Nick Bril of The Jane restaurant in Antwerp was elected Chef of the Year by Gault & Millau. The “Hof van Cleve” continues to have the highest score.
“The title is fantastic to receive, but tomorrow I will have to work with the same guide again,” said Bril during the ceremony. “The title goes to the chef, but not really at all,” he added, expressing his appreciation of his team at the restaurant. “As far as I’m concerned, this title can be called ‘team of the year'”.
The editors of the guide explained that Bril “as a passionate entertainer (…) loves to take his guests in tow” “into a separate world of experiences”. ‘As a chef, he has long demonstrated his gift for innovation. In doing so, he manages to reach an exceptional level every time, “according to the editorial staff.
Nick Bril.
Photo: Nattida-Jayne Kanyachalao
Three young chefs of the year were also nominated. For Flanders it was Davy Devlieghere of ‘Restaurant Julien’ in Lievegem. In Wallonia it was Alexandre Ciriello (L’horizon a Chaumont-Gistoux) and for the Brussels region it was Alexandru Sapco (La Bonne Chère).
During the presentation of the guide, there was also talk of Tom Van Lysebettens (35), the chef of the Ghent restaurant ‘Cochon De Luxe’, who passed away a few days ago. The audience honored him with a standing ovation. Nick Bril also paid tribute to Van Lysebettens.
In the new Gault & Millau guide, “The Jane” is one of the highest rated restaurants, with a score of 18.5 out of 20. With that score, the restaurant is joined by “Boury” from Roeselare and “Zilte” from Antwerp. Liernu’s ‘L’air du temps’ scores 19/20, but the leader still remains Kruisem’s ‘Hof van Cleve’ with 19.5 / 20.
This year there are also four top newcomers in Flanders, all four with the same score of 15/20: “Willem Hiele” in Ostend, “Misera” in Antwerp, “Atelier Gist” in Geraardsbergen and “Modest” “in Oudsbergen. For Wallonia, the highest newcomer was “La Grappe d’Or” in Arlon with a score of 15.5 / 20 and in Brussels the highest newcomer was “Ivresse” with 14/20.
Anonymous guide inspectors visited restaurants in our country for a year. This resulted in a guide with more than 1,380 addresses, with 125 new addresses and 168 risers. During the presentation, CEO Marc Declerck pointed out that nearly 30,000 copies of the new Belux guide have already been sold in advance.
The winners:
• Presenter of the Year: Serge Sierens (Hof Van Cleve, Kruisem)
• Italian of the Year: Felicità (Waterloo)
• Asian of the Year: Old Boy (Brussels – Ixelles)
• The most beautiful terrace: Hoeve de Bies (Sint-Martens-Voeren)
• The design of the most beautiful restaurant: La Grappe d’Or (Arlon)
• Sommelier of the year: Maxime Sanzot (Racines – Floreffe)
• Dessert of the year: Bozar restaurant (Brussels)
• Brasserie of the Year: Fortune (Kontich)
• Gastro-bistro of the year: Bistrot Blaise (Marche-en-Famenne)
• Ambachtsman van het Jaar: Eric Fernez (from Eugénie to Émilie – Baudour)
• Vegetable dish of the year: Elements @ Indrani (Loupoigne)
• Wine list of the year: Paul de Pierre (Maarkedal)
• Beer card of the year: Hop Gastrobar (Leuven)
• The “price-pleasure ratio” of the year: Onism (Blankenberge) for Flanders, ÖTAP for Brussels and L’O de Source (Jalhay) for Wallonia
• The three discoveries of the year: Côté Préféré (Jabbeke) for Flanders, Entropy for Brussels and Recto Verso (Ciney) for Wallonia
