On 2, 3 and 4 April, Ordingen Castle will be the setting for the annual chefs conference of Relais & Châteaux, a global association of luxury hotels and gourmet restaurants. Fifteen top international chefs will come there to brainstorm about their craft. “And they will also cook together for the first time,” says general manager Yannick Bouts.
Relais & Châteaux has nearly 600 members in 68 countries on the five continents. Ordingen Castle has been part of it since last spring. During the same period, it received the hotel label five stars from Tourism Flanders. “You have to make a distinction,” nuances Yannick Bouts. “You get five stars if you meet a number of criteria, such as the presence of a concierge and a voiturier. A checklist of facilities, you might say. Relais & Châteaux primarily looks at the experience. That starts when getting out of the car park and ends when checking out. The so-called x-factor, which has a big impact on the appreciation of your stay.”
In the Castle of Ordingen, 15 chefs from the Benelux countries, Romania, Poland and Denmark spent three days examining current hospitality themes, such as sustainability, allergies and intolerances, personnel policy, the use of regional products and the ambassadorial role of a Relais & Chateaux chef. Several renowned speakers were invited for this purpose. The programme also includes a videocall with Mauro Colagreco, the Argentinian chef of the southern French three-star restaurant Mirazur.”
Trigger
“Of course the chefs will exchange ideas in between,” Yannick Bouts specifies. “Call it a cross-pollination between top chefs who are open to new ideas and want to learn from each other. For the first time, they will also be cooking together and for each other, without guests. They are not going to challenge each other, but trigger. The gastronomic world is constantly changing. To stand still is to go backwards. Therefore, I am not surprised that the interest to participate in this event was high. Unfortunately, the number of places is limited. Of course, our own chefs are also taking part, Gary Kirchens from restaurant Aurum and Pieter Caubergs, the new chef at Bistro Richard.”
“To combine the pleasant with the useful, a side programme was developed at the suggestion of Jef Schuur of the Texel restaurant Bij Jef. He suggested two region-specific activities. Therefore, the chefs will go to Immegaard apiary in Wellen and Peter Colemont’s Clos d’Opleeuw wine estate, already often named as the best winemaker in the country. They make those short trips on a Vespa, giving them an impression of the Haspengouw countryside en passant. We are proud that Relais & Châteaux chose us to organise this three-day meeting. It is confirmation that the Castle of Ordingen managed to acquire an international renown in a short time.”
Klasse-hotel met vergaderzalen in Limburg – Kasteel van Ordingen
