BRUSSELS: One of the most influential restaurants in Belgium, Bon Bon will close its doors on 30 June 2022 after 20 years, chef Christophe Hardiquest announced on social media.
Hardiquest is one of Belgium’s top chefs and restaurateurs and one of the most internationally recognised chefs in Belgium. Over the past few years, the restaurant has established itself as one of the leading restaurants in Belgium with a near perfection score in the Gault & Millau guide.
Cristophe Hardiquest said that we have been living in a strange period of time which has led him to think but also to accelerate his wishes and vision.
“After 20 years behind the stove in the kitchen of my restaurant Bon Bon, 20 years of giving 200 per cent everyday it is time for me to make a turn in my life and my career,” the Belgian chef said.
He said he was passionate about his job and about creating new dishes and will never stop cooking. “I am not sure how yet but it will be full of surprises.”
Christophe said that the closing of the restaurant is not an end but the beginning of a new chapter.
He thanked his wife with whom he has built the success of Bon Bon and his children for giving him the courage and strength to reach higher. He also thanked his clients and friends who have encouraged him and followed him throughout the years. He also thanked his team and all the people who worked with him at Bon Bon since the beginning as well as guides, journalists, producers and suppliers.
Christophe ended his post with a wink emoji saying to be continued.
It is still unclear what Christophe has in mind. During the pandemic he has been thinking a lot about the future of gastronomy and how it will be different for a lot of different reasons.
Over the past years, Christophe Hardiquest has established an international following bringing over some of the world’s best chefs to cook during Bon Bon Origins project in which he delved deep into the history and traditions of Brussels and Belgian dishes.
Bon Bon also served as the global headquarters of a Gelinaz! event bringing together some of the world’s best chefs to cook at the Brussels restaurant. And he replicated that last year inviting some of his friends who were in Belgium for the World’s 50 Best restaurants held in Antwerp to cook at his restaurant for one night only.
He has been successful in experimenting with a number of concepts including opening a pop-up brasserie when the restaurant was being refurbished and also turning Bon Bon into a brasserie on the days it was closed giving some of his team members the possibility to gain experience leading a restaurant.
During the pandemic he not only helped with preparing dishes for hospital staff in collaboration with Rob’s Gourmet market but he also experimented with a number of projects together with a baker, a butcher and a brewer.
In 2020, during the early days of the pandemic, Christophe told Food and Wine Gazette: “We as humans need to find new solutions to adapt to the crisis. This is the moment for new ideas, it is the moment for new visions. It is tough to change your mind but it is essential to focus on new things,” he said. That thinking seems to have reached its fruition.
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