4 - Recognised
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Rebelle's kitchen is built around where ingredients come from and what the season offers.
Local and direct sourcing shapes what the kitchen prioritises: North Sea fish and hop shoots grown close to Marke, bought through direct contact with producers rather than through anonymous wholesale. Seasonality structures the menus further: the short formats of three, six or seven courses turn over almost completely between spring and autumn, moving from white asparagus through to partridge, chanterelles and parsnip. Vegetables are built into each dish as a main element rather than a side, and a full plant based menu is prepared on request.
Rebelle is listed in the We're Smart Green Guide, the vegetable focused guide to plant forward kitchens, and chef Martijn Defauw is a member of North Sea Chefs, the Belgian collective that works directly with North Sea fishers to bring lesser known local species onto menus.
The impact dimensions
Low waste & circular practices✓
Sustainable animal products✓
North Sea fish and locally grown hop shoots, sourced directly from producers; imports include hamachi, yuzu and French Bouchot mussels.
Martijn Defauw is listed as a member of North Sea Chefs, the Belgian collective that connects chefs directly to fishers to eat what the Belgian North Sea produces and promote lesser known species. The kitchen prioritises North Sea fish as a result, and has close relationships with local producers for vegetables, including the hop shoots grown close to Marke.
The menus include dishes such as cod with Bouchot mussels, and Michelin's listing notes that Defauw prioritises North Sea fish and locally grown hop shoots. On the beverage side, a sommelier-led programme balances natural wines with classics and non-alcoholic pairings.
Menus rotate almost entirely between spring and autumn, moving from white asparagus in spring to partridge and chanterelles in autumn.
The restaurant describes each menu as a reflection of the best ingredients of the moment. It publishes a short fixed menu of three, six or seven courses that turns over almost completely between spring and autumn, moving from white asparagus in spring through to partridge, chanterelles and parsnip in autumn.
The Michelin Guide notes that Rebelle works with seasonal products from local suppliers, and Gault&Millau's review of a spring menu names white asparagus and fermented asparagus foam, whilst the October menu carries pointed cabbage, partridge with chanterelles, and parsnip. This rotation covers almost every course on the menu.
Fermented asparagus foam and fermented tomato foam; house-made sauces and patisserie; no other waste-reduction measures published.
The Gault&Millau review names specific in-house techniques: a house-made XO sauce, fermented asparagus foam and fermented tomato foam. The restaurant's current menu shows it produces its own patisserie, with a caramel flan and citrus millefeuille.
Fermentation and preservation are recognised waste-reduction practices, and in-house production of sauces and desserts avoids packaging waste and supplier margins. Beyond these categories, no composting scheme, food waste partner, packaging measure or energy practice is documented in the restaurant's own pages or in any guide entry.
Member of North Sea Chefs; Bouchot mussels and wild partridge; hamachi (farmed carnivorous fish) appears unqualified on the menu.
Chef Martijn Defauw is listed as a member of North Sea Chefs, the Belgian collective dedicated to eating what the Belgian fisher lands and promoting lesser known North Sea species. This membership connects the kitchen directly to fishers and creates a commitment to a shorter supply chain for seafood.
The current menu names Bouchot mussels, a specific rope and pole-grown method lower in environmental impact, and partridge, which is wild seasonal game. The Michelin listing independently records North Sea fish as a sourcing priority. Against this, hamachi (farmed and imported carnivorous marine fish) appears on the six and seven course menus without qualification.
Restaurant closed Saturday evening, Sunday and Monday; sommelier role offers free time, active guidance, sector training and salary aligned to experience.
The restaurant's vacancy page for an assistant sommelier sets out the working conditions: the kitchen closes Saturday evening, Sunday and Monday, creating structured time off. The role offers active guidance from the sommelier with room to grow and access to formal training in the sector.
The Michelin and Gault&Millau entries both confirm the three closing periods independently, published as part of the kitchen's hours. A salary aligned to experience is also mentioned on the vacancy page. This pattern of structured working time and investment in staff development satisfies the rubric's level 3 threshold for verifiable social commitment.
Strongest source Restaurant submission
We're Smart Green Guide listed; full plant-based menu prepared on request at reservation; no vegetarian or vegan main on the published menus.
The We're Smart Green Guide, the dedicated guide to vegetable-focused kitchens, lists Rebelle and records that plant-based dining is available on request at reservation. Vegetables are built into nearly every course as a main element rather than appearing as a side, with examples including pointed cabbage with the cod, elephant garlic and aubergine parmigiana with the veal, and parsnip with the partridge.
The published three, six and seven course menus carry no vegetarian or vegan main course, and a plant-based menu exists only on request at booking. The Michelin entry names locally grown hop shoots as a sourcing priority, and includes a signature raw oyster with green apple and radishes.
Sourcing signals
House-made XO sauce, fermented asparagus foam, fermented tomato foam and patisserie are documented by Gault&Millau and the current menu.
