When in Brussels, do as the Brusselois do: Eat. Savor Belgium’s traditional foods. Discover its exciting contemporary cuisine. Stop at Brussels’ versions of street fare — Belgian waffles, for instance, or an open bar of seafood such as La Mer du Nord. Choose dessert from trays of handmade chocolates in this land of masterful chocolate makers. And while you’re enjoying the local dishes, remember not to refer to that plate of the best potato fries you’ve ever tasted as French fries. They were, after all, invented by the Belgians.

To appreciate the country’s well-deserved culinary reputation, it seemed reasonable to start in the kitchen. So I paid a visit to Mmmmh!, a large enterprise that sells thousands of cookery products and gives cooking lessons seven days a week. As I walked to a kitchen classroom, I passed a group eating and clearly enjoying what they cooked.

“How is it?” I asked. “Delicious,” they said, all smiles.

After the instructor assigned each of us in the class a task, we donned our aprons and sliced, diced, peeled, chopped, julienned, stirred, baked, boiled and broiled. Then we sat to eat. The chicken was overcooked. The potatoes were undercooked. And the dessert collapsed to a heap that resembled and tasted like sand. No smiles. Lots of laughter, though. Our instructor was not amused.

The afternoon, however, was a triumphant and tasty success. I attended a hands-on chocolate demonstration at Chocolats Gerbaud. After we made chocolates, topping them with fruits, nuts and spices, and while they were cooling, we listened to a talk about chocolate given by Laurent Gerbaud himself. An engaging, personable, knowledgeable man, he told us how he came to devote himself to chocolate and talked about the kinds of chocolate, the forms and the history. Then we tasted our own chilled, handmade creations and packed the rest in bags to take with us, all smiles.

Leaving the cooking to the professionals, Brussels offers a profusion of restaurants. My favorite of those I dined in during a long weekend was Aux Armes de Bruxelles. An 81-year-old restaurant in the heart of old Brussels, it is traditional in its cuisine, cozy in its appearance and impeccable in its service. For my final meal, there was Le Chalet de la Forêt, an elegant restaurant housed in a mansion in the Soignes Forest on the edge of Brussels specializing in Belgian food with a contemporary and artistic twist. Another restaurant worth a visit, especially for lunch, is La Taverne du Passage, a brasserie serving casual, traditional Belgian food. And be sure to stroll along elegant Place du Grand Sablon, lined with extraordinary chocolate shops and cafés, for a final, lasting, flavorsome memory of Brussels.

Weblinks

Belgium Tourist Office
Le Chalet de la Forêt
Chocolats Gerbaud
Mmmmh!
Visit Brussels