Just started and with only one helper. Yet Jean-Philippe has his affairs under control in Ingelmunster, according to culinary critic Jan Scheidtweiler.
It is not a watertight theory, but it is striking that chefs with years of experience in top businesses immediately do well when they open their own restaurant. This certainly applies to couples who have both gone through that school.
Jean-Philippe Vormezeele and Sara-Sofia De Pessemier are such a couple. Chef Jean-Philippe was sous chef at Boury. There he met Sara-Sofia: even though she had a degree in business management, she preferred to work in a dining room. They then moved to The Jane in Antwerp together for five years.
For their own restaurant, the two returned to West Flanders and dropped one of their double first names. Jean-Philippe opened just outside the center of Ingelmunster in December last year. The interior is as impressive as the duo’s CV. With white and beige tones, neat tableware and linen on the table, you feel like you are in a restaurant with ambition. Sara-Sofia’s attentive service also suggests the best: she sees every detail and knows how to use the right, relaxed tone.
Strangely enough, the chef seems to do almost everything alone. Besides him, there is barely one very young assistant chef to be seen in the semi-open kitchen. Yet Jean-Philippe has his affairs under control. After three large bites, each time with fish in the leading role, he presents a delicate oyster preparation in which dashi and grape get along surprisingly well. Haddock, although not known for its subtle taste, knows how to give a lot of intensity to the chef with Jerusalem artichoke chips, bouchot mussels, razor clams and gravy from the bones. With a generous main course based on pigeon and salsify, flower sprouts – something between cauliflower and Brussels sprouts – and blackberries provide a special accent. And yes, even with the desserts the standard remains high. Vanilla sponge cake is accompanied by a pure-tasting blood orange sorbet, a chocolate cake is accompanied by hazelnut crunch and ice cream based on pandan, a leaf from the palm family.
