It is a "Dream" come true for the morning food market in Brussels. Since last September, Dream (Distribution et Recuperation d'Excedents alimentaires a Mabru) which stands for the distribution of excess food at the Mabru market in Brussels, is working to distribute over one tonne of fruit and vegetables which would otherwise go to waste. The food is delivered to associations in need. It's an initiative that we at Food and Wine Gazette would like to highlight because it shows how creative solutions can be found to combat the problem of food waste. RTFB reported today that every morning at 6am, the partners of the Dream project Mabru and the CPAS, the Social Services association in the Brussels region, collect over a tonne of fresh unsold fruits and vegetables. These are sorted, repackaged and then made available to associations in need through a technological platform. The associations place their orders and the packages are distributed to these associations which help to feed … [Read more...]
Senzanome (Brussels): Possibily the best Italian meal outside Italy
Italian restaurants outside Italy can sometimes be hit and miss. While many tend to be good, they are not exceptional. Italian restaurants, especially those outside Italy tend to adapt to the culture of the country they are based in making them far less authentic. Senzanome is the flagship Italian restaurant in Belgium and especially in the Belgian capital Brussels. Giovanni Bruno, of Sicilian origin, has been cooking since the 1980s and has taken over from his parents who opened the restaurant in 1991. Since 1997, he has been at the helm of the restaurant and achieved an unexpected Michelin star in 2004. It has since then gone from strength to strength and was voted the best Italian restaurant outside Italy in 2011 and 2012. That is no easy feat given the number of Italian restaurants that exist worldwide. I've been wanting to try this restaurant for a very long time despite the fact that I had heard mixed reviews about the restaurant. Some really raved about the restaurant … [Read more...]
25,000 attend the Salon du Chocolat in Brussels
Nearly 25,000 visitors made it to the Salon du Chocolat which took place over the past weekend at the Brussels Expo in the Belgian capital. The event, in its third anniversary brought together nearly 110 participants to showcase and honour Belgian chocolate craftsmanship in all its forms. In addition to the exhibitors, there were also conferences, demonstrations as well as workshops providing opportunities to visitors to learn more about chocolate and also how to use it. Among the Belgian brands taking part were the iconic Neuhaus, Godiva, Galler and Leonidas as well as the artisanal chocolatiers like Laurent Gerbaud, Joost Arijs, Jean-Philippe Darcis, Benoît Nihant, Didier Smeets and Herman Van Dender, who also shared their expertise and showed off their new creations. Among the newcomers to look out for were Euphrasie Mbamba from Sigoji, Lexane Madessis from L'Arbre a Bilous and Tom Vanthemsche from The Cacao Tree. The event kicked off on Thursday evening with the traditional … [Read more...]
Spectacular start to Brussels Salon du Chocolat
The 2016 edition of the Salon du Chocolat took off to a spectacular start yesterday evening with the now traditional chocolate fashion show. Belgian designers joined forces with chocolatiers to create spectacular outfits which were paraded by television and radio personalities from Bel RTL. Among the chocolatiers that created the outfits were Didier Smeets, Ducobu, Leonidas, Van Dender, Valentino, Jean Philippe Darcis, Philippe Close, alderman for tourism for the City of Brussels said this was the third edition of the Chocolat du Salon and it was great that French living in Switzerland had created such an event. "Brussels and Belgium needed an event like this particularly when the country is known for waffles, beer and chocolate," he said. Mr Close added that chocolate and patisserie have become very important for the Belgian economy. "Chocolate is Belgium's caviar," he said. Sylie Douce, one of the two organisers and founders of the event said that this promised to be a … [Read more...]
Salon du Chocolat taking place in Brussels this weekend
The third Salon du Chocolat in Brussels will take place this weekend from Friday 5th to Sunday 7th February in Hall 1 of the Brussels Expo. The event promises to be a celebration of Belgian chocolate. Two Belgian chocolate makers have prepared something special for the salon. Joost Arijs and Didier Smeets are considered to be two of the rising stars in the world of Belgian chocolate. Over 30 chocolatiers from the commercial to boutique shops will be present for what promises to be a great gastronomic event. Arijs, who has recently opened a second shop in Antwerp (the first one can be found in the city of Gent) has created a matcha tea macaroon. "For the Salon du Chocolat, I wanted to create an amazing macaroon which was totally out of the ordinary," he said. Didier Smeets, who represented Belgium at the Milan Expo in August last year created a praline that he will be offering until Valentine's Day. It is ironically called 'Le Solitaire'. This year, the Salon du Chocolat in … [Read more...]
Two Belgian restaurants The Jane and La Villa in the Sky jump to 2 stars in 2 years
Two Belgian restaurants, The Jane in Antwerp and La Villa in the Sky in Brussels were awarded 2 Michelin stars when the new results for Belgium and Luxembourg were announced on Monday 14 December. Both restaurants have been open for less than 2 years and got their first star within less than a year of their opening. The Jane, by former 3 Michelin star chef Sergio Herman and chef Nick Bril, has been winning accolades for its stunning food and design since it opened last year in a former church in Antwerp. It is considered to be one of the most stunning restaurants in the world and has also made it to the front cover of a book called Let's Go Out Again which features interiors of restaurants, bars and unique food places. La Villa in the Sky by chef Alexandre Dionisio in Brussels was in the news last year because it was awarded a star despite only having been open for a few weeks when the guide was issued. The reason for this was that the chef had moved together with his team from … [Read more...]
Third edition of Salon du Chocolat to be held in Brussels in February
The third edition of the Salon du Chocolat will take place in Brussels between the 5th and 7th February 2016. The event will bring together over 80 participants including chocolatiers, patissiers, confectioners, chefs, pastry chefs, designers and cocoa experts. It will be held at the Palais 1 of Brussels Expo. This year's theme is 'Cocoa Expressions, Chocolate Impressions' and will focus on current trends in the world of chocolate and pastry. It will put to the fore what is avant grade and creative in the field of chocolate. There will be recipe demonstrations by some of Belgium's best chefs, pastry chefs and master chocolatiers. These include among others Brussels based Christophe Hardiquest (Bon Bon), Maxime Collin (Villa Lorraine), Alexandre Dionisio (la Villa in the Sky), Sang-Hoon Degeimbre (L'Air du Temps and San) and Benoit Dewitte (Benoit et Bernard de Witte) among others. They will be teaming up with the likes of Van Dender, Fabrice Collignon, Joost Arijs, Paul Wittamer … [Read more...]
‘Nocturnes du Sablon’ in Brussels to take place as planned
It has not been an easy week for Brussels. From Saturday morning, the capital city has been in lockdown because of a heightened risk of terrorist attacks. It has meant closed shops, schools and metro amid the highest threat level for the Belgian capital city. But from today, the situation has slowly started to return back to normal with the reopening of schools and the metro despite this heightened threat level. Large scale events have been cancelled. But last night, the organisers announced that the Nocturnes du Sablon, which has been organised for more than 20 years, will take place as planned between Thursday 26 November and Sunday 29th November with increased security. Since four years, this event is organised with the participation of the Culinaria Agency which is famous for the annual Brussels Culinaria event. Some of the top names in Brussels and beyond have confirmed participation for this weekend's event. The chefs taking part are Alex Joseph (Rouge Tomate), Axel … [Read more...]
Three Michelin star restaurant in Belgium to close its doors next year
Three Michelin star chef Geert Van Hecke has announced the closure of his restaurant De Karmelit in Bruges in autumn 2016. The chef is the second high-profile Belgian chef to announce he will be closing his restaurant after the announcement by Kobe Desramaults last month that he would be closing In De Wulf. Both chefs will continue to cook. Van Hecke, who will be 60 next year, will close the restaurant that has held three Michelin stars since 1996. The chef announced his decision today to the Belgian press. Originally it was meant to coincide with the publication of the Michelin Guide 2016 for Belgium and Luxembourg but this was postponed following the shocking incidents in Paris last Friday. Belgium currently has three Michelin star restaurants, Hof Van Cleve, Hertog Jan and De Karmelit. There have been rumours on social media that a new three Michelin star restaurant would be announced at the launch of the new guide but this has not yet been confirmed. Van Hecke said … [Read more...]
Too cheap to be true: One out of three fish bought in Brussels is not what consumers have paid for
DNA tests carried out by Oceana have found that 31.8% of all fish served in Brussels has been mislabelled. But the figure reaches a shocking 95% for bluefin tuna. Oceana carried out DNA testing on 280 fish samples collected from major restaurants and EU institution canteens in Brussels. Tests focused on commonly served fish species like cod, sole and bluefin tuna. The samples, which were analysed by the Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics from the Catholic University of Leuven, found 31.8% clear cases of mislabelling based on information gathered from either the menu or from restaurant staff. More than 77% per cent of samples were taken from popular restaurants in the EU district and the city centre. The results indicate that there is widespread mislabelling in Brussels. There is 95% fraud when it comes to bluefin tuna which is normally substituted by cheaper and more common yellowfin tuna in 72% of cases and the overfished bigeye tuna in 22% of cases. There … [Read more...]