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Love at First Bite

12:52 05/12/2011

Alex Weston is the owner of LaBritannique, a Forest-based catering company that covers everything from private dinners to corporate functions and events.

Set up in 2009, Weston's wanted to bring something fresh and innovative to the Brussels catering scene; the company motto is ‘making the world a tastier place, one bite at a time’ – a claim some of The Bulletin can heartily validate this claim. Galvanised by its success, Weston has decided to open a new café/bar / deli in St Gilles. But if you can't wait until 2012 to sample some of their wares you can catch LaBritannique at Winter Wonders Christmas market until it finishes in January. www.labritannique.com

Restaurant

This is tricky to nail down to one. My favourite restaurant was where I trained, Le Pain et Le Vin. The chef Olivier Morland was a real inspiration, but sadly the restaurant is no more. My favourite place in Belgium, not far from Brussels is L'air du temps. It is just off the E411 on the way to Namur and offers an amazing combination of inventive flair, local organic produce and plenty of modern gastronomic techniques. In Brussels when I have friends to stay, we usually go to La Roue d'Or just off the Grand Place - a true Belgian experience with generous portions of traditional classics without tourists - damn fine steaks by the way! For an evening with friends and a quick bite to eat, we'd usually choose a simple and very well-priced Vietnamese meal at Lotus Bleu on rue du Midi - honest and great friendly service and the food is super quick.

L’air du temps, 181 Chaussée de Louvain, 5310 Noville-sur-Mehaigne, 081.81.30.48,

La Roue d’Or, 26 Rue des Chapeliers, Brussels, 02.514.25.54,

Le Lotus Bleu, 70 Rue du Midi, Brussels, 02.502.62.99

Bar

I like places with a good atmosphere with great drinks and warm efficient service - I know plenty of places with one or two of these requirements, but few with all of them. An exception is Moeder Lambic, which has great beers (I think the widest choice in Brussels), and a professional but inviting and casual service style, both in St Gilles and downtown. Great atmosphere.

Moeder Lambic Original, 68 Rue de Savoie, Brussels, 02.544.16.99,

Moeder Lambic Fontainas, 8 Place Fontainas, Brussels, 02.503.60.68, www.moederlambic.eu

Drink

Summer or winter, I love Kasteel Rouge, and whenever I find it, be it in a bar or shop, I always have a couple. It's a strong Kriek. I think about 9.5%, but so deliciously tart and sweet, plus it has a real taste of cherries - refreshing in summer and warming in winter somehow. We also make a great Tiramisu à la Kriek with it - by boiling the beer down to a syrup with a touch of sugar.

Ingredients

If pushed, I'd say chicory, particularly at this time of year.  I used to loath it - I found it bitter and often undercooked, but I have come to love it over the years. We serve it both as a canapé when we have cocktail parties, as well as a side dish. We have reinvented Chicory Gratin with ham by pan-roasting the chicory in butter and sugar, and then giving them a parmesan and sour cream cover and wrapping them in Jamon Iberico and grilling in the oven. The taste is wonderful: both sweet and bitter, creamy and tart… food heaven!

Shop

I am trying to source as much as possible from either regional farms directly or from our local neighbourhood suppliers. Everyone moans about the loss of the local butcher, greengrocer or fishmonger, but quite simply if we don't use them, we lose them. I feel an even bigger duty to support our local companies as a local catering business, and fortunately I have three great suppliers on my doorstep - Etienne an award-winning butcher on Rue des Alliés, Max at ABC Poissonnerie (on Rue Sainte Catherine) who sources great fish from Spain and France on a daily basis and also our great local greengrocer, Ali at Boubas Fruit and Veg on Avenue Van Volxem - anyone living in Forest can recommend him: where else can you get nashi pears, fresh figs and pomegranates so easily?

Etienne, 179 Rue des Alliés, Brussels, tel 02.344.27.07,

ABC, 46 Rue Saint Catherine, Brussels, 02.512.75.47 www.poissonnerie-abc-mateos.com,

Boubas Superette, 217 Avenue Van Volxem, Forest, 02.343.37.75

Recipe

We have recently been developing a 'bio-dyanmic' range for our clients based on Northern European seasonal food and as part of the research, I looked to develop a recipe incorporating a lot of the autumnal produce that’s just on our doorstep. It's truly wonderful and if you can't find the time to make it now, you can get it at our Christmas Market stand on St Catherine. It uses lobster butter, which you can make at Christmas with leftover shells - simply butter and a touch of garlic with blended roasted lobster shells. Alternatively, you can also buy it at specialised grocer stores, like MDH in Anderlecht or Rob in Woluwe.

Chicory and butternut squash soup

Six hearty servings

2 onions, 2 cloves of garlic, 10 pieces of chicory, 1 butternut squash, chopped into large chunks with skin on, rubbed with thyme, salt and pepper, 1 tsp (or to taste) of Turkish chilli pepper flakes, 1 bottle of Chimay beer, 2 litres of chicken or vegetable stock

Garnish

3 or 4 prawns per person or 1 lobster tail each, 1 tsp per person of herring caviar frosted milk or sour cream on top, 1 sprig of dill per person, 1 dessertspoon of lobster butter per person

Roast the butternut squash with garlic and the Turkish red chilli flakes together with the thyme. Sweat chicory and onions with garlic until tender and then add chicken or vegetable stock with some Chimay beer. Then taste and season; it should be slightly sweet, so you might want to add some sugar as well as salt and pepper. Then once cooked through, add the roasted pumpkin put in to a pot to blend. Once smooth, add cream.
To give the dish some style suitable for your Christmas table, we would propose to dress with any or all of the following - caviar (the real deal, or Avruga / herring caviar, or even seaweed 'caviart'), fresh dill, lobster butter and whipped cream as garnish to add some delicious flavour.

 

Written by Tamara Gausi