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A diner talks to a member of restaurant staff at her table

A bad restaurant review… before you have even seen how the restaurant responds?

Does a mistake at a restaurant justify a bad review? Before you post, the owner's response can change your whole experience.

Casual clothing contrasted with an elegant outfit at a restaurant entrance

Can a restaurant turn away a customer for being poorly dressed?

Can a restaurant refuse a customer because of their clothes? What Belgian law allows, the limits set by anti-discrimination rules and our point of view.

A slow-cooked game dish served in a Walloon restaurant in autumn

Game is back on the menu: what Walloon restaurants need to check

As the game season returns, Walloon restaurants also need to review their sourcing, storage and traceability procedures.

A plate of creamy bacon pasta, photographed from above

We ordered carbonara in an Italian restaurant. This is what we were served.

Cream, bacon pieces and industrially grated cheese: when does a dish lose the right to be called carbonara? After a major disappointment near Charleroi, we take a closer look.

Wheels of Boerenkaas maturing in the cellar of a Dutch farm

Boerenkaas: in the Netherlands, ‘farmhouse cheese’ really means something

In the Netherlands, Boerenkaas is not simply a rustic style: it denotes cheese made on the farm from raw milk. Behind the protected name lies a very tangible tradition.

A glass carafe being filled with water from a restaurant tap

Should tap water be free in restaurants?

A carafe of tap water seems free. Yet serving it has a cost. Wallonie Gourmande takes a position in this debate between diners and restaurateurs.

Roasted Brussels sprouts on a restaurant plate

Brussels sprouts: have we simply been boiling them for too long?

Why do Brussels sprouts divide opinion so strongly? Their Belgian history, surprising growth habit and a cooking method that might change your mind.

A member of staff tidies a restaurant table as two customers arrive at the end of service

Should restaurants still accept customers arriving 10 minutes before closing?

A customer arrives at 8.50pm at a restaurant closing at 9pm. Should they still be served? The customers' perspective and the restaurateurs' view.

A breaded escalope served alongside pasta with tomato sauce on the same restaurant plate

An escalope with pasta: Italian cooking or a dish created to please us?

Escalope and pasta on the same plate: Italian tradition or a Belgian adaptation? Wallonie Gourmande takes a view without oversimplifying Italian cuisine.

A fully set table left empty in a Belgian brasserie, illustrating restaurant no-shows

Restaurant no-shows: should the empty table come with a charge?

A reserved table stays empty: can the restaurateur claim compensation? What Belgian law says and Wallonie Gourmande's view.

A cone of golden Belgian chips in a frituur

Are chips cooked in vegetable oil still truly Belgian?

Beef dripping or vegetable oil? Wallonie Gourmande champions traditional Belgian chips and explains what really makes the difference in a cone.

Two hospitality professionals discuss a staff schedule in a restaurant

Long-service leave in hospitality: what Joint Committee 302 actually provides

Under Joint Committee 302, leave linked to length of service depends on the company's size and years spent with the same employer. Here are the key rules.

A Belgian restaurant manager handles an administrative task on a computer before service

Work regulations: filing online does not replace the procedure

In hospitality, filing work regulations online is straightforward. But the final click replaces neither staff consultation nor the required deadlines.

Two spiralled Zeeuwse bolus buns with brown sugar and cinnamon on a blue plate, one split open and spread with butter

The Zeeuwse bolus: a spiral of sugar, travel and patience

A spiral of yeast dough, brown sugar and cinnamon: the bolus tells a story of Zeeland, the baker's craft and Sephardic history from far away.

A piece of blue-veined Roquefort on a wooden board, with pear and walnuts in a stone cellar

Roquefort: the blue cheese that breathes through the rock

In the caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, air from the fleurines helps shape this blue sheep's milk cheese. A story of place, craft and cooking.

A kitchen team isolates a recalled food container in a crate separate from other stock

Food recalls: the first 30 minutes in a restaurant

When a batch is recalled, a restaurant must act quickly without improvising: quarantine stock, check traceability, establish how it was used and notify correctly.

Amber Cetara anchovy colatura with fresh anchovies, sea salt, a wooden barrel and spaghetti

Cetara anchovy colatura: Italian umami, drop by drop

In Cetara, anchovies, salt and time create an amber condiment of remarkable intensity. Its history, production and uses in cooking.

Belgian chicory grown traditionally in darkness in a bed of soil

Belgian chicory: the vegetable born twice

Born in 19th-century Brussels, Belgian chicory has a remarkable second life in darkness. Its history, cultivation and the legend surrounding its discovery.

A restaurateur shows a physical menu display and a supplementary QR code at a restaurant entrance

Hospitality prices: why a QR code alone is not enough

The FPS Economy has clarified price-display rules in hospitality. Outside menus, QR codes, terraces and market prices: the key points.

An old closed café on a Walloon village square at dusk

The disappearance of village cafés in Wallonia

Between 2015 and 2024, the number of active cafés and bars in Wallonia fell by around 23%. Behind the figures, a social meeting place is fading away.