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Food Identity by My Treats Reviewed
Elen · Dilsen-Stokkem · Belgium

De Poorterij

Plant-forward fine dining in the Belgian Meuse Valley where chef Rudi Peters builds vegetable-led tasting menus around produce from his own kitchen garden.

The essentials, at a glance

◐
Impact score
3 - Endorsed
→
Documented practices
Local sourcing
Seasonal cooking
Plant-forward menu

Style
Fine dining
Cuisine
French
Good to know
Garden
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide·5 radishes

The delicious details

Restaurant De Poorterij sits in the Meuse Valley town of Dilsen-Stokkem, where chef Rudi Peters builds the kitchen around a single principle: vegetables and herbs lead. A kitchen garden and greenhouse behind the restaurant supply most of what reaches the plate, and the menu shifts each month with what is ready to harvest.

The restaurant is family run, with Rudi in the kitchen and Patricia front of house. Six-course tasting menus alternate between a seasonal Poorterij menu and a dedicated vegetable menu, so guests can choose how far plants lead the meal.

A classical foundation meets a contemporary green twist. Sauces are built from garden vegetables and fresh herbs, and proteins appear as a complement to the vegetable at the centre of each dish.

Menu
What's on the table, and what's left off

Two six-course tasting menus—the seasonal Poorterij menu and a dedicated vegetable menu—place a single vegetable at the centre of each dish, accompanied by fish, meat or another protein, allowing vegetarian and plant-forward diners to follow the progression alongside meat eaters at the same table. In-house-prepared sauces build from garden vegetables and fresh herbs rather than pre-made bases. Allergies and intolerances are accommodated when notified at booking.

Two six-course tasting menus run in parallel, the Poorterij menu and the dedicated Vegetable menu, both shaped by the week's market and the chef's own harvest. Each dish places a single vegetable at its centre, accompanied by fish, meat or another protein, which makes it straightforward for vegetarian and plant-forward diners to follow the chef's full progression alongside meat eaters at the same table.

The kitchen prepares its sauces in house from garden vegetables and fresh herbs rather than reaching for pre-made bases. Allergies and intolerances are accommodated when notified at booking.

Cuisine
French
Dietary options
Vegetarian options
Vegan-friendly
Allergies handling
Notice At booking

Notify the restaurant at booking with any allergies or intolerances. The kitchen accommodates through menu modifications in the fixed tasting format, which requires advance notice of dietary requirements.

Impact score
How this restaurant rates
3 - Endorsed

De Poorterij has confirmed responsible practice across three areas of its kitchen, earning a three-planet rating.

The strongest signal is on plant-forward cooking: a dedicated vegetable menu runs alongside the regular tasting menu, and each dish places a single vegetable at its centre. Local and direct sourcing is anchored by the kitchen garden and greenhouse behind the restaurant, which supply most of the vegetables and herbs used in the kitchen, with cheese from the Achelse Kluis abbey and produce from Belgian and Dutch Limburg filling out the rest. Seasonality is structural: menus rotate monthly and weekly market availability shapes what reaches each plate.

The restaurant is listed in the We're Smart Green Guide with the maximum five-radish rating and ranks number 75 in the 2025 Top 100. Gault & Millau awarded its Vegetable Dish of the Year in 2024.

The impact dimensions
Local & direct sourcing✓
Seasonal cooking✓
Low waste & circular practices
Sustainable animal products
Plant-forward menu✓

Kitchen garden and greenhouse supply most vegetables and herbs; cheese sourced from Achelse Kluis abbey in Belgian Limburg; high-volume produce from local farms in Belgian and Dutch Limburg.

Sourcing is anchored by the restaurant's own kitchen garden and greenhouse, which supply most of the vegetables and herbs used in the kitchen. Cheese is sourced from the named Achelse Kluis abbey in Belgian Limburg, and onions, potatoes, and other high-volume produce are stated to come from local farms in Belgian and Dutch Limburg, though those farms are not individually named on public sources.

The We're Smart Green Guide evaluation explicitly considered 'use of local products' in awarding the maximum five-radish rating, providing partner-vouched corroboration of the local-sourcing posture.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗

Monthly rotating menu and weekly market availability shape the kitchen's selection; each dish built around a single vegetable in season.

Seasonality is structural to the kitchen. The chef states that the changing market supply 'challenges us to cook with spontaneous creativity', and editorial coverage confirms a monthly rotating menu where each dish is built around a single vegetable in season, complemented by a protein.

The menu architecture is led by what the garden produces, with weekly selection of fresh ingredients. The We're Smart Green Guide and Gault & Millau both describe the kitchen as a garden-to-plate operation organised around seasonal produce, providing partner-vouched corroboration.

Chef Rudi Peters is publicly associated with this seasonal ethos through multiple guide listings and press coverage.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗

Garden-to-plate sourcing and exclusive in-house sauce preparation from garden vegetables reduce reliance on pre-processed components.

The restaurant's garden-to-plate model implicitly avoids transport-heavy supply chains for vegetables, and the chef's statement that sauces are made exclusively from garden vegetables and herbs reduces reliance on pre-processed components.

The We're Smart Green Guide evaluation lists 'ecological commitment' as a criterion considered when awarding the maximum five-radish rating, providing some partner-vouched signal.

Strongest sourceMade-in.be ↗

We're Smart Green Guide evaluation includes sustainable fishing practices and catch sustainability; protein volumes moderated by vegetable-centred dish design.

Editorial coverage of the We're Smart Green Guide evaluation states that 'sustainable fishing practices' and 'sustainability of catch' were among the parameters considered when awarding the five-radish rating, providing partner-vouched signal that the restaurant has been evaluated against an animal-product sustainability bar.

Each dish features a vegetable at the centre with fish, meat, or another protein as accompaniment, so portion volumes are inherently moderated.

Strongest sourcelifestyle.vlaanderen ↗

Dedicated six-course vegetable menu runs in parallel with seasonal menu; each dish places a vegetable at its centre with protein as accompaniment.

Vegetables are unambiguously the centre of the kitchen's identity. A dedicated Vegetable menu (six courses, €75 or €95) runs in parallel with the seasonal Poorterij menu, and each dish across both menus is built around a single vegetable accompanied by a protein.

The We're Smart Green Guide awarded the maximum five-radish rating and ranks the restaurant at number 75 in the 2025 Top 100 of the world's best plant-based restaurants, with a second consecutive year at the maximum score. Gault & Millau awarded its Vegetable Dish of the Year in 2024 and describes the kitchen as a garden-to-plate operation.

The chef is publicly associated with a 'more plants, fewer animals' philosophy, and the restaurant carries the We're Smart 'pure plant choices' designation.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗
Sourcing signals
✓
Own-grown produce
✓
In-house preparation

Kitchen garden and greenhouse behind the restaurant supply most vegetables and herbs used in the kitchen, confirmed by We're Smart Green Guide, Gault & Millau, and editorial coverage.

Sauces are made exclusively from garden vegetables and herbs rather than pre-made bases, per chef Rudi Peters.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Langstraat 10, 3650 Dilsen-Stokkem, Dilsen-Stokkem, Belgium
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€€
Format
Tasting menu only; advance booking required for accommodations
Hours
Monday19:00–23:30
TuesdayClosed
WednesdayClosed
ThursdayClosed
Friday19:00–23:30
Saturday19:00–23:30
Sunday12:30–16:30, 19:00–23:30
Style
Fine dining
Good to know
Garden
Web
depoorterij.be
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 01 Jun 2026
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How we score
The My Treats impact scale

Every restaurant is assessed against SEERO, our six-dimension sustainability framework — covering sourcing, seasonality, waste, animal products, social impact, and plant-forward cooking. Each finding is weighted by how strongly it is corroborated. The combined result is translated into a planet rating from 1 to 5.

The five levels

SEERO is an acronym for Starting, Engaged, Endorsed, Recognised, Outstanding:

Starting First verified signals of sustainable practice.
Engaged Credible practice across two dimensions.
Endorsed Meaningful practice across three or more dimensions.
This place
Recognised Strong practice across four or more dimensions, with independent corroboration.
Outstanding Top-tier practice, confirmed by recognised third-party audit.

How a level is reached. Each level needs two things together: a minimum number of dimensions covered, and a minimum overall strength of evidence across them. A dimension only counts once its evidence is specific and substantiated — a passing mention doesn't qualify. Meeting only one of the two keeps a restaurant a level lower.

Ratings of four or five planets require human validation and, at the top tier, an external audit. Scores are based on publicly available evidence and restaurant submissions at the time of assessment.

Full methodology→
Impact dimension
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How this dimension works
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How evidence is weighted
Self-declared Stated by the restaurant on its website, menu or in a submission. Plausible, but not yet independently corroborated.
Researched Found through independent research; one credible third-party source backs the claim.
Vouched Corroborated across more than one independent source. Some gaps may remain.
Audited Fully corroborated across independent sources or by a recognised third-party certification.
What the sourcing checkmarks mean
✓ Full check — independently verified: corroborated across more than one source, or audited / third-party certified (vouched or audited).
✓ Light check — self-declared or from a single source. Not yet independently verified.
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