How Belgium city Ghent became the country's unofficial foodie capital

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This was published 8 years ago

How Belgium city Ghent became the country's unofficial foodie capital

This charming medieval city is Belgium's unofficial foodie capital.

By Ute Junker
Ghent from the water.

Ghent from the water.Credit: Arthur Los

Even in a country filled with picturesque cities, Ghent is something special. It combines a medieval streetscape with industrial architecture; a reverence for tradition with a young, hip energy. It also happens to have one of Belgium's most exciting food scenes. Try these artisanal outlets for a taste of Ghent's gourmet offerings.

CHOCOLATE WITH A TWIST

On a chilly day in Ghent, the best way to warm up is with a hot chocolate. And the best in town is found at Chocolato. Not only does Chocolato make everything on the premises, its hot chocolate menu includes white, dark and milk chocolate options. The beverage is a do-it-yourself affair. Take a solid lump of chocolate and swirl it in your hot milk until it dissolves. Various blends are available: try the dark chocolate with cinnamon, cardamom and black pepper.

De Vitrine restaurant.

De Vitrine restaurant.Credit: Piet De Kersgieter

Chocolato's spiced cookies are a local favourite. Dimitri Blocken and Judith Ribbens, the young couple who run the café, have a decidedly experimental bent, and love to play with unusual flavours from bergamot and capsicum to speculoos.

One of their most recent experiments includes chocolates made with insects. "Anytime we read about something, we ask, 'Can we connect it to chocolate?" Blocken says. "We read somewhere that eating insects was ecologically sound, so we tracked some down and tried them: they taste like nuts." From ganache made with grasshoppers to worms that are baked and caramelised for a popcorn-like effect, these treats are for adventurers only.

Sint-Michielshelling 7; see chocolato.be.

Gruut blond beer.

Gruut blond beer.

BREWING UP HISTORY

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It started as an experiment. For her final thesis to achieve her master brewer qualification, Annick de Splenter decided to try making beer the medieval way. Before the introduction of hops, the key ingredient in beer was a mix of spices known as gruut. No one had made hops-free beer for centuries. It took five years, but de Splenter finally came up with a gruut beer recipe that worked. Today her micro-brewery – called, naturally, Gruut – turns out five different hops-free beers.

The absence of the distinctive hops taste is not the only thing that makes these beers unique. The flavours tend to be complex, the alcohol count low and – according to the staffer who talks me through the tastings – it won't make you tired or give you headaches. "With heavily hopped beers, you drink three and you get a headache," he says. "Not with our beers."

De Vitrine offerings.

De Vitrine offerings.Credit: Piet De Kersgieter

The range has something for every palate, from white and blond to dark beers. The most unusual are a spicy Amber made with four kinds of malt, and Inferno, a strong pale ale with a bittersweet, fruity taste.

10 Grote Huidevettershoek; see gruut.be.

BITING BACK

Annick de Splenter from Gruut brewery

Annick de Splenter from Gruut brewery

When you have been making mustard for 220 years, you learn a few things along the way. The good folk at Tierenteyn-Verlent are happy to let you know the ingredients used in their renowned mustard (mustard seeds, vinegar and salt); they just won't share the precise recipe. Given the mustard has become one of Ghent's signature products and something of a local addiction – they make up to 400 litres a week of the stuff just to keep up with demand – we don't blame them.

The mustard has been made in the same basement below the shop for 220 years. In fact, a large part of the charm of visiting Tierenteyn-Verlent is the feeling of stepping back in time. The shopfront is largely unchanged since the 1830s, and regular customers still bring back their used stoneware containers, to be refilled with mustard from the big barrel in the corner. Staff are happy to give you a taste straight from the barrel, but if you find yourself developing a taste for it, just remember two things. First, the preservative-free recipe means the mustard has to be eaten within six months; and second, there is only one place in the world you can buy it, and that is right here.

3 Groenmarkt; see tierenteyn-verlent.be

DOWN TO EARTH

Some things about De Vitrine, one of Ghent's most acclaimed restaurants, will be instantly familiar to well-travelled foodies. The setting – a converted butcher's shop – the no-fuss décor, and the open kitchen all mirror global trends. The restaurant has an intensely local, nose-to-tail dining philosophy. However, the plates that chef Mathias Speybrouck and his team send out are never less than eye-opening.

Start with a glass of Bacquaert, a Belgian sparkling wine that provides a good accompaniment to the seafood dishes that kick off the meal. One of the highlights is an oyster with green miso and roasted broccoli presented on a nasturtium leaf; a collision of clashing tastes that comes together beautifully. Vegetables feature heavily, sometimes as the star of the dish (such as richly earthy mushrooms from the Ardennes), sometimes as a side, either fermented in-house or delicately roasted. Dessert doesn't disappoint: a pine ice-cream teamed with raspberries and juniper is fresh and flavoursome.

134 Brabantdam; see de-vitrine.be.

SWEET MEDITATION

There is something almost monastic in the routine that chocolatier Nicolas Vanaise has created for himself. He rises early in the morning to create his chocolates; in the late morning, he heads upstairs to the shop to sell that day's wares.

Vanaise's passion for all things eastern extends beyond the Asian citrus fruit after which his shop is named, Yuzu. From the clean yet sumptuous packaging to the Zen simplicity of his chocolates – all the same shape, all the same size, only distinguishable from one another by the colours painted across their surfaces – Vanaise demonstrates an obsession with pared-back perfection.

What has made Vanaise one of Belgium's most acclaimed chocolatiers is his way with flavours. He has a repertoire of 200 recipes, about 30 of which are in stock at any time. The flavours are largely seasonal, but the combinations are always unusual and often informed by a sense of place. Ispahan – named after the city in Iran – is a heady combination of raspberry and rose; Sana'a, named after the capital of Yemen, balances the powerful flavours of coffee, cinnamon, cardamom and incense.

11a Walpoortstraat; see facebook.com/yuzu-chocolates.

FIVE MORE GHENT CLASSICS

Work up an appetite by taking in Ghent's best attractions.

THE GHENT ALTARPIECE This magnificent 15th-century Jan van Eyck altarpiece, on display in St Bavo's Cathedral, is the world's most-stolen artwork.

GRASLEI The medieval port is one of the prettiest parts of Ghent; hop on a cruise for the best view of the eye-catching guild houses.

STAM Ghent excels at marrying its medieval cityscape with modern architecture; its city museum, STAM, is one of the most striking examples.

PRINSENHOF Once the abode of the counts of Flanders, the narrow streets, gabled houses and willow-lined riverbanks make this neighbourhood a great place for a stroll.

DESIGN MUSEUM Housed in a charming 18th-century villa, the Design Museum focuses on furniture and interiors, including art nouveau and art deco.

TRIP NOTES

MORE INFORMATION

visitflanders.com

GETTING THERE

Emirates has 84 flights a week from Australia to Dubai, with a daily onwards connection to Brussels, from where there are regular train services to Ghent. See emirates.com/au.

STAYING THERE

The friendly, family-run Hotel Harmony is in the historic Patershol neighbourhood. A two-night package starts at €173per person twin share. See hotel-harmony.be.

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