When Peter Goossens himself was called on stage to announce the new restaurants with two stars, it was clear to everyone: the new Hof van Cleve, led by Floris Van Der Veken, would receive two stars. That was actually no surprise: no one assumed in advance that Van Der Veken would not receive a single star. After all, he has been the right-hand man of a chef who has had three stars since 2005 for ten years. Yet Van Der Veken was pleasantly surprised: “We have only been working for eight weeks, I didn’t know Michelin had already visited.” The fact that two stars are awarded at once is no longer an exception at Michelin: in recent years it has also happened to Bart Desmidt of Bartholomeus, Gert De Mangeleer of Hertog Jan, Yves Mattagne of La Villa Lorraine and Thijs Vervloet of Colette De Vijvers.
Peter Goossens (right) congratulates his successor Floris Van Der Veken on his two stars.
Stars or no stars for Hof van Cleve, the audience was not waiting for that. Since its reopening on January 10, it has been fully booked every day until the end of May. This is not surprising given the fact that the price of the seven-course menu has fallen from 490 to 195 euros, while the menu is still prepared by the same operational chef, and the rest of the team has remained virtually the same. Van Der Veken even made it possible to get a five-course menu for 165 euros, which is cheaper than two-star establishments such as Bozar, La Villa Lorraine and Le Chalet de la Forêt. The question now is whether those prizes will hold up after the two stars have been awarded. Bookings for June will open on March 1.
A star for a dining counter
Slightly less newsworthy for the general public was the question of how many stars Christophe Hardiquest would receive for his new dining concept Menssa, after he closed his two-star restaurant Bon Bon. Michelin is usually less generous with stars when the classic comfort of a gastronomic restaurant is exchanged for a dining counter, as Hardiquest has done. And so it turned out: Menssa only gets one star, while the quality has not changed and the creativity is even higher. “But I don’t work for stars anymore,” says Hardiquest, “I’ve freed myself from those kinds of ambitions.” He also works less with expensive products, which is often a reason for Michelin to be stricter.
A surprise is the crowning achievement of the Sir Kwinten restaurant in rural Sint-Kwintens-Lennik, although well-informed foodies were already aware of the major qualitative leap that chef Glenn Verhasselt, still in his early thirties, had made. This is now also, quite rightly, recognized by Michelin.
Significantly fewer Belgian restaurants than last year were awarded one star: eight compared to fifteen last year. Notably absent: the La Rigue restaurant in Knokke, where Peter Goossens is in charge of the kitchen. One of the new one-star restaurants – Neon in Lier – has also received a “green star”, a new Michelin award since 2020 for restaurants that are committed to ecology, sustainability and ethics. This year only one green star was awarded, last year there were four.
Bib Gourmand
Following Gault&Millau, Michelin has also discovered the appeal of thematic awards, not least for potential sponsors. The Young Chef of the Year is Julien Malaisse from the restaurant Pré de chez vous in Bouge, which has only been open for two years. The restaurant also received its first star.
The Sommelier Award goes, somewhat predictably, to Mathieu Vanneste, a sommelier from the three-star segment (formerly in Hof van Cleve, now in Boury).
What is often seen as a stepping stone to stardom is the Bib Gourmand, an award for the best value for money. This year it was awarded to fifteen new restaurants: six in Brussels, five in Wallonia and four in Flanders. There are now a total of 131 restaurants with a Bib Gourmand in our country, a provisional record.
The awards
A star
– L’Impératif d’Eole, Quévy-le-Grand (chef Benoit Neusy)
– Hoeve De Bies, Sint-Martens-Voeren (chef Maurice Huynen)
– Menssa, Sint-Pieters-Woluwe (chef Christophe Hardiquest)
– La Roseraie, Modave (chef Marie Trignon)
– Julien, Lovendegem (chef Davy Devlieghere)
– Pont Neuf, Antwerpen (chef Tommy Bocklandt)
– Neon, Lier (chef Nils Proost)
– Pré De Chez Vous, Bouge (chef Julien Malaisse)
– Luxembourg: Pharmacy, Steinfort (head Mathieu van Wetteren)
Two stars
– Sir Kwinten, Sint-Kwintens-Lennik (chef Glenn Verhasselt)
– Hof van Cleve, Kruishoutem (chef Floris Van Der Veken)
Green star
– Neon, Lier (chef Nils Proost)
Bib Gourmand
– Brussels: Kline in Brussels, L’Epicerie Nomad and Le Variétés in Ixelles, Anju in Sint-Gillis, St Kilda in Uccle
– Wallonia: Enoteca en Magma in Liège, Garde Manger in Gesves, Au Phil des Saveurs in Bois-de-Villers, Le Confessionnal in Dinant
– Flanders: Onslow and Quatre Vins in Bruges, Furbetto in Heverlee and Mona Lisa in Ypres
Young Chef Award
– Julien Malaisse van Pré De Chez Vous in Bouge
Sommelier Award
– Matthieu Vanneste from Boury in Roeselare (bvs)
