Don't miss: special appearance at the culinary event Fourchet Vedet!

In the last post I was revealing my secret recipe for ginger & mustard Japanese dressing. I guess it's time for you to learn why do I cherish this dressing so much.

It's simply because it played an important part in me winning the Fourchet Vedet cooking contest two years ago. The winning dish was lamb sushi and miso aubergines paired with a zingy little watercress salad (with this amazing dressing on top). Don't even wonder if lamb sushi does exist - it doesn't, or at least didn't exist until I had the idea of making it.

Why invent this dubious dish then? Because the aim of the contest was to cook a creative, tasty & beautiful Asian-inspired dish in less than 1 hour, using 4 mandatory ingredients and adding a maximum number of other three ingredients. Needless to say I wished for salmon and all I got was lamb.


The next year the theme was Turkey and lamb was again on the menu. I asked for my friend's Călin help this time and we served the lamb sliced in between crispy brick pastry with quince jelly and a pistachio sauce. We won again.

But that was it. I couldn't stand seeing lamb again. In preparation for the contest we must have cooked about 10 kilos of lamb, in any imaginable and unimaginable way, experimenting with countless flavours and cooking methods. I wanted to make a deal with the organizers: they give up the lamb and I give up participating & winning their contest.

Someone must have read the frustration in my eyes. Apart from the lamb, I really enjoyed their contest and I wanted to be part of the fun. And the organizers had a great idea: to put me in the jury! I finally get to say: "dzee aciditee of dze wine combines verrry well with dze euh... dze earrrthiness of dzees mushroom"...

So if you want to see me doing my French accent or if you wonder what will replace lamb this year, come see the show this Saturday, starting at 2 p.m. The cooking contest is part of a bigger event involving tasting of dishes from around the world and it's free. It will also rain on Saturday, so there's nothing better you could do.

Address & other infos on the site of the event.


Contest photos by my faithful and patient photographer Lucian.

Street style food at the Thai market in Waterloo

I found a flyer advertising the Thai market in a restaurant, sometime last year. As I had difficulties finding rare Thai ingredients in Brussels we thought we should give it a try.

Big was our surprise when we landed not in an ordinary market, but in a blooming garden crammed with stalls where countless cooks were agitating woks, barbecues and simmering soup pots. The fragrant smells instantly transported me back to Asia - and I haven't even eaten yet.

The quantity and variety of dishes on offer was unimaginable: spicy rice noodles soups, prawn stir-fries, coconut milk curries, Thai sausages and dried pork meat, dried fish, chicken & herbs salads, picked cabbage, pad thai, grilled meats, steamed or fried dumplings, sticky rice, fish cakes and a stack of divine desserts I never suspected the existence. Everywhere you looked there was yet another delicious treat to discover.

Needless to say, when we finally left, our bellies were aching but we were triumphantly carring a number of takeaway bags. The next day we were already fantasizing about going back for more supplies.

Some practical information: the market is held every first Sunday of the month in the garden of the Wat Thai Dhammaram temple. The action starts at about 10 in the morning and lasts as long as there are hungry people (till 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon). All dishes cost 5 euros. You can also shop for Thai vegetables, fruit, herbs and other foodstuffs. Sometimes, there are people selling traditional or handmade objects. People speak French, Flemish, English and obviously Thai. There are also special events involving music and glimpses to the Thai culture, so ask for the dates - everybody is very kind and willing to help. An upcoming event is Buddha Day on the 20th of June.

Address: Chaussée de Louvain 71, 1410 Waterloo, exit 26 from the Brussels RO ring. Parking is available at the Carrefour in front.

If you feel somewhat lost when you visit the market for the first time, look for friendly Mr. Sam. He will help you make sense of everything that's happening. His son runs a famous Thai restaurant in Brussels so he must know a bit about good food. He arrived in Belgium some 30 years ago and when he misses home, he comes to the temple and gives a helping hand with keeping the garden top notch.

See you there!