Let's be honest: after a four month break we are quite hungry here. Luckily we discovered this wonderful veggie living room restaurant just around the corner. Yes, we are sensitive about names and must admit that De Zuidkant is just perfect for this slightly mysterious house with autumnish garden, where the smell of warm apples, a fire place and lots of books pop to your mind. Bio! Home made! Different everyday! I can already see two curious rabbit noses sniffing at the gate...
When opening the heavy but elegant gate, leading to a path through the garden towards the restaurant, we completely forget about the cars or the trains passing by at the background. Subtile lanterns guide us to a minty green door, where a small sign is inviting us to come in.
An enthousiastic lady – a couple
of minutes later we will get to know her as Griet – opens the door for us. Of course we can take pictures, she says, and if we wouldn't mind to come back a couple of hours later, she can answer our questions as well. It's the first day that De Zuidkant is open for customers, so we understand it's very busy.
During our second visit that afternoon, Ellen, who is the owner of De Zuidkant, has just finished cooking lunch for the first hungry souls while Griet is busy writing a mail to their organic farmer.
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| The beautiful menu makes you feel at home |
Rosie & The Rabbits: Ever since we have been living here, we have been asking ourselves what was hidden behind this wonderful and majestic gate.
Griet (cook at De Zuidkant): Ellen lives here with her family and this location used to be for rent for parties, gatherings, etc. She is a professional cook with lots of experience since she has worked at several restaurants. I used to work in the social sector, which was fun, but it's also a lot of communication and a lot of people. I really wanted to create something with my hands. When I saw Ellen's vacancy at the EVA forum in which she said she wanted a "veggie transformation" for this location, I was immediately interested.
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| The counter, carrying the weight of some wonderful cakes |
Rosie & The Rabbits: Are you a vegetarian yourself?
Griet: Not in a strict way, no, but when looking into my eating pattern over a month, I notice I hardly ever eat meat. Our meals aren't all vegan either; we mainly want to cook in a conscious way. We use coco oil for baking because it's healthier for example, and we try to replace sugar with alternatives such as agave syrup. We go for veggie because it's such a creative cuisine.
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| Large windows bring in the light and the garden around you |
Rosie & The Rabbits: We can imagine it's not that easy to convince people to try your food; where do you keep getting your inspiration from?
Griet: Ellen can rely on a very vast experience, and in order to remain creative and original we have a rotation system in the kitchen: Ellen is cooking on Mondays and Tuesdays, I am taking over on Thursdays and Fridays. We also receive a product list from the organic farmer, which guarantees seasonal ingredients and makes it easier for us to think of new recipes in time.
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| Colourful apples from the organic farmer |
For those of you who are still in doubt: go and taste it yourself and yes, Gentbrugge is the new black.
