The owner of Villa Lorraine, Sergei Litvine, who took over the property in 2010 wants to restore the restaurant to its former glory. Passionate about cooking and gastronomy, this industrialist has taken over the restaurant as a way of following his passion and to fulfil his dream of owning a restaurant. But it is not any restaurant. Villa Lorraine, is one of the most famous restaurants in Brussels. It was the first restaurant to get 3 Michelin stars outside France in 1972. It held the three stars till 1984 before losing its sparkle during the 1990s and finally losing its one star in 2006. "It is my passion and was always my dream to own a restaurant. I never worked in the catering industry but rather in industrial food production which is completely different to the restaurant business. I have very fond memories of Villa Lorraine since the time that I used to come with my parents and even my grand-parents. There was an opportunity to take it over and I decided to buy it and … [Read more...]
Christophe Hardiquest’s Bon Bon set to join Les Grandes Tables du Monde
Bon Bon, the two Michelin star restaurant in Brussels of chef Christophe Hardiquest is set to join 12 other Belgian restaurants in the 'Les Grandes Tables du Monde' list, Pierre Wynants, the vice president of the association announced when he was speaking during a discussion on a recent book he co-authored on Belgium's culinary future earlier this week. Christophe Hardiquest will join the other Belgian chefs who are part of 167 restaurants in 24 countries worldwide. It will be the fifth Brussels based restaurant on the list following Jean-Pierre Bruneau (Bruneau), Laurence and Lionet Rigolet (Comme Chez Soi), Pascal Devalkeneer (Chalet De la Foret) and Yves Mattagne (Sea Grill). Brussels lacks a three Michelin star restaurant after Comme Chez Soi lost the third star upon the retirement of Pierre Wynants. Gault Millau awarded Bon Bon 19.5 out of 20 in its latest guide for Belgium and Luxembourg. This year, Belgian chef Sang-hoon Degeimbre (L'Air du Temps) joined the list … [Read more...]
Gault Millau changed cuisine to what we know today – Pierre Wynants (Comme Chez Soi)
Pierre Wynants, former three Michelin star chef of Comme Chez Soi, the Brussels institution that celebrates its 90th anniversary next year, needs no introduction among food lovers. There is no question that he is one of Belgium's most well known chefs. At 76 years of age, he still commands great respect among his peers having held the coveted three Michelin stars from 1979 to 2006. The Belgian capital has not had a three star restaurant since that day even though things are looking bright for the food scene in Brussels. Wynants was at the cultural centre of Uccle, a leafy suburb of Brussels, on Monday 9th June to present the book he wrote together with Philippe Bidaine called La cuisine belge de demain (Tomorrow's Belgian food). In a conversation on stage with the President of the Uccle Cultural Centre Jacqueline Rousseaux, Wynants recalled how kitchens in the past where completely different to when he had started working in restaurants. "In the old days we used to cook with … [Read more...]
Pouring the perfect beer
Did you know that there is a nine-step ritual to serving the perfect Stella Artois? There is no question that Belgians take their beer very seriously, but Stella Artois has developed a way to ensure that when customers drink a beer in a bar, they get the perfect experience. That job can only be done by a bartender who learns how to serve the perfect beer. And to do this, this Belgian brewery from Leuven has been organising a world draughtmaster competition to find the person who can pour the perfect beer. The winner becomes the global ambassador for a year, travelling the world and helping other bartenders learn how to serve the perfect beer. The Belgian final to find the representative who will be competing in the 18th edition of the Stella Artois World's Draughtmasters final in London was held on 3rd June at Stella's old brewery in Leuven. Jan Vandenplas of Bar Nine in Leuven won the competition among 20 regional finalists. The World's Draughtmaster for 2014, Belgian Marjolein … [Read more...]
In De Wulf out of top 100 list: “Let’s continue to make guests happy because in the end that’s what we are here for” – Kobe Desramaults
Kobe Desramaults. chef of In de Wulf, a Michelin starred restaurant in Dranauter, Belgium, has announced that he has not made it to the list of 100 best restaurants in the world. "I have found out that In de Wulf was not voted into the 100 best restaurants list of 2015. After the release of 51 to 100 yesterday, a lot of people believed we would actually climb up to 50 best this year. (Sorry to ruin the surprise)" he said on Instagram and Facebook. Voted 61st in the 2014 list, the restaurant is a culinary destination in its own right and was awarded the best European restaurant award from the OAD (Opinionated about Dining in 2014) and 4th this year. His Michelin starred restaurant In De Wulf is in Dranouter, a village in West Flanders on the border with France, in the middle of nowhere. The restaurant has become a major culinary destination because of the unique style of cuisine without classic dishes or traditional sauces. Kobe said that although he always thought of these … [Read more...]
Impressive lineup for second Flemish Food Bash
Flemish Food Bash is the name of a unique event taking place at the Belgian coast on 5 July. This event will bring together 40 chefs (20 Belgian and 20 international), 2 cheese aficionados, 8 pastry chefs, 20 bartenders, 2 baristas, 4 bakers, 4 butchers, 30 beers among others. A non-profit event, the Flemish Food Bash is in its second edition. It is aimed to go beyond the ways of social media by enabling people to socialise, mingle around and network. It is aimed for foodies who want to meet people with a similar passion, talking about the things they love most, sharing ideas and styles. The first edition took place in November at the Cafe D'Anvers. Billed as the world's best restaurant for a day, the lineup of chefs is one which should not be missed. Among others there will be Heinz Beck of the three Michelin star Rome restaurant La Pergola, Soenil Bahadoer of De Lindehof (2 Michelin stars The Netherlands), Sang-Hoon Degeimbre of L' Air du Temps (2 Michelin stars Belgium) and … [Read more...]
Updated: Sang-Hoon Degeimbre of L’ Air du Temps to open restaurant in Brussels on 5 October
Updated: Brussels foodies have something to look forward to after the summer holidays as chef Sang-Hoon Degeimbre of the 2 Michelin starred restaurant L'Air du Temps in Liernu announced he will be opening his second restaurant SAN in the Belgian capital. The date for the opening of the restaurant has been set for 5 October. On the website of the new restaurant there is a photo of Sang-Hoon with a countdown and a small note saying San is coming to Brussels. San Bruxelles have announced that the bookings for the Brussels based restaurant will open on 15 September. Sang-Hoon, considered to be one of the best Belgian chefs and famous for his molecular cuisine as well as his love for exceptional produce, will offer a completely different experience to L'Air du Temps. His restaurant in Liernu is in the middle of the Belgian countryside. He loves the feeling that the countryside gives and when I had interviewed him he had told me: "Sometimes when I come here early in the morning I … [Read more...]
A perfect day in Gent, Belgium
Gent is one of our favourite Belgian cities. This Flemish city, 45 minutes away from Brussels is a must visit for any visitor to Belgium. Sometimes overshadowed by Bruges, also called the Venice of the North, it is one of the largest cities in Belgium but has kept its charm with an amazing medieval architecture that remains intact and is remarkably well preserved and restored. It also has a huge pedestrian area with a lot of interesting highlights such as the Saint Bavo Cathedral, the Belfry, the Gravensteen castle and the splendid architecture along the old Graslei harbour. We return time and time again and never get bored of this buzzing city full of surprises and hidden gems. Foodies are in for a treat in Gent with a splendid array of restaurants, cafes and concept stores. The city is also known as the a paradise for vegetarian restaurants. The city has more vegetarian restaurants than Paris or London and is sometimes called the vegetarian capital of Europe. If you are not … [Read more...]
Maxime Colin (Villa Lorraine): Bringing the best out of top quality ingredients
Maxime Colin, 27, is full of passion for top quality ingredients and you can see it in his face when he proudly displays a piece of Kobe beef. He speaks passionately about what makes Kobe beef so special, explaining the attention to detail the Japanese give to raising the cattle for what is considered the best meat you can buy. We met Maxime in the kitchen of Villa Lorraine which serves as the kitchen for both La Villa and La Brasserie. The Villa Lorraine, on the edge of the Bois de la Cambre in Brussels, houses two restaurants owned by Serge Litvine who purchased the restaurants in 2010 and is working to make it shine again. Villa Lorraine is a Brussels and Belgian institution having been the first restaurant outside France to get the coveted 3 Michelin stars in 1972. Maxime Colin has been head chef there since August 2014 and retained the 1 Michelin star that had been previously awarded to La Villa under Alain Bianchin in November 2013. He explained the philosophy behind … [Read more...]
Stéphane Diffels: The hard route to finding one’s passion
It is often, these days, that we hear of people who quit their jobs to follow their passion. Then there are those who are restless because they are not sure what they want to do. They may be sitting in their jobs but they know this is not what they want to do. When they finally find what they really like and what they really want, they beat all the hurdles in their way and race ahead trying to gain lost time. The same can be said for Stéphane Diffels of L’Air de Rien. How do you spot the difference between a chef who has taken a more traditional route and one who has discovered the vocation for cooking at a much later stage? The signs are all in the cooking and in the way the chef speaks about food. Cooking in many ways can be technically flawless, but if there is no passion and if it is treated like any other job, it can be spotted from a mile away. In many ways, the difference between a memorable meal and a great meal could be boiled down to the passion of the chef in … [Read more...]