4 - Recognised
i
De Fakkels has confirmed practice across five areas of responsible cooking. Produce comes largely from the Haspengouw fields around Sint-Truiden, with the Me Amore pear grown in the Limburg fruit belt and Belgian farm chicken from La Belle Flamande among the named items, and the wine list is built on Limburg growers to keep the chain short. The menu turns with the seasons, an autumn run on partridge, pumpkin and pear giving way in spring to morels and white asparagus.
Little leaves the kitchen as waste: vegetable trimmings are worked up into pesto and other base preparations, lemon is cured for months at a time, and what cannot be cooked goes to a nearby organic farm as animal feed. In January 2026 the kitchen cooked 500 portions of game stew for the Sint-Vincentius food bank, funded by selling off the restaurant's old plates, and Seppe Bleus has said he wants to widen the scheme to other restaurants in the region.
De Fakkels is listed in the We're Smart Green Guide, which follows kitchens for their work with vegetables and fruit.
The impact dimensions
Low waste & circular practices✓
Sustainable animal products✓
Produce largely from Haspengouw fields around Sint-Truiden, with La Belle Flamande poultry and Me Amore pears among named sources, and Limburg wines chosen to shorten the chain.
Local sourcing is an explicit pillar of this kitchen. Horeca Magazine reports that the chef monitors the origin of every ingredient, works preferably with produce from the Haspengouw fields around Sint-Truiden, and chooses Limburg wines specifically to shorten the supply chain.
Two named sources are traceable: the Me Amore pear is described as made in Limburg, and La Belle Flamande is a Belgian brand reared by a fixed set of selected growers on plant-based GMO-free feed with no preventive antibiotics, transport under three hours and slaughter at 49 to 55 days. The restaurant's own site places the taste of seasonal and regional products at the centre.
The menu is completely rebuilt with the seasons, moving from autumn partridge and pumpkin to spring morels and white asparagus.
Seasonality is stated as a founding orientation: Horeca Magazine traces the approach to the chef's grandparents, who cooked only with what the season offered them. The restaurant's own site puts the taste of seasonal and regional products at the centre.
Rotation is visible across two independent snapshots of the menu. The Gault&Millau review describes a spring menu of brill, morels with goose liver, and white asparagus with champagne sauce, while the autumn tasting menu is built on sea buckthorn, pumpkin, partridge, pied de mouton and pear. The whole tasting menu therefore changes with the season.
Vegetable trimmings are processed into base preparations such as pesto; what the kitchen cannot use goes to a local organic farm as animal feed.
Zero waste is one of the stated pillars of this kitchen. Horeca Magazine reports that residual streams are put to maximum use: vegetable trimmings are processed into base preparations such as pesto, and what the kitchen cannot use returns to a neighbouring organic farmer as animal feed.
Independent coverage corroborates the approach and names specifics. The hap-en-tap review records the stated motto that nothing may be lost, with lemon cured on salt for two and a half months, pear trimmings turned into a chocolate sauce, and visually imperfect pieces used for a gel.
La Belle Flamande poultry is named, reared on plant-based GMO-free feed without preventive antibiotics; no welfare labels found for fish and game.
One named, verifiable poultry source is documented: La Belle Flamande is a Belgian brand reared by a fixed set of selected growers on 100 percent plant-based GMO-free feed with no preventive antibiotics, no growth promoters or hormones, transport under three hours, and slaughter between 49 and 55 days, which is slower growing than standard broiler practice.
For the fish and game served, which include halibut, brook char, brill, partridge and venison, no named supplier, catch method or certification was found in any channel consulted. The kitchen's general monitoring of ingredient origin is documented under local sourcing.
In January 2026, the kitchen cooked 500 portions of game stew for the Sint-Vincentius food bank, with the chef stating an intention to widen the scheme to other restaurants in the region.
One named and verifiable community commitment is documented. Truiensnieuws reported that Seppe Bleus and his team cooked 500 portions of game stew for the Sint-Vincentius food bank. The action was deliberately made halal and alcohol-free and bulked out with extra vegetables, during a period when the restaurant was closed.
The initiative was funded through a Bord voor Bord plate sale, raising 2,000 euro to buy 100 kilograms of venison. The chef stated an intention to widen the initiative to other restaurants in the region and to reach up to 1,500 portions. The team is involved in decision-making as well as execution, and the restaurant's own site records a work placement that grew into a permanent position for a brigade member.
Vegetables are named as components in their own right, with pumpkin, celeriac, chervil root and pied de mouton carrying courses; vegetarians are accommodated on notice.
Plants hold a strong structural role in the menu. The restaurant's own pages and Gault&Millau review show vegetables and fruit named as components rather than as garnishes or sides, with pumpkin, celeriac, chervil root, cabbage and pied de mouton carrying courses of their own, and two of the six autumn courses led by fruit (pear closing the menu).
The We're Smart Green Guide holds a listing, whose entry notes the incoming chef's positioning on vegetable work. Vegetarians are accommodated on request rather than through a published vegetarian tasting menu, and no vegan offering was found in any channel.
Sourcing signals
Vegetable trimmings are processed into base preparations such as pesto; lemon is cured on salt for two and a half months; pear trimmings are turned into a chocolate sauce and gel; patisserie is made in house with a dedicated pastry chef and patissier on the brigade.
