Chef Patron Gert Van Hecke’s De Karmeliet has been an essential reservation since 1983. It should be the easiest thing for the multi-talented Chef to just rest on his laurels, but he is not interested in that. The Chef’s focus is firmly aimed at delivering you some of the best cuisine in the world.

Gert Van Hecke started his gastronomic career in the late nineteen seventies and it did not take long before he started to work at one of the most recognised restaurants in France – Alain Chapel. The Lyonnais institution led by Master Chef Alain Chapel resulted in invaluable experiences and knowledge for Van Hecke. Chef Gert moved back to Belgium for a key position at the French Chef Patron Abel Bernard’s La Cravache d’Or before he moved on to open up his own restaurant. Gert Van Hecke’s first restaurant was opened at the Jerusalemstraat in Brugge (Bruges) in 1983 and he was located there all the time until 1992 when he moved to today’s location.

You will find De Karmeliet inside a lawyer’s old house in the heart of the historic Brugge. The building is a perfect setting for a luxury restaurant of De Karmeliet’s calibre. After passing the lounge you can either choose to start your meal in the garden or walk upstairs for the main dining rooms. There are three dining rooms with high ceilings and a familiar town house style.

Chef Patron Gert Van Hecke and his team have managed to stay at the top thanks to the Chef’s unmistakable sense for the flavours and the texture. All you have is always balanced and the Chef has perfected the art of simplicity in the cuisine few others can match. There is a perfect balance between the French and the Flemish cuisine and classic recipes are mixed with new ones. The Brugge Die Scone menu will give you a perfect invitation to Van Hecke’s cuisine. Depending on the season of course, but you can expect dishes like the red mullet with smoked mozzarella, broth of wild mushrooms and slices of goose liver or the milk fed lamb from the Pyrenees with risotto with green herbs, glazed bacon with cumin & dried fruits and salad of cabbage.

Gert Van Hecke is one of the best chefs in the world thanks to his persistent and never-ending sense of perfectly balanced flavours with seasonal ingredients presented in a way which looks simple, but that is perfected to an art form.

Written by Andy