More than three years ago Gert and Joachim announced the closure of their three-star restaurant Hertog Jan in Zedelgem. The duo wanted to create space for new ideas and business. And they did. In the meantime, the Hertog Jan Restaurant Group opened the new L.E.S.S. Eatery in Bruges, which with chef Ruige Vermeire managed to cash in a first Michelin star after just over six months. Last summer L.E.S.S. Eatery temporarily moved (due to Covid-19) to the former Hertog Jan farmstead in Zedelgem, where under the name L.E.S.S. Summer Eatery, it managed to welcome many guests outdoors. Their new restaurant 'Bar Bulot', with which chef Pieter Lefevere and host Maxime Depreitere focus on classic cuisine, also saw the light in Bruges in 2019.
But the top gastronomy continued to beckon...Gert and Joachim think they can still surpass their level and have found a special place where they can give the best of themselves. At Hertog Jan at Botanic Antwerp, Gert and Joachim will receive their guests two weeks a month in person. It will be an intimate affair with 12 place settings in the historic context of 'Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp', on the former Elzenveld site in Antwerp. With the revival of Hertog Jan in Antwerp, they will recreate the atmosphere of yesteryear in an intimate setting with its own greenhouse, beehives and herb garden.