How long have you been cooking Belgian food?
Ages! I was a chef at Michelin restaurants in France and Belgium, before opening up my own place, which I ran for 10 years. I sold it to a friend recently though, so I could escape out here and help launch Abu Dhabi’s branch of The Belgian Café.
What counts as official ‘Belgian food’? We’re assuming you don’t live off delicious waffles alone…
You’ll be surprised to hear this, but ‘French fries’ are actually a national dish – their name is misleading because they were created in Belgium. If you’ve never had fries from Belgium, then you’re seriously missing out. We’ll be flying in fresh potatoes and mussels from home four times a week, and everything’s homemade, so the food will taste just as authentic as if you strolled into a café in Brussels.
What are some other exciting features of the restaurant?
On top of our 13 mussel dishes, we will have a large selection of pork fare – our providers have offered top-notch quality cuts. The decor will be quite nice, too, with beautiful wooden panelling and lots of mirrors. We’ve modelled it ‘turn-of-the century’, so when you walk through the door you’ll feel transported back to Belgium 100 years ago.
What are your fave Belgian dishes?
I have a couple signature dishes on the menu. My personal love is mussels sautéed with Roquefort cheese and cognac. But the Brits will enjoy our Vol-au-vent royale – chicken, mushroom, and meatball stuffed in our homemade puff pastry, and topped with hollandaise sauce.
We’ve heard of a strange Belgian custom called ‘the kwak’. Can you tell us more about it?
Oh, the kwak! In Belgium there’s a special drink that’s served in a rare, valuable glass – it looks like a beaker out of a mad scientist’s laboratory. When customers order it, they have to leave their shoe with the server as insurance. That way, they don’t steal the tumbler for their personal collection.
So will you be serving the kwak?
We will certainly have the kwak beverage, but we’re still working on obtaining kwak glasses. If we get the glasses we won’t make customers leave their shoes as insurance, though – I think people would be a bit confused by that here.
It’s your first time in the UAE, so what do think of it?
I love it – I’m considering moving here permanently. It’s wonderful that the UAE embraces a diversity of cultures, and I’m excited for classic Belgian food to make its big debut. There’s a small population of Belgian expats who I know are excited about our arrival, but we expect a lot of other expats will be stopping by too – if only for the fresh mussels!
The Belgian Café is now open at the InterContinental Abu Dhabi (02 666 6888). Open daily 5pm-midnight.
