4 - Recognised
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ALTER sources locally and regionally where the kitchen can make it so, and keeps close working relationships with its producers. The menu follows the seasons: it changes with what the market is offering, and the chef builds his dishes from the seasonal produce in front of him. Fish comes through the North Sea Chefs collective, which Grootaers joined in 2020 and which exists to put lesser known and undervalued species from Belgian and Dutch waters, together with the bycatch landed with them, on restaurant menus. Vegetables are given a full place beside fish and meat, and the kitchen cooks a full vegetarian tasting menu at the same length as its main menus.
ALTER is listed in the We're Smart Green Guide, the European guide to vegetable led cooking.
The impact dimensions
Low waste & circular practices✓
Sustainable animal products✓
Regional sourcing for seafood through the North Sea Chefs collective; other categories draw on global ingredients.
Jo Grootaers is a member of the North Sea Chefs collective (2020 cohort), which sources fish landed by Belgian and Dutch fishermen and exists to promote lesser-known and undervalued species. Independent food journalism reports that the kitchen works with local and seasonal products as far as it can and maintains close ties with its producers. A Gault&Millau review names North Sea crab on the plate, corroborating the commitment in practice.
The published à la carte shows substantial non-regional sourcing in other categories: gambero rosso, Basque Aradoa pearl hen, Manchego, and Japanese and Peruvian store cupboard ingredients. The vegetarian menu and tasting menus also feature ingredients from outside the region. Roughly two of the key categories, seafood and produce, show evidenced local or regional origin.
Menu rotates with market availability; a dedicated three course market menu runs on Thursdays and Fridays.
Seasonality is communicated as a guiding principle by independent sources and is structurally visible in the menu programme. Food journalism reports that the kitchen works with local and seasonal products and that its menus move with the seasons. The Jeunes Restaurateurs listing states that the menu is seasonal and changes according to whatever is market fresh.
The chef describes his creative process as starting from the seasonal product lists in front of him. The restaurant publishes a dedicated three course market menu on Thursdays and Fridays alongside its tasting menus. Rotation is independently observable across guides: a vegetarian menu is cooked to the inspiration of the moment, and recent dishes have featured peach, tomato, sweet pepper, figs and blackberries in summer and autumn, or pumpkin and mandarin in cooler months.
The kitchen aims to limit food waste and make full use of every ingredient.
The chef has stated that the kitchen strives to use everything and limit food waste, with a goal towards zero waste. Independent food journalism corroborates that the restaurant tries to make maximum use of its ingredients. No specific waste-reduction practice, composting, fermentation, nose-to-tail work, energy measures, or packaging policy, is documented in published sources.
Seafood sourced through North Sea Chefs for Belgian and Dutch waters; meat shows regional provenance without welfare certification.
Jo Grootaers is a member of the North Sea Chefs collective, which connects member chefs with Belgian and Dutch fishermen and works to promote lesser-known species and bycatch. Independent sources confirm that the kitchen places significant weight on fish from local waters.
Meat shows partial provenance: the menu names Holstein beef and Basque Aradoa pearl hen, a breed and a named regional poultry label respectively. No butcher is named and no MSC, ASC, Beter Leven or organic welfare certification is held. Gambero rosso appears on the à la carte without a sustainability qualification. No foie gras was found on any published menu.
The restaurant is run by Jo Grootaers and his wife Lana Kelchtermans, who took full ownership in January 2023.
The restaurant is operated by Jo Grootaers and his wife Lana Kelchtermans, who took full ownership in January 2023. The sommelier Rudy Schurmans and the kitchen team continued through the ownership transition.
Independent food journalism reports that the owners take particular pride in the team they have assembled and in the staff's willingness to contribute to the restaurant's story.
Vegetarian tasting menu at full length; vegetables are given equal weight alongside fish and meat. Vegan is not offered.
The restaurant holds a We're Smart Green Guide listing and serves a four or five course vegetarian tasting menu according to the inspiration of the moment. Vegetables are given a full place alongside fish and meat on all menus. Vegetables are named as co-equal components throughout the published à la carte.
Vegan is explicitly unavailable on all menu formats. The headline tasting menus lead with the animal protein in most dish titles, so animal proteins remain at least equally prominent rather than plants being the structural foundation.
