2 - Engaged
i
The kitchen runs on the season rather than a fixed card. Steven Buelens goes to the Brussels early market every week and the menu follows what is available there, so dishes turn over continuously through the year. Gault&Millau's reviewers single out top seasonal produce as the mark of the cooking.
Waste is kept low by the same method: guests eat what the kitchen has bought that week, so little is left over. Bottled water was dropped years ago in favour of a filter system, plants, berries and blossoms are picked from the garden behind the house, and the weekly market run is planned so that 90% of ingredients reach the restaurant in a single car trip.
The impact dimensions
Low waste & circular practices
Sustainable animal products
Sourcing is organised around a weekly Brussels early market trip; 90% of raw materials arrive in one car journey. Kaasmeesters Van Tricht in Antwerp supplies cheese; plants, berries and blossoms come from the restaurant's own garden.
Steven Buelens visits the Brussels early market every week and organises sourcing around that trip, with the restaurant stating that 90% of raw materials arrive in a single car journey. Kaasmeesters Van Tricht in Antwerp is the named cheese supplier for Wetteren, and Kazen Schockaert for Mechelen. Plants, berries and blossoms are picked from the restaurant's own garden behind the mansion.
A wholesale market does not establish the origin of individual ingredients, so the geographic provenance of produce, meat and fish cannot be confirmed from web sources. Local sourcing is positioned as a value of the kitchen, and the 90% single-trip logistics demonstrates commitment to concentrated supply chains.
The kitchen has no fixed menu; Steven Buelens visits the Brussels early market weekly and the carte blanche menu is composed from what is available there, with dishes changing continuously through the year.
There is no fixed menu card. Steven Buelens visits the Brussels early market every week, and the kitchen composes a carte blanche menu from what is available there, served as six amuse bouche followed by four or five courses. Dishes change continuously through the year following market availability.
Gault&Millau's review independently characterises the cooking by top seasonal produce as its mark. Seasonality is the structural organising principle of the menu rather than a decorative detail, and the at-least-weekly turnover meets the threshold for strong seasonal engagement.
The fixed carte blanche format means minimal food waste; bottled water was replaced with a filter system; 90% of market produce arrives in one car trip.
The fixed carte blanche format means diners eat what the kitchen has bought that week, which the restaurant states results in very little waste. Bottled water was dropped years ago in favour of a filter system. Plants, berries and blossoms are harvested from the garden, and the weekly Brussels early market trip is planned so that 90% of raw materials reach the restaurant in a single car journey.
These are specific named practices across food waste, packaging and logistics. The restaurant was assessed for sustainable operations by a five-member jury as part of the 2022 Wetteren Horecazaak van het Jaar award.
Kaasmeesters Van Tricht in Antwerp is the named cheese supplier for Wetteren and Kazen Schockaert for Mechelen; no welfare certifications, named sourcing or ethical standards are documented for meat, poultry or seafood.
Kaasmeesters Van Tricht in Antwerp is the named cheese supplier for the Wetteren location, and Kazen Schockaert for Mechelen. No welfare certification, origin evidence or ethical standard is documented for these relationships.
No butcher, fishmonger, farm or fishing method is named for meat, poultry or seafood. Animal products are sourced through the Brussels early market, which narrows the sourcing picture without establishing verifiable supply relationships.
The restaurant employs five full-time kitchen staff plus twelve students and flexi workers; it opened the Mechelen site partly to preserve jobs and kept staff employed during closure. Steven Buelens restored the Dauwe mansion and opened the previously closed building to the public.
The restaurant employs five full-time kitchen staff alongside twelve students and flexi workers. It opened the Mechelen location partly to preserve jobs and kept its team employed during closure periods by moving to takeaway. The team page shows several sous chefs who began as Hotelschool Gent interns and stayed on.
Steven Buelens restored the Dauwe mansion, a protected building, and opened the previously closed domain to the public when Lesco started in 2011. These employment practices and local anchoring were assessed by a five-member jury for the 2022 Wetteren Horecazaak van het Jaar award.
The We're Smart Green Guide describes vegetables as creatively prepared but minimally present; vegetarian and vegan dining are available by request at booking but not published as menu features.
The We're Smart Green Guide profile describes vegetables as creatively prepared but minimally present on the menu. Vegetarian and vegan dining are available but are only mentioned in small print on the restaurant's own website and are handled as a request made at booking rather than as a published part of the menu.
Vegetables receive real attention within the dishes where they appear, but the menu structure is not plant-forward or plant-centred. The We're Smart guide does not assign a radish rating, indicating the restaurant is not recognised as a plant-forward kitchen within their assessment framework.
