Thierry Theys of restaurant Nuance in Duffel has been named ‘Chef of the Year’ by Gault&Millau. The nineteenth edition of the restaurant guide was presented virtually on Monday. View an overview of the best restaurants on the map at the bottom of the article.
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Theys was already named ‘Young chef of the year’ in 2009, when he was immediately awarded 17 out of 20 points and three chef’s hats. The restaurant guide praises Theys’ ‘sense for nuances’, as well as his ‘contrasts worked out in well-balanced details and sharply drawn plate mirrors’. According to Gault&Millau, Theys’ kitchen has ‘a signature that characterizes the entire process, from appetizers to sweets with coffee, and as a result spoils the guests with numerous nice finds full of sensory stimuli’.
Hof van Cleve in Kruisem and Bon-Bon in Brussels can call themselves the best restaurants of the year with 19.5 points. The three discoveries of the year are Klost’r (Vlijtingen) for Flanders, Savage for Brussels and Racines (Floreffe) for Wallonia.
Despite the ongoing corona pandemic, the Gault&Millau inspectors visited 1,375 Belgian restaurants, 135 of which were visited by the restaurant guide for the first time this year, the guide for 2022 has more than 70 new top restaurants. It was the second year in a row that the gastronomic guide was launched online. ‘We would of course have preferred it differently’, said Marc Declerck, director of the guide.
Ciro’s in Antwerp was voted best brasserie in Belgium, the best Asian restaurant is Nonbe Daigaku in Brussels and San Daniele in Brussels was crowned best Belgian Italian. Benjamin De Buck of restaurant Vrijmoed in Ghent can call himself the best sommelier in Belgium for a year by Gault&Millau.
The inspectors of Gault&Millau found the best wine list at Sans Cravate (Bruges), Arthur Orlans is Brussels’ best cocktail bar, Taratata (Hasselt) has the best beer list. The gastro-bistro of the year is Door 73 (Ghent). Jonas Kellens of Dim Dining in Antwerp is ‘Host of the Year’ and Jan Nijs was elected ‘Craftsman of the Year’. He works at Plein 25 in Elsegem.
Highest Newcomers
Highest newcomer in Flanders is Hertog Jan in Antwerp, they scored 18 out of 20 points. Last year Bar Bulot in Bruges, from the hat of Hertog Jan duo Gert De Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens, still the best brasserie. In Brussels, La Villa Lorraine by Yves Mattagne became the highest newcomer with 16.5 out of 20 points. Toma (Liège) and Le Grand Verre (Durbuy) both scored 16 out of 20, making them the highest newcomers in Wallonia together.
François-Xavier Lambory van Stirwen was crowned best young top chef in Brussels, Martin Volkaerts from L’Amandier can call himself the young top chef of Wallonia from Gault&Millau. The restaurant guide found the young top chef for Flanders in Martijn Defauw of Rebelle.
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