Flemish Food

Fresh Innovation.

To be honest, Belgium isn’t a country best known for its food. Granted, Belgian chocolates and beer have long been prized, but there is much more to Belgian food culture than these. Chef Natalie Schrauwen uses local ingredients and elevates them with her evident skill and passion.

Natalie is an Antwerp-based culinary creator who recently presented a lunch which reflected elements from art, nature and food, using ingredients, colours and forgotten culinary traditions featured in a 15th-century masterpiece by Van Eyck. This was one of the finest meals I have had in a long time.

A good meal should offer, in my opinion, a balance of comfort and innovation. There should be quality ingredients to the fore. Flavours and textures should leave the diner wanting more. Chef Natalie took advantage of simple Flemish dishes creatively reinterpreted using modern techniques and included her own kombucha fermentation. She works closely with many of Antwerp’s Michelin-starred restaurants and runs foraging and cookery experiences.

Each course stood alone

Natalie strives to use seasonal and foraged ingredients as she believes that this culinary path presents more than just taste and nourishment, but can tell stories and reawaken history. The concept of this lunch was inspired by Flemish produce and the Ghent Altarpiece (read my article here).

Each dish was crafted with skill and imagination, reflecting the local land, sea and the colours of the Altarpiece. Each course stood alone as outstanding but combined they illustrated, in delicious fashion, the oft-overlooked culinary heritage of this corner of Europe.

Flanders and Belgium in general have been rather overshadowed, in culinary terms, by its more vocal French neighbour. (Indeed, Belgium has cheeses for which to die!) Yet this small country has so much to offer if we step away from the expected fries and waffles – although these should not be missed. Chef Natalie Schrauwen is the proud standard-bearer showcasing the wider food landscape and it’s just as vibrant as the Ghent Altarpiece. I look forward to tasting and exploring more.

Learn more about Flanders here