4 - Recognised
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Vegetables are bought from one named organic market garden, De Zaailing at Nukerke in the Flemish Ardennes, and chocolate is made bean to bar by Cédric de Taeye in neighbouring Ellezelles. Cheese is matured by the Belgian affineur Van Tricht, figs come from named growers and from the castle grounds, and a gardener works on the kitchen team.
The restaurant states that each product is used in its own season and that supply follows what the land yields, and the menus bear this out: an October selection of mackerel, lemon sole, partridge and autumn truffle, and a December menu drawn from the year's best dishes. Pickling and preserving run through the cooking.
Vegetables lead the kitchen's thinking: a complete vegetable menu runs alongside the main one at the same number of courses, the restaurant was the only Walloon house to take part in the first Belgian edition of Semaine sans viande in October 2023, and Tanguy De Turck contributed recipes to a vegetable cookbook written with chefs from across Europe. Le Vieux Château is listed in the We're Smart Green Guide, ranked 64th in its 2025 world Top 100 of vegetable restaurants.
The impact dimensions
Low waste & circular practices
Sustainable animal products
Vegetables, chocolate and cheese from named regional suppliers; luxury imports included on the carte.
De Zaalling, a two-hectare organic market garden at Nukerke in the Flemish Ardennes, supplies vegetables exclusively. Chocolate is made bean-to-bar by Cédric de Taeye in neighbouring Ellezelles; cheese is matured by the Belgian affineur Van Tricht; figs come from named growers Patrick & Marijke and from the castle's own garden.
The Pays des Collines and Flemish Ardennes are one continuous hill district across the language border, so producer proximity is stronger than a strict provincial test would show. Against this, the carte carries long-distance luxury items, Wagyu A5, Norwegian langoustine, caviar, which balance the local focus at roughly half the key categories.
Monthly menus follow seasonal availability from a single market garden; October features game and autumn ingredients, December runs a best-of-the-year selection.
Seasonality is the kitchen's stated guiding principle: each product comes in its own time, after growth, flowering and maturation. Buying vegetables exclusively from one two-hectare market garden makes this structural; the menu can only carry what that grower has harvested. A separate monthly menu is published, with the October 2026 edition running mackerel with glasswort, lemon sole with mussels, partridge with parsnip and autumn truffle.
The We're Smart Green Guide's admission criterion is a menu at least two-thirds fruit and vegetables, and its 2025 ranking places this restaurant at number 64. The fixed menus rotate through the year, a Best of 2026 selection runs from 2 to 20 December, while long-distance items (Wagyu, Norwegian langoustine, caviar, yuzu, kalamansi) remain on the carte throughout.
Zero waste vegetable broth made from trim; in-house pickles and preserves.
A potée de légumes on the Côté Jardin menu is served with pickles and a bouillon zéro déchet, a zero-waste broth built from vegetable trim. Preservation runs alongside: marinated mushrooms, mushroom escabèche and pickles appear across the menus.
This practice was found on an aggregator copy of an earlier menu version rather than the restaurant's current published page, and the dish does not appear on the October 2026 selection, so recency is not confirmed. No packaging, waste stream or energy measure was found in any channel.
Foie gras is on the carte; luxury imports lack certification; named animal producers appear only in game season.
Foie gras is on the current à la carte as a terrine served with garden figs, which caps this dimension at level two under the rubric. High-impact luxury commodities carry no sustainability qualification: Wagyu A5 is graded for marbling, House of Caviar farmed sturgeon roe is named without a scheme, and Norwegian langoustine is a species without a supplier.
Game duck and partridge are named in season, and an earlier menu version named Ruben Vandewalle as a lamb producer. The chef is reported in regional press to encourage conscious meat eating by cutting volume; this is a genuine stance on reduction but not traceability, and the organic commitment on vegetables does not transfer to the animal dimension.
Hosted Semaine sans viande meat-free week event; contributed to vegetable cookbook with European chefs; youth menu at €95 for under-30s.
This restaurant was the only Walloon house to participate in the first Belgian edition of Semaine sans viande, the national meat-free week, held in October 2023. Tanguy De Turck contributed recipes to a hundred-recipe vegetable cookbook written with chefs from across Europe, a second named public commitment.
A Jeune Gastronome menu at €95 all-in is offered for diners under 30 on Wednesday and Thursday, a stated access measure. The restaurant arranges partner taxi services for guests and points visitors to nearby accommodation, and the team page states that every link from gardener to chef matters.
Côté Jardin vegetable menu matches the house menu in length and pricing; about a third of guests order it; Michelin notes the vegetable technique.
Côté Jardin is a complete vegetable menu in three, four and five course lengths (€75, €105, €135) at the same pricing as the house menu. Each length has dedicated wine, juice and infusion pairings and a cheese option. The We're Smart Green Guide lists this restaurant at number 64 in its 2025 Top 100 of vegetable restaurants, an admission criterion of at least two-thirds fruit and vegetables. About a third of guest enquiries ask for the vegetable menu, particularly among younger diners.
The chef is quoted saying vegetables allow more creative freedom and considerably more work. The Michelin review describes the vegetarian menu as showing vegetable technique. The carte carries a vegetable starter (romanesco couscous), main (beetroot Wellington) and a vegan dessert at the same price as the chocolate version. The level is held at four rather than five because animal protein is neither minimal nor responsibly sourced.
Sourcing signals
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Direct named-farm sourcing
The restaurant names garden figs and tomatoes on its menu and lists a gardener among the 16-person team.
Vegetables come exclusively from De Zaailing organic market garden; chocolate from Cédric de Taeye; cheese from Van Tricht; figs from Patrick & Marijke.
Bread, pastry, petits fours, pickles and stocks are prepared in house.
