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Maison Colette Food Identity independently reviewed
Food Identity How restaurants source, cook and care. Independently reviewed

Maison Colette

A classical French kitchen in a restored doctor's house in Westerlo, where North Sea fish, Belgian veal and the vegetables of the season carry the menu.

Food Identity How restaurants source, cook and care. Independently reviewed

Maison Colette

A classical French kitchen in a restored doctor's house in Westerlo, where North Sea fish, Belgian veal and the vegetables of the season carry the menu.

The essentials, at a glance


Documented practices
Independently
reviewed
Seasonal cooking
Responsible meat & fish

Documented practices

Seasonal cooking Menu rebuilds seasonally with market produce
Responsible meat & fish Sources Bresse poultry and North Sea fish

Style
Fine dining
Cuisine
French
Good to know
Terrace
Garden
Private dining room
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide

The delicious details

Maison Colette takes its name from Colette Leemans, the grandmother who first taught chef Thijs Vervloet to cook. He runs the house with Lore Leys, who looks after the dining room, in the Westerlo village where he grew up.

The building is a former doctor's residence, restored and extended with a glass fronted dining room of about ten tables looking onto the garden. A separate salon takes private parties, and the terrace opens onto the grounds in warmer months.

The cooking is French and classical in discipline. North Sea turbot and brill, Belgian veal and Bresse poultry share the plate with vegetables worked at the same level as the protein, and the menus turn with the seasons, from spring asparagus and peas to autumn chanterelles and Doyenné du Comice pear.

Menu
What's on the table, and what's left off

The kitchen works in classical French discipline, building sauces and stocks in house. North Sea fish, Belgian veal and Bresse poultry share the plate with vegetables prepared at the same level. The signature menu runs eight courses; lunch is a four-course market menu. A vegetarian version is offered on request.

The kitchen cooks in a classical French register, building its sauces and stocks in house and preparing dishes to order rather than relying on bought in bases.

Fish comes from the North Sea, with turbot and brill on the carte beside Belgian veal and Bresse poultry. Vegetables are given the same attention as the protein: cauliflower cream, leek and artichoke, endive, chanterelles and garden beans each carry a course of their own.

Lunch is a four course market menu, and the full signature menu runs to eight courses. A vegetarian version of the signature menu is prepared on request when it is mentioned at booking.

Cuisine

French

Dietary options

Vegetarian options
Allergies & intolerances
How this kitchen handles the EU-14 allergens
Handled on request
Public sources point to a working level of allergen accommodation, but no dedicated preparation area. Treat this as a starting point and confirm directly.
Always confirm your allergy directly with the restaurant when booking.
Researched from public sources · maison-colette.be · not yet confirmed by the restaurant
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
2 - Engaged

The menus at Maison Colette turn with the produce calendar: spring and summer services are built on asparagus, peas, girolles, artichokes and garden beans, while autumn brings chanterelles, Jonagold apple and Doyenné du Comice pear.

Chef Thijs Vervloet belongs to NorthSeaChefs, the Belgian collective that cooks with lesser used species landed by Belgian boats, and brill and North Sea turbot appear on the current menu. The Bresse poultry served here carries a protected designation of origin, which sets its own rearing and welfare requirements.

The restaurant is listed in the We're Smart Green Guide, which notes the standard of the vegetable cooking.

The impact dimensions

Local & direct sourcing✓

Seasonal cooking✓

Sustainable animal products✓

Social impact

Plant-forward menu✓

The kitchen sources North Sea fish, Belgian veal and Bresse poultry, and the chef values local Belgian asparagus where seasonal.

Chef Thijs Vervloet positions the kitchen as valuing local Belgian products and farmers. A field visit to a local asparagus grower is documented on the restaurant's own channels, and the Gault&Millau listing names local white and green asparagus on the menu.

The kitchen sources North Sea fish including turbot and brill, Belgian veal and Bresse poultry. An independent review of March 2026 names Brittany langoustine, Pertuis asparagus and Bresse poultry among recurring menu items, alongside North Sea species and Belgian veal.

Strongest sourcegillespudlowski.com ↗

The menu rebuilds seasonally, with spring asparagus and summer girolles giving way to autumn chanterelles and Doyenné du Comice pear.

The kitchen rebuilds its menus around what is in season. Courses are built on white and green asparagus and garden beans in spring and summer, and shift to chanterelles, mandarins and Doyenné du Comice pear in autumn.

The four-course lunch menu runs Wednesday to Friday and is described as a market menu, with both menu and pricing subject to change as produce availability shifts. The Gault&Millau listing and independent reviews corroborate the seasonal rotation across several months.

Strongest sourceGault&Millau ↗

The kitchen carries North Sea turbot and brill via NorthSeaChefs, Bresse poultry with welfare certification, and Belgian veal.

Chef Thijs Vervloet holds a profile on NorthSeaChefs, the Belgian collective working to put lesser-used North Sea species landed by Belgian boats onto restaurant menus. His preferred fish, red gurnard, turbot, brill and North Sea prawns, appear on the current menu, with grilled brill and North Sea turbot documented in recent reviews.

Poularde de Bresse, a protected designation of origin with its own rearing and age requirements, appears on the signature menu and à la carte. Belgian veal and wild sea bass are named by origin. Imperial Heritage caviar is named as a brand.

Strongest sourceNorthSeaChefs ↗

The kitchen is a family-run house with dedicated staff facilities and a team built on collaboration and open communication.

The restaurant takes its name from Colette Leemans, the grandmother who first taught chef Thijs Vervloet to cook. He runs the kitchen alongside Lore Leys, who manages the dining room.

The kitchen team is built on collaboration and open communication rather than hierarchy, and includes staff from abroad. The new building includes dedicated staff facilities and a separate staff entrance, and the team runs to around twenty people.

Strongest sourcedebic.com ↗

Vegetables are prepared to the standard of protein, but the menu structure is led by animal dishes; vegetarian version on request.

Vegetables carry individual named courses across the menu, cauliflower cream, leek and artichoke, endive, chanterelle, peas and garden beans, and are prepared to the same standard as protein. The We're Smart Green Guide notes the standard of this vegetable cooking.

The menu structure is nonetheless led by animal protein: the signature menu runs veal tartare, scallop, brill and Bresse poultry, and the carte features langoustine, lobster, caviar, turbot and beef. A vegetarian version of the signature menu is offered on request when mentioned at booking.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗

Sourcing signals

✓
In-house preparation

Everything is prepared on the spot, with separate bakery, pastry, cold and cooking stations. Sauces are finished to order.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
De Trannoyplein 17, 2260 Westerlo, Westerlo, Belgium
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€€€
Format
Ten tables, eight-course signature, by reservation
Hours
MondayClosed
TuesdayClosed
Wednesday12:00–13:00, 19:00–20:00
Thursday12:00–13:00, 19:00–20:00
Friday12:00–13:00, 19:00–20:00
Saturday12:00–13:00, 19:00–20:00
Sunday12:00–13:00
Style
Fine dining
Good to know
Terrace
Garden
Private dining room
Web
maison-colette.be
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 7 Oct 2026
Reserve To website
Link copied
How we score
The My Treats impact scale

Every restaurant is assessed against SEERO, our six-dimension sustainability framework — covering sourcing, seasonality, waste, animal products, social impact, and plant-forward cooking. Each finding is weighted by how strongly it is corroborated. The combined result is translated into an impact score from 1 to 5.

The five levels

SEERO is an acronym for Starting, Engaged, Endorsed, Recognised, Outstanding:

Starting First verified signals of sustainable practice.
Engaged Credible practice across two dimensions.
This place
Endorsed Meaningful practice across three or more dimensions.
Recognised Strong practice across four or more dimensions, with independent corroboration.
Outstanding Top-tier practice, confirmed by recognised third-party audit.

How a level is reached. Each level needs two things together: a minimum number of dimensions covered, and a minimum overall strength of evidence across them. A dimension only counts once its evidence is specific and substantiated — a passing mention doesn't qualify. Meeting only one of the two keeps a restaurant a level lower.

Scores of four or five require human validation and, at the top tier, an external audit. Scores are based on publicly available evidence and restaurant submissions at the time of assessment.

Full methodology→
Impact dimension
—
How this dimension works
—
How evidence is weighted
Self-declared Stated by the restaurant on its website, menu or in a submission. Plausible, but not yet independently corroborated.
Researched Found through independent research; one credible third-party source backs the claim.
Vouched Corroborated across more than one independent source. Some gaps may remain.
Audited Fully corroborated across independent sources or by a recognised third-party certification.
What the sourcing checkmarks mean
✓ Full check — independently verified: corroborated across more than one source, or audited / third-party certified (vouched or audited).
✓ Light check — self-declared or from a single source. Not yet independently verified.
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