When I went to Liernu in the Belgian countryside some 50 kilometres outside Brussels to interview Sang-Hoon Degeimbre I was asked to stay for a 'light lunch' after the interview (read our interview here). Little did I know that I would be served with the 'business' lunch menu being currently served in the restaurant up to the end of December. I had previously eaten at L'Air du Temps and had listened to Sang Hoon's presentation at Chef's Revolution in Zwolle so I was familiar with his story. But after also interviewing him, I knew this was going to be a unique experience. First the table was literally inside the kitchen and I could just stand up and take photos and observe the calm buzz of a 2 Michelin star kitchen. Second the dishes were presented in most cases by Sang-Hoon himself who explained them to me. What struck me was the calm inside the kitchen despite the number of people that were preparing the lunch. But then I remembered what Sang-Hoon had told me earlier during the … [Read more...]
Vini Birre Ribelli – coming up in Brussels tomorrow and on Monday
Vini Birre Ribelli (The Rebel Wines and Beers Fair) is the first edition of a natural wine and beer fair being organised at Tour et Taxis in Brussels on Sunday 7 December and Monday 8 December. It brings together many special producers of beer and wine such as Jean Van Roy from Cantillon, the legendary Brussels anti-conformist brewery as well as many Italian and French natural wine makers. In total 81 "rebel" wine growers and 13 brewers will be taking part in the first edition of this fair. All these producers are part of a movement which is gradually changing the world of wine. The organisers have said that they want this fair to be a meeting place for sharing and discovery among two inter-connected worlds - natural wines and rebel beers. What joins these two worlds is the philosophy of the producers who fight for their ideals. The fair opens tomorrow from 10am to 8pm. There will be a number of events, including two debates tomorrow afternoon. There are French wineries … [Read more...]
Carcasse: a restaurant by one of Belgium’s best butchers Dierendonck
Carcasse is the name of a new restaurant that has just opened the reservation system for the restaurant opening on 15 January 2015. It will be based in the Belgian coastal town of Koksijde as is the restaurant of one of Belgium's best butchers Hendrik Dierendonck. The butcher, which supplies some of the best restaurants in the country including In de Wulfe and Le Paix among others, as well as the Netherlands, will be welcoming guests from January. It is always exciting when a renowned butcher opens a restaurant, because you know that the quality of the meat will be second to none. The same is the case of Jack o'Shea in Brussels who is opening its chophouse in the Brussels centre in the coming days after a long wait since the announcement. We have tried Dierendonck's meat and it is exceptional, so we look forward to trying out Carcasse on our next visit to the Belgian coast. On Carcasse's website, Dierendonck says "we are about meat, but not just meat. The way in which animals are … [Read more...]
Sharing a cow: the new way to buy meat in Belgium and the Netherlands
There is a new way of buying meat in Belgium and this is called crowd butchering. Introduced in May, the inventor of 'crowd butchering' is a pilot David De Keyser who launched the website Deeleenkoe.be or Share a Cow. The concept is pretty simple. You commit to buy 10 kilograms of meat from a cow (or pig as there is also a site for selling pork) at 132.95 euros. For this you will get approximately 10 kilogrammes of beef including roast, rump steak, entrecôte, beef for a stew, hamburgers, mince, and shoulder steaks among others, all in packs of one kilo each. The cow will only be slaughtered once the whole cow is sold. The size of a cow varies but it generally weighs around 700 kilos which means that there is about 450 kilos of meat. The parts which are sold separately are the offal and the fillet because there is not enough for around 35 customers who purchase the cow. Although this might sound like a new concept, this in itiative has ancient roots because it was a practice … [Read more...]
Michelin star storm hits Brussels – but is it much ado about nothing?
The Michelin guide revealed its results for Belgium and Luxembourg last Monday and in the process created a storm of controversy in the Belgian media and social media. The controversy centres around the move of chef Alexandre Dionisio from his own restaurant Alexandre (now closed) to La Villa in the Sky which opened earlier this month. When Michelin announced the results for Brussels they mentioned that new restaurants had earned a one Michelin star, Le Monde est Petit, Le Pigeon Noir and Da Mimmo. They, however, failed to mention that the restaurant by Alexandre Dionisio called Alexandre (we were there a few months before this website was launched and ate incredibly well, though it has since closed) was no longer in the list and instead the award had moved with Alexandre to La Villa in the Sky. For those who have missed the new Michelin releases, there were new one Michelin star announcements (See all the list here) with no new two and three Michelin star … [Read more...]
Interview with Sang Hoon Degeimbre: Creativity comes from constant questioning and keeping an open mind
It was a crispy autumn morning last week when I visited L’Air du Temps for the second time in just a few weeks. This time I had come to interview Sang-Hoon Degeimbre, the chef of this two Michelin star restaurant in Liernu, around 50 kilometres outside Brussels. I was intrigued by his story, particularly because of the inventiveness of his cuisine and also after having listened to his presentation at Chefs Revolution in Zwolle. How could such an inventive and talented chef be self-taught? What was the driving force behind his creativity? I was also wondering what led Sang-Hoon to open the restaurant in Liernu, when he could have moved his restaurant closer to a main city. But driving to the restaurant, I realised that this question would be redundant because of the beauty of the Wallonian countryside and the purity of the air. “Sometimes when I come here early in the morning I just head to the garden and just look at the sunrise and the countryside and that is really something … [Read more...]
De Vitrine (Gent): Much more than just a bistro
There is something special about going to a restaurant and not having to worry about choosing what to eat. When we went to De Vitrine in Gent last Saturday we sort of knew there was no a la carte menu. Until a few years ago, this would have been a veritable nightmare with my phobia of cheese, but now that this has been overcome, it is to a certain extent a breath of fresh air. It removes the hassle of choosing and when you visit a restaurant which is good and where the choice is extensive, having a menu is to a certain extent limiting because you know that you will be missing something special. So going to De Vitrine, the brain child of Kobe Desramaults of Michelin starred In de Wulf in Dranouter and De Superette (the bakery in Gent) was on our to do list for our weekend in Gent. De Vitrine complements In De Wulf perfectly as Kobe himself told me at Chef Sache in Cologne (read our interview with him next week) because it allows him to apply his nose to tail philosophy by ensuring … [Read more...]
De Superette (Gent): The bakery with a difference
I still remember the days when I was a child and I used to go with my father to buy bread at a bakery close to our house in Malta. The baker would be visible in the background, all white and covered with flour. At times, it was he who would serve his clients. The oven used to be at the back of the bakery, visible to clients and one could get a whiff of the bread baking in the oven as soon as you turned the corner of the street where the bakery was. Alas these days it is difficult to find a bakery making its own bread. Memories have a great impact on our interaction with food. So a visit to De Superette in Gent last weekend triggered a lot of nostalgia. De Superette is the brainchild of Kobe Desramaults of restaurant In De Wulf, who dreamt up the concept together with Rose Green and Sarah Lemke. It centres around the bakery. The stone oven and the baker's work space are at the heart of De Superette. It is a place where you go to buy bread but it is also one where you … [Read more...]
Marie’s Garden in Overijse: a great place to pick up your own vegetables
Partially inspired by the theme from our previous post Henri le Worm (by the way, my children loved the app) and in view of the fact that today was a public holiday, I decided to take the children to a field in Overijse, 10 minutes away from Brussels Marie's Garden is a great concept and a perfect example of a farmer who brings his clients closer to nature. Started in 2012, it was inspired by the farmer's visit to Switzerland where he discovered a similar farm. When you arrive at the farm, you find a large notice board telling you what you are able to find in the fields and what you are allowed to cut. Afterwards, you pick up a wheelbarrow (we could only get a small one because the rest were taken) and then you head to the fields in search of your fresh vegetables. They have nearly 10 hectares with over 30 varieties of fruits, vegetables and flowers to pick. The price of all the bio-certified fruit and vegetables is marked on the board as soon as you enter the field. You are … [Read more...]
Kobe Desramaults (In de Wulf): A bold and unique cuisine
Kobe Desramaults of In de Wulf is considered to be one of the brightest young chefs in Europe and definitely one of the most high-profile Belgian chefs. His Michelin star restaurant in Dranouter, a village in West Flanders on the border with France is in the middle of nowhere. There is a reason why it is there, however, since it is the place he remembers from his childhood and also where his mother's restaurant was. The restaurant has become a major culinary destination. Desramaults won the best restaurant award in the OAD (Opinionated about dining) in 2014 and has become in a way similar to Noma in that this is a unique cuisine without cliches, classic produce or sauces. Desramaults was the first chef to take the stage at Chef Sache 2o14 . He showed how his cuisine focuses on all sorts of produce and it was no wonder that the presenter spoke about Kobe’s cooking as being a light cuisine for a conscious eater prepared by a conscious cook. The Belgian chef said that vegetables … [Read more...]