4 - Recognised
i
Sourcing sits close to home and carries names. Almost all vegetables come from the restaurant's own five hectare garden, where around 400 species are grown, and the producers behind the rest are credited: Berkshire pork from Guy Vanhoof, trout from Ondenval, green asparagus from the Noël family, an aged cow each year from Lothar Viltz in Murringen. The season decides the menu rather than the other way round, and the garden's calendar is what moves it.
Waste reduction runs through the cooking. Whole plants are used end to end, the fermentation cellar preserves the summer and autumn harvest for the winter months, miso and soy sauce are made on site, and the kitchen seeks out cooking methods that use the least energy and water. Meat and fish appear in small quantities and are traced back to named farms. On the people side, the number of weekly services has been cut back so staff have real time away from work.
Vegetables are the centre of the kitchen's identity, which the We're Smart Green Guide recognises with a place at number 17 in its Top 100 for 2025 and its Pure Plant Choices designation. The restaurant also holds a Michelin Green Star, awarded in 2021 for its short supply chains, and is listed in the 360 Eat Guide.
The impact dimensions
Low waste & circular practices✓
Sustainable animal products✓
Vegetables from the restaurant's own five hectare garden supply about 95 per cent of what the kitchen uses, with named Walloon farms providing the rest: trout from Ondenval, Berkshire pork from Guy Vanhoof, and green asparagus from the Noël family.
A five hectare garden beside the restaurant, run by head gardener Benoît Blairvacq, grows roughly 400 species of vegetables and herbs. The chef states the restaurant is self sufficient in vegetables and that around 95 per cent of those used come from these gardens.
Animal products and bought in produce are traced to named Walloon producers. The May 2026 tasting menu credits trout from Ondenval, Berkshire pork from Guy Vanhoof and green asparagus from the Noël family. Earlier coverage names an aged cow each year from Lothar Viltz in Murringen, Berkshire pigs from the Ferme de Tabreux in Hamoir, pigeon from Jean-Yves Bruyère in Eghezée, and matured beef from the butcher Philippe Rondou in Leuven.
The garden calendar sets the menu, and fermentation in a dedicated cellar carries the summer and autumn harvest through the winter months.
The restaurant's menu is built on what the garden is ready to give, so the cooking turns with the season. A May 2026 independent review describes the opening dish as a compass that travels the year following the rhythm of the seasons, and records a spring menu built on the first radishes and white and green asparagus, with the plate described as evolving continually.
Lacto fermentation in a dedicated cellar carries the summer and autumn harvest into the winter menus rather than reaching for out of season imports. The chef states that only seasonal produce is used across the garden's roughly 400 species.
Whole plants are used end to end, miso and soy sauce are made on site instead of bought in, and lacto fermentation in a dedicated cellar preserves the harvest for winter menus.
On the food waste side, whole plants are used end to end, the fermentation cellar preserves the garden's summer and autumn harvest for the winter months, miso and soy sauce are made on site, and Mangalitza pigs were introduced both to prepare the soil without mechanical tilling and to be used in full.
On energy and water, the kitchen seeks cooking methods that use the least energy and water, including steaming proteins over gently heated vegetable leaves. The chef describes plans for 500 square metres of solar panels to cover 85 per cent of the site's energy and a field water recycling system. Michelin awarded a Green Star in 2021 for the restaurant's sustainable approach and short supply chains.
Trout from Ondenval and Berkshire pork from Guy Vanhoof appear sparingly on the menus, named on the plate.
Animal products are deliberately a small part of the offer, with fish and meat appearing as an accent in a limited number of dishes. The May 2026 tasting menu credits trout from Ondenval and Berkshire pork from Guy Vanhoof. Earlier coverage names an aged cow each year from Lothar Viltz in Murringen, Berkshire pigs from the Ferme de Tabreux in Hamoir, and pigeon raised on crop milk then cereals by Jean-Yves Bruyère in Eghezée.
A vegetarian menu is available on the standing offer.
The chef employs 80 people across four restaurants and has cut the weekly services from ten to five to protect staff time away from work.
The chef employs 80 people across his four restaurants and has deliberately cut back the number of weekly services from ten to five, closing deliberately so that staff have real time away from work. He describes reading his teams closely after years of 90 hour weeks himself, and the Michelin listing carries his statement that people and relationships come before technique.
The restaurant runs cooking courses and garden immersion for guests, and the chef takes a public position on the trade's role in society and politics.
Vegetables are the centre of the kitchen's identity, with meat and fish appearing sparingly as an accent in a limited number of dishes.
The garden supplies the restaurant's vegetables almost in full across roughly 400 species. A 2019 independent review describes the cooking as around 80 per cent vegetable based produced in near total autonomy, and Michelin and Gault&Millau both describe vegetable led cooking with the garden as its source.
The We're Smart Green Guide lists the restaurant at number 17 in its Top 100 for 2025 and awards its Pure Plant Choices designation, offering it as an example of the We're Smart restaurant of the future. A vegetarian menu is available.
Sourcing signals
✓
Direct named-farm sourcing
A five hectare garden beside the restaurant is run by head gardener Benoît Blairvacq with roughly 400 species of vegetables and herbs.
Producers are named on the plate: trout from Ondenval, Berkshire pork from Guy Vanhoof, and green asparagus from the Noël family.
Miso and soy sauce are made on site instead of bought in, and lacto fermentation in a dedicated cellar preserves the harvest for winter menus.
