Mon bistro d’été by Christophe Hardiquest, chef of two Michelin starred Brussels based restaurant Bon Bon could easily be defined as the chef's playground. Although this is not necessarily his element given that he is used to cooking in his fine dining restaurant, it is evident that the chef and his team are enjoying themselves in the new pop-up restaurant that has taken the Brussels scene by storm and is indeed one of the most talked about places in the Belgian capital city this summer. Housed in the old Chez Marie restaurant in the Flagey area of Brussels, the restaurant may have been closed for over two years but you would not notice from the vibes and the atmosphere that fills the place. But that is to be expected given the fact that the reservations never stopped the minute they opened and by the time the restaurant had opened earlier this month, 4,500 reservations had been made for the two-month pop-up restaurant. If you do not have a booking, don't despair. The … [Read more...]
Bon Bon’s Christophe Hardiquest to open summer bistro in Brussels
Christophe Hardiquest, two Michelin star chef of the highly regarded Brussels restaurant Bon Bon is realising his dream of opening a bistro even if this will only be for two months. Having decided to close his two Michelin star restaurant in July and August to modernise and refurbish the kitchen completely, Christophe together with his wife Stephanie have decided to take over Chez Marie, a restaurant that has been closed for over two years in the area of Flagey in Brussels. The bistro, called Mon Bistro d'été by Christophe Hardiquest will be serving classics away from the constraints of fine dining restaurants though you can expect a very high quality given that he will be moving together with his team and will be at the helm of the bistro for the two months. This is part of his Brussels project which started last year with a reflection on how to interpret Brussels and Belgian classics. In an interview with Food and Wine Gazette last year, Christophe had said that "it is also … [Read more...]
Notos celebrates 20 years of Greek cuisine in Brussels
Notos is this year celebrating 20 years of Greek cuisine in Brussels. To celebrate the occasion, a Greek traditional dish that was never served in the restaurant before, the Moussaka, was served over two weekends aimed at celebrating the 20th anniversary. Following the resounding success of the dish among clients and guests (including us), chef Constantin Erinkoglou has decided to start serving this iconic Greek dish on order both in the restaurant or to take home. The moussaka is an ancient dish that originates from the ancient Ottoman empire. Made with aubergine and lamb mince, it is one of the most traditional Greek dishes you can find. Its recipe varies depending on the family that makes it. Known for his modern and personal take on Greek cuisine, Constantin has decided to offer this traditional dish for tables of eight people or more both for lunch and dinner. The price for the take away mousakka is 16 euros per person and 21 euros in the restaurant. When he opened in … [Read more...]
BRUSSELS FROM/TO at Bon Bon: Deconstructing Brussels classics and modernising them along the way
What happens when you take Brussels and Brabant classic dishes, deconstruct them and then reinvent them? Can tradition meet modernity? Can humble ingredients steal the show in a top class restaurant? And what happens if you get two foreign chefs from France and Portugal to help you reinterpret these dishes at a six hands dinner. That is what happened last Tuesday at Bon Bon restaurant in Woluwe Saint Pierre, a commune in Brussels.Two Michelin star chef Christophe Hardiquest invited the inventive Inaki Azipitarte, chef of the famous Parisian restaurant Le Chateaubriand and Leonardo Perreira, formerly at Noma and now about to embark on a new journey in Porto as he prepares to open his restaurant there. Bon Bon was recently in the news as it will host 20 of the world's best chefs at the first ever Gelinaz! Headquarters event taking place on 10 November. Inaki certainty needed no introduction. He is famed for starting off the bistronomy movement in Paris which was considered one … [Read more...]
Benoit Nihant opens second chocolate store in Brussels
10 years after opening his first boutique shop, Benoît Nihant, the bean to bar Belgian chocolatier, has opened his second shop in Brussels in the Fort Jaco area in Uccle. The elegant store, which opened in August was officially inaugurated last week and marks a shift from the more classic store in Ixelles with its modern lines and white, black and gold colours. The large photos which adorn the shop show you part of the process to turn cocoa beans into the end product. Known as the bean to bar process, this Belgian chocolatier, who has his workshop in Awans, close to the Belgian city of Liege, has been producing his own chocolate from the beans he procures for the past six years. Benoit Nihant is one of only very few chocolate makers worldwide who starts his chocolate making process buying his beans directly from different plantations worldwide. He has recently also invested in his own plantation in Peru. In an interview with Food and Wine Gazette he had said it was not an easy … [Read more...]
‘I’ve spent a lot of time travelling to find what I wanted to do after Noma’ – Yannick Van Aeken (Humphrey)
When a young Belgian chef decided to open Humphrey in Brussels earlier this year, it immediately attracted the interests of those in the know. Young Belgian chef Yannick Van Aeken had been known in food circles particularly since he was sous-chef at Rene Redzepi's Noma for many years. He has also worked at Victor Arguinzoniz's Asador Extebarri, another restaurant that is considered to be among the best in the world and whose chef is clearly one of the top barbecue masters. So the expectations have been high not less because when we interviewed Kobe Desramaults earlier this year he named Van Aeken as one of two Belgian chefs to watch. With that pedigree, it is obvious that there is a lot of attention as to what Yannick is doing at Humphrey. But the young Belgian chef does not let this go to his head. He's opened the restaurant at a rather difficult time for Brussels just before the March terrorist attacks. "It is going well since we opened. Since the Brussels attacks, it has … [Read more...]
Lola in Brussels celebrates its 20th anniversary with book publication
Lola, one of the chic restaurants in Place Sablon, Brussels, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. For the occasion, it launched a book that tells the story of the restaurant and also presents recipes of some of the most classic dishes served at the restaurant. The brasserie Lola is the story of five people passionate about cuisine who launched the restaurant 20 years ago. The five friends, Caroline, Larbi, Henri, François and Laurent came together to create the restaurant which has become one of the highlights of this historic Brussels squares. They started off with Les Faste Fou, a place specialising in salads just off Avenue Louise in 1987. Lola, their second project, six years later, was more ambitious not only because of the location but also for its cuisine. A contemporary brasserie, it focuses mainly on seasonal ingredients. Its menu changes according to the seasons but it still retains many Belgian classics on its menu such as the 'croquettes des crevettes', the americain (or … [Read more...]
Brussels welcomes San
San, the new restaurant of two-Michelin star chef San Degeimbre, is ready to start welcoming guests from Monday 5 October. The restaurant is built around a simple concept, that of serving food in bowls. This concept has already been tried and tested for lunch at the two Michelin star restaurant L'Air du Temps in Liernu, Belgium. San's restaurant is a welcome addition to the Brussels scene and has long been awaited by foodies in the city, particularly after the announcement of its opening earlier this year. The Belgian-Korean chef is going back to his roots by serving dishes in a bowl, something which is very common in Korea. There will be no forks and knives but only spoons. 'When you are using a spoon, you are forced to pick up what's on the plate and thus mix flavours," San told Food and Wine Gazette. Indeed, the dishes served at a press dinner showcased this concept to perfection. The taste from each spoonful was different and the flavours lingered on for a long … [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...]
Gramm restaurant: A French-Japanese cuisine worth discovering
Very few days pass without me being asked what is our favourite restaurant in Brussels, given it is the city we know best. But as simple as it may sound, this question is not that easy to answer. In our books, there is no such thing as a favourite or a best restaurant. There are so many good restaurants that it is difficult to pinpoint one. Many times it depends on the occasion, the atmosphere, the quality of the food but also the mood you find yourself in. Obviously the top restaurants, of which Brussels has many, are stable and always reliable. But then there are many gastronomic restaurants, many by young chefs who are pushing the boundaries with their cuisine and who are worth discovering because they clearly represent the future. Some gastronomic restaurants in Brussels are now serving set menus in the evening. Chef Erwan Kenzo Nakata of Gramm Restaurant is one of them. In the evening he serves a six course menu which changes every week depending on the seasons and also what … [Read more...]