Pieter

From burgers to fine dining, Clement Pieter performs a breathtaking balancing act of culinary prowess. After Drie Riders, Lunapark, Oud Sluis and Jenet, the unstoppable chef has transformed his latest venture, the snack joint Pickle Pickle, into a chic and intimate counter top dining spot for six lucky guests at a time. With help from his trusty sidekick, a majestic, fire-breathing Argentine grill, the chef sets hearts ablaze with his blind tasting menu of epic gastronomic proportions, crafted in the heat of the moment. That evening’s best of the bunch included: an amazing hot-and-cold tomato water cappuccino whipped up with a green asparagus emulsion, plus crunchy kohlrabi brunoise hidden under a foamy turnip top jus and goat cheese espuma; white asparagus paired with barely cooked langoustines and crunchy rhubarb splashing atop a creamy cheese sauce with a shot of makrut lime oil; an astonishing surf-and-turf combo of beautifully browned sweetbreads and gray shrimp camouflaged under a stunning truffle and morel sauce; locally-sourced pork prepared two ways – pork shoulder with wild garlic cream, eggplant caviar, sprouting cauliflower and zucchini ribbons, and as a sausage and pork tail-style cassoulet, served in a silver dish, sitting happily in a nest of flageolet beans and slow-roasted tomatoes, all bobbing in a frothy jus; before lemon verbena and grape ice cream, complemented by sorrel granita. A fine performance indeed! // Alba Nebbioili

FEELING THIRSTY? The chef is the menu! Simply tell him what you like and he’ll offer his suggestions. Among the rather short selection, of a naturopath persuasion: the signature Blanc de Noir vintage from Maison Fleury in Champagne (€89 per bottle), En Flandre, a chardonnay from the Domaine de la Touraize in the Jura department (€75), or Pinotto, a Dolcetto d’Alba from Piedmont by Fabio Gea (€60).
PRICE: Tasting menu 125 € (6 courses).