Sir

2005. Frank Dehandschieter and his wife Karine Limbourg quietly open a brasserie in a renovated mansion on the market square of Sint-Kwintens-Lennik. The name sounds highly local: Sir Kwinten. The design with bright red chairs and sofas attempts to bring some modernity to this rural village, deep in the heart of the Pajottenland. Opposite Sir Kwinten rises the robust bronze statue of a Brabant draft horse.

Frank and Karine are no strangers to the area. They also own ‘t Krekelhof in nearby Gooik. This grew into an attraction for weekend tourists from Brussels who come to taste the culinary specialties of the Pajottenland with a glass of gueuze or kriek. The intention is that ‘t Krekelhof will from now on focus on parties and seminars, while Sir Kwinten will become a dining facility.

“I was seventeen years old at the time and not yet working,” says the couple’s son, Yanick Dehandschieter (36). “But I grew up in a catering family and attended hotel school. And it was the plan that I would one day come and work in Sir Kwinten.”

From sommelier to manager

Yanick is passionate about wine, chooses a year of specialization as a sommelier, and quickly proves himself to be a top talent. At a time when several sommelier competitions still exist in our country, he became ‘First Sommelier of Belgium’ in 2012, ‘Best Sommelier of Belgium’ in 2013, and ‘Sommelier of the Year’ in 2015. Last year he won the Sommelier Award of Michelin.

But Yanick took a broader view early on: “After my sommelier studies, I studied hotel management because I wanted to master all aspects of the profession. This way I was able to grow at Sir Kwinten from sommelier to general manager. And one of the important things I learned is that a manager must surround himself with talent.”

Enter Glenn Verhasselt (32), the chef: “I live in the area and came to Sir Kwinten as a customer. That’s how I met Yanick and we became friends. And ultimately also business partners.”

Verhasselt did not yet have an impressive track record at that time: “After culinary school I became a sous chef at ‘t Stoveke in Strombeek-Bever, which had one star at the time. When I started at Sir Kwinten in 2013, it was my first real job as a chef.”

Golden move

There is a click between the chef and the manager, also in the combination of wines and dishes, and Yanick makes a daring but in retrospect golden move: he asks his chef to become a co-shareholder of Sir Kwinten. That pays off, because just like himself as a sommelier, Verhasselt also turns out to be a top talent: in 2017 he became ‘First Chef of Belgium’.

“That was an initial confirmation,” he says, “but as you get older, you increasingly develop your own vision. You don’t just learn to become a better chef by participating in competitions or eating in other restaurants. It is mainly up to you. You have to try a lot, experiment a lot. This is the only way you can progress.”

In 2020, Sir Kwinten will win his first star. And this year his second. The restaurant is now part of a larger family business, which also includes Ferment, an informal bistro on the same square, and the Dappersveld wine estate, where Yanick’s brother mainly makes sparkling wines using the champagne method. And still the banquet hall ‘t Krekelhof, where it all started.