a 19.5 on 20 score for the 15th year in the row. He is the only chef to have achieved this result for 15 consecutive years. The other restaurant with the same score is Brussels restaurant Bon Bon by chef Christophe Hardiquest. The new restaurant by Kobe Desramaults in Gent Chambre Separee was awarded 17.5 points, the same score as D'Eugénie à Émilie, Nuance and the Chalet de la Forêt. Newcomers Zet'Joe by Geert Van Hecke and Hoorseele by Dany Hoorseele both got a 17 score. The young chefs of the year for Gault & Millau … [Read more...]
Gert de Mangeleer Unplugged, a collection of recipes to share in English released
Gert de Mangeleer, chef of three Michelin star restaurant Hertog Jan in Zedelgem, Bruges has just released his collection of recipes to share in a book called Unplugged in English. Originally published in Flemish, the book is now also available in English. “This is the first book in which I collected many of my favourite recipes. I never was really into sharing my recipes until now because my style of cooking evolves too much for that. Nor did I want to give people the impression that they could easily recreate the dishes we serve at Hertog Jan at home. Because they can’t. I cannot even do the things I do in my restaurant at home, because I neither have the kitchen equipment nor the team for it,” he says in the introduction to the book. Instead the book is accessible and presents a series of the tastiest dishes the Belgian chef has prepared for his family and friends in recent years. He says he gets inspiration for his dishes everywhere he goes and that is very visible in the … [Read more...]
San opens in Gent
Sang Hoon Degeimbre, Belgian chef of L' Air du Temps in Liernu and creator of two successful Brussels restaurants called San has opened the third 'San' restaurant in Gent this week. After the successful opening of the first San restaurant in the Brussels centre and the second one in the area of Sablon, the ‘bowl’ concept is now also open in the Flemish part of Belgium for the first time. This is the third restaurant San Degeimbre has opened in as many years and it is not excluded that he will also take the concept to other Belgian cities and also outside Belgium. The chef who will be responsible for the Gent restaurant is Joël Rammelsberg. The concept is the same. Food is served in a bowl and you eat with a spoon. The concept had been created during business lunches at two Michelin star restaurant L'Air du Temps. Each bowl reflects a destination and the bowls change each month. There are two menus served at San. The lunch menu costs €28 and includes a starter, a main … [Read more...]
A new ‘Standard’ for sourdough pizzas in Antwerp
At the repurposed PAKT site in Antwerp you will find the largest shared roof garden in Belgium. Measuring over 1800 square metres, it has a 200 metres squared greenhouse, 150 metres squared of hay and straw bale gardens, six chickens, 30 fruit trees, beehives and much more.The site has becoming a melting pot of creative business in renovated warehouses. It is now also home to 'Standard', a food outlet that is offering sourdough pizzas baked in a wood-fired oven and salads prepared with fresh, organic herbs and vegetables grown on the roof of PAKT. This is an ambitious city farming project on the roofs of the old industrial site between Lamorinièrestraat, the Groen Kwartier and Lange Leemstraat.The team behind Standard are aiming to set a new standard for sourdough pizza and salad. To develop the perfect sourdough - a process that began two years ago - they travelled to Italy several times. “We work with sourdough because it is easy to digest and does not contain sugar, which makes it … [Read more...]
Gert De Mangeleer reflects on ‘roller coaster’ trip to Japan to cook with Zaiyu Hasegawa, Hiroyasu Kawate and Yusuke Takada
Ask any chef whose been to Japan to speak about the quality of produce there and their eyes light up. Gert de Mangeleer, chef of Belgian top restaurant Hertog Jan is no exception. He's a regular visitor to the land of the rising sun, drawing lots of inspiration from the culture and cuisine and he could not say no when he was asked to reciprocate a visit of three Japanese chefs who visited his restaurant in Zedelgem in late August. In the span of two weeks in September, the Belgian chef cooked at three different top-end restaurants in Tokyo and Osaka. “It was a bit of a roller coaster experience because in two weeks I cooked at three restaurants and also cooked at the Belgian embassy. But it is also a great experience which inspired me in many ways,” he told Food and Wine Gazette. The Belgian chef started his trip to Japan in Tokyo cooking at the restaurant of Zaiyu Hasegawa, Den before cooking at Hiroyasu Kawate’s restaurant Florilège. He then made his way to Osaka where he … [Read more...]
Filip Claeys to cook with Christophe Pauly on 16 October
Christophe Pauly, chef of restaurant Le Coq aux Champs in Soheit-Tinlot, Belgium will be welcoming Filip Claeys, chef of the Bruges restaurant De Jonkman and the face of the collective North Sea Chefs for a special four hands dinner on 16 October. The dinner, the second in a series of three dinners being organised by the chef from Wallonia will be an unusual dinner which brings together 'the farm' and 'the sea'. This is because the chef, who has his restaurant in the middle of the Wallonian countryside will be inviting Bruges based chef Filip Claeys whose focus is mainly fish. Over the past years, Filip Claeys has been working to raise awareness about the need to use all the fish that are caught by fishermen and not just the ones which are fashionable. When he started, he lost 30 per cent of his customers in the process at his gastronomic restaurant but now, nearly 10 years after founding North Sea Chefs he has managed to convince many of Belgium's best chefs to follow … [Read more...]
Six hands dinner by Gert De Mangeleer, Zaiyu Hasegawa and Hiroyasu Kawate at Hertog Jan
When Zaiyu Hasegawa, chef of Tokyo restaurant Den came to Belgium to cook at Hertog Jan, the three Michelin star restaurant of chef Gert de Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens he came with a pan and a plan. He and Hirouasu Kawate, chef of Florilège challenged the Belgian chef to cook a Japanese style rice to accompany the main dish. The Belgian chef rose to the challenge and made a rice with cepes, marrow and snails which was one of those dishes that remains etched in your memories and which accompanied the pigeon from Steenvoorde and a dashi that was made by the two Japanese chefs. This was a splendid six hands dinner that Gert and Joachim hosted with the support of Visit Flanders and Arts Flanders Japan and which was aimed to raise awareness about this Belgian region. At the moment, the Belgian chef is reciprocating the visit with a trip to Japan where he is cooking at Florilege, Den as well as Yusuke Takada's La Cime in Osaka (the latter cooked lunch with Gert on the same … [Read more...]