Love at First Bite

The inside scoop on foodie favourites

Flore Pincemin is the owner of  La Cuisine de Flore, a cooking atelier in Ixelles. She left behind a career in marketing to train as a chef at the prestigious Ritz-Escoffier school in Paris, and set up her workshop in 2008. In her new premises, and ably assisted by a small hand-picked team of colleagues, she offers a variety of cookery classes, lessons in molecular cuisine, oenology and special kids’ classes, plus all the utensils and cookbooks an enthusiastic amateur cook could wish for.  www.lacuisinedeflore.com

BAR

La Fleur en Papier Doré is an old café in Brussels where a lot of Belgian surrealists used to gather – René Magritte, Louis Scutenaire, Marcel Mariën…  They have a lot of nice objects from this period, plus pictures and quotations written on the wall. The atmosphere is very special and cosy; it feels so typically Belgian. I enjoy going there with friends to have a chat and a beer. I often go there when I have visitors, and I especially like it on a Sunday afternoon in winter.

LA FLEUR EN PAPIER DORE, 55 Rue des Alexiens, Brussels, tel 02.511.16.59

We say: There are literally hundreds of bars in Brussels so it’s testament to the enduring appeal of La Fleur en Papier Doré that this is its second recommendation on these pages in two months

DRINK

Being French, I was not very fond of beers when I moved to Brussels; I was much more into wine. But now things have changed! I discovered beers step by step, first preferring the sugary beers such as gueuze. But then I tried Tripel Karmeliet. I really appreciate this beer for its taste of honey. Nevertheless, you have to be very careful because it is quite strong. What I also enjoy is that this beer is synonymous with conviviality. I won’t drink a Tripel Karmeliet by myself, but always with friends.

TRIPEL KARMELIET

We say: High-fermentation beer Tripel Karmeliet comes from Brewery Bosteels and owes its name to the recipe of the Carmelite monks of Dendermonde. It is made from three cereals (wheat, barley and oats) and offers a very generous head, spicy flavour and a sweet taste

RESTAURANT

I first met Damien Bouchéry when he was a chef at the Bistrot du Mail next to Place du Châtelain. What I really enjoy about his cooking is that he is very creative. I remember eating his beef with a chocolate sauce, and it was delicious! As someone who cooks a lot, I appreciate the fact that when I eat at Bouchéry, I am always pleasantly surprised. I also like the ‘Menu Instant’: you order without knowing what you’re going to eat. You just have to trust the chef! And at €39 for three courses, it’s exceptional value.

BOUCHERY, 812a Chaussée d’Alsemberg, Brussels, tel 02.332.37.74, www.bouchery-restaurant.be

We say:

Opened in 2010, Bouchéry has won rave reviews for the outstanding fare it serves up from an unassuming spot in Uccle, just above the busy Globe intersection

PRODUCT

I’m crazy about chocolate!
In pastries, blocks or to drink. It’s thanks to chocolate that I started cooking, and I still love to cook with it. Of course, chocolate is easy to use for desserts, but I also use it in some savoury recipes, like for the Grand Veneur sauce, a sauce for game from Escoffier.

SHOP

I really appreciate the small shops in my neighbourhood.
I like to know the shopkeepers; it creates a relationship to which I give a lot of importance. I always go to Himi the butcher near my atelier; I appreciate the warm welcome I always get there, not to mention the quality of the food. I also like the Renard bakery on Place Fernand Cocq. They have a great pain au chocolat and I love their flûtes (small baguettes) – and that’s a French girl speaking!

RENARD, 3 Place Fernand Cocq, Himi, 99 Chaussée d’Ixelles

RECIPE

I love curry and I learned this recipe with my mother, who is also a fan. Curry always tastes much better when you make it from scratch but if you are in a hurry you can always use a prepared mix.

CHICKEN CURRY WITH COCONUT AND CASHEW NUTS

Serves six

• 900g chicken breast cut into  bite-sized pieces

• 3 onions, thinly sliced

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 250g tomato coulis

• 70g yoghurt

• 250ml coconut milk

• 100g cashew nuts

• ½ stem lemongrass, thinly sliced

• Juice of ½ a lime

• 1-4tsp each chilli powder, cumin,   turmeric, ginger, cardamom,  fenugreek (adjust to taste)

• 4 cloves

• 2 cinnamon sticks

Heat the onions and garlic in butter and oil with cinnamon until onions start to brown. Add tomato coulis and cook over gentle heat for a few minutes. Mix the spices and cloves with yoghurt, lemongrass and lime juice and add to pan. Heat for a few minutes and add chicken and coconut milk. Add salt to taste and cook over low heat for 25 minutes. Serve with cashew nuts, fresh coriander and rice flavoured with saffron and 1tsp turmeric.