Author: info@lechaletdelaforet.be

CÉSAR ROMÁN: AN OUTSTANDING SOMMELIER JOINS LE CHALET

A good sommelier is of huge importance in a restaurant.

Through the symbiosis of food and drink, a good sommelier makes sure every visit is unforgettable.

At le Chalet de la Forêt it is César Román, a well-known Spanish sommelier, who ensures food and wine are paired harmoniously!

ROMAN CAESAR, a young (32 year old) virtuoso blessed with an unusual knowledge of wine and a remarkable passion for his job, is unquestionably one of those sommeliers who contributes to making a restaurant a “Grande Maison”.

Once more Pascal Devalkeneer continues to polish his little jewel and proves that each element counts at le Chalet. All this has elevated this outstanding restaurant, whose guests return time and time again, to the gastronomic stratosphere of the capital.

Learn more about CÉSAR ROMÁN

Frédéric Deruyck

For me, the Chalet is a unique way to approach haute cusine with a rare openness of mind that gives free rein to lots of people’s recipe books.

Delphine Buysschaert

For me, the Chalet is, from my office on the first floor, the noises that come up from the kitchen mixed with the sounds from the forest outside my open windows.

Victoria Roels

For me, the Chalet is, after a period of training, the desire to never leave this timeless institution which constantly recreates itself without every losing its soul.

Faïçal Rhayou

For me, the Chalet is a melody without any false notes that fills me with pride when, after the service, I have been able to arrange the ping pong match between the kitchen and the dining room to the best of my abilities.

Julien Othomene

For me, the Chalet is the aroma of pastry, lots of ideas to be shared and, above all, five hundred times per day, the sound of the bell at the serving hatch, which I have never tired of hearing.

Nicolas Sarpong

For me, the Chalet is the joy of having been able to move from washing dishes to the bakery. I who only knows one expression in French : “See you Monday ladies and gentlemen !”.

Abdel Khaldouni

For me, the Chalet is beyond the daily washing of dishes, happiness is to hear the chef say : “Abdel, he’s part of the family !”.

Le chalet cultivates its garden

Pascal Devalkeneer : “ It is an old dream that I kept toying with since the time when I cut my teeth alongside Roger Souvereyns at the Scholteshof . He had the most beautiful garden I was given to see in my life. I picked herbs in his vegetable garden every morning at 8am. I stuck my nose into the bouquets of herbs that were still damp with dew and I laid myself open to a whole world of aromas and sensations that then served as an inspiration for me to cook. Roger and others have always tried to dissuade me by arguing that this was an endless investment. But I always had the surface around the Chalet, which served as parking and space for events. Except that in 15 years, we barely hosted ten events. And in the end, the desire was still there, stronger than ever, to plant poetry instead of tents… „

Interview by Sandrine Mossiat

Read more about the vegetable garden.

Photos © xavierharcq.com

From inspiration to plate

Kris Vlegels captured the creative process of the Chef …

That day, the garden herbs inspired him two dishes. The bear leek and Chénopode came up a plate of snails and frogs’ legs and spell risotto while the Burnet and young cauliflower bewitched a cod with speculoos.

Photos © Kris Vlegels