TL;DR. Inside Ghent, four chefs carry the city's "go for the chef, not the rating" reputation: Michaël Vrijmoed (vegetable-forward 2★, eight years sous-chef under Peter Goossens at Hof van Cleve) at Vrijmoed[1][2], Marcelo Ballardin (Italian-Brazilian fusion) at OAK[3][4], Olly Ceulenaere (the no-truffles, no-caviar vegetable champion) at Publiek[5][6], and Thomas Gellynck (open-fire / fermentation / own-garden) at Commotie[7][8]. For drive-out destinations, three sit inside ~60 km: Hof van Cleve (~30 km, 2★ under successor Floris Van Der Veken)[9][10], Boury (~50 km, one of Belgium's two 3★ tables)[11][12], Hertog Jan at Botanic (~60 km in Antwerp, 2★ Omakase by Gert De Mangeleer / Joachim Boudens)[13][14][15]. The Ghent chef map just shifted: Souvenir closed Brabantdam[26], Jason Blanckaert opened Debra (2025)[24][25], Kobe Desramaults opened Eliane in Brussels (Oct 2024) and brings a summer pop-up to Lennik in 2026[22][23].
This page is the chef-and-destination cut. For the full ratings view (every Michelin star, Bib and Gault&Millau score in Ghent), see the sibling page on Michelin & Gault&Millau-rated tables in this guide.
| Restaurant | Chef | Why this chef, specifically |
|---|---|---|
| Vrijmoed | Michaël Vrijmoed | Eight years as sous-chef to Peter Goossens at Hof van Cleve before opening on Vlaanderenstraat in 2013; first star in eight months, second in 2017. Vegetable-forward 2★ — the city's only one — and #1 on Gault&Millau's 2026 'Ten to Taste Gent' list at 17.5/20.[1][2][35] |
| OAK | Marcelo Ballardin | Brazilian-Italian, raised across Brazil / US / Italy / England before settling in Ghent. The fusion is the chef's biography on a plate — North Sea clams meeting manioc, Asian spices on Mediterranean herbs. 24-seat 17C townhouse on Burgstraat.[3][4] |
| Publiek | Olly Ceulenaere | Loft-bistro on Ham, "rock 'n' roll" service. Consciously avoids truffles and caviar; champions little-known vegetables. Original of the Flemish Foodies trio (with Desramaults and Blanckaert) — the chef who proved Ghent fine dining could ditch luxury-ingredient orthodoxy and still hold a star.[5][6][31] |
| Commotie | Thomas Gellynck | The chef-show of the city. Open-fire kitchen on Victor Braeckmanlaan in Sint-Amandsberg; foraging, fermentation, nose-to-tail, own garden, zero-waste ambition. Japanese-minimal interior; G&M 15/20.[7][8][35] |
| Debra | Jason Blanckaert | Third Flemish Foodie. Trained at Hof van Cleve under Goossens, ran J.E.F. for years, returned in 2025 with Debra at Lange Steenstraat 10 — à la carte freedom, no fixed tasting menu, classical French refined with personal twist. Named after the Beck song.[24][25][31] |
| LOF | Paul de Groote | 20 years at 3★ Inter Scaldes (NL) under Jannis Brevet — was Brevet's right hand while the Dutch restaurant climbed from two stars to three. Joined LOF (inside Pillows Hotel Reylof, Ghent) in April 2024. The chef-pedigree pick if you want a 3★ alumnus's cooking without driving.[33][34] |
| Lubbi | Vilhjalmur Sigurdarson & Joke Michiel | The Souvenir team's casual successor in a former hospital on Kliniekstraat, Gentbrugge. Same chefs (11 years at Souvenir's 1★ Brabantdam house, plus Michelin Green Star) — bistro prices: lasagne €21, fish or pork cheeks €20. The Souvenir cooking is gone; the Souvenir kitchen isn't.[26] |
Distances are road-driving approximations from Ghent city centre. All listed are Michelin-starred; the chef story is the reason to put them on the itinerary.
| Restaurant | Chef | Stars | Where | Why drive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hof van Cleve | Floris Van Der Veken | ★★ | ~30 km SW · Kruisem | The regional benchmark every Ghent chef trained at or competes with. Held 3★ from 2005 to 2023 under Peter Goossens; reset to 2★ under Van Der Veken in the 2024 guide after Goossens stepped back on 1 Jan 2024. Still the closest top-tier table.[9][10] |
| Boury | Tim Boury | ★★★ | ~50 km W · Roeselare | One of only two 3★ tables in Belgium (with Zilte, Antwerp). Boury jumped from 2★ to 3★ in the 2022 guide and has held them since. A brick villa in West Flanders; classical technique with sauces as the headline.[11][12] |
| Hertog Jan at Botanic | Gert De Mangeleer + Joachim Boudens (sommelier) | ★★ | ~60 km E · Antwerp | The Mangeleer/Boudens duo held 3★ at the original Hertog Jan in Zedelgem (near Bruges) from 2012 until they closed it in Dec 2018; reopened inside Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp in fall 2021. Omakase format ("I leave it to the chef") — Asian accents, daring combinations, intimate room.[13][14][15] |
| Le Pristine | Sergio Herman (Gianluca Vetrugno, kitchen) | ★ | ~60 km E · Antwerp | Sergio Herman's "New Italian" project — a tribute to Italian flavours through his Zeeland terroir. Open-plan kitchen, Baroque covered patio, all-day café. The casual-luxe end of the Antwerp star map.[16][17] |
| Pastorale | Bart De Pooter | ★★ + Green ★ | ~70 km E · Reet | De Pooter has run Pastorale out of his native town's former presbytery since 1992 — first star 2003, second 2006. Gault&Millau Chef of the Year 2012; G&M Entrepreneur of the Year 2023. Marked by balance, simplicity, pureness.[18] |
| Eliane | Kobe Desramaults | ★ | ~55 km SE · Brussels | Desramaults's first solo restaurant after closing Chambre Séparée at end of 2020. 22 seats, ~half at the bar counter watching him cook with flames. ~18-course tasting menu changes daily; 3-month booking window. G&M Remarkable Newcomer of the Year 2026 for Brussels.[19][20][21][22] |
| Eliane @ Hof ter Bree-Eik | Kobe Desramaults (pop-up) | — | ~50 km S · Lennik | Summer 2026 only: Eliane temporarily relocates to a vierkantshoeve in the Pajottenland for July–August. 40 covers, product-driven tasting menu with local Pajottenland produce. ⚠ pop-up — book early.[23] |
| Privéprivée | Sergio Herman | — | ~60 km E · Antwerp | Herman's private dining room beneath his Antwerp apartment — opened 2024, max 24 guests, exclusive monthly dates. The way to eat Herman's own cooking again after a decade off the line. ⚠ availability is the bottleneck.[32] |
| Restaurant | Opened | Chef / pedigree | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eliane (Brussels) | Oct 2024 | Kobe Desramaults — ex-In de Wulf (1★ Heuvelland, closed), ex-Chambre Séparée (1★ Ghent, closed end-2020). First star at age 25. | 22-seat counter / open kitchen, ~18-course daily tasting menu. 1★ in 2025 guide; G&M Remarkable Newcomer 2026.[27][20][21] |
| LOF (Ghent) | Apr 2024 | Paul de Groote — 20 years at 3★ Inter Scaldes (NL) under Brevet. | Inside Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Reylof. Multi-course chef's menus + vegetarian; 14/20 + 2 G&M chef's hats.[33][34] |
| Debra (Ghent) | 2025 | Jason Blanckaert — Hof van Cleve alum, Flemish Foodies trio, ex-J.E.F. | Lange Steenstraat 10 (Patershol edge). À la carte fine dining, no fixed tasting menu — return to the J.E.F. concept after a Thai-food detour at Aroy Aroy. With Gilles Bogaert.[24][25] |
| Lubbi (Gentbrugge) | 2025 | Vilhjalmur Sigurdarson + Joke Michiel — 11 years at Souvenir (1★ + Green ★). | Former hospital on Kliniekstraat. Bistro: lasagne, fish, pork cheeks ~€20. The Souvenir-team meal at a fraction of the prior price.[26] |
| Privéprivée (Antwerp) | Oct 2024 | Sergio Herman — ex-3★ Oud Sluis, founder of Le Pristine / The Jane / Pure C. | Private dining room beneath chef's apartment. Max 24, several dates per month. Herman back behind the line after ~10 years off it.[32] |
| Eliane @ Lennik (pop-up) | Jul–Aug 2026 | Kobe Desramaults. | Pop-up at Hof ter Bree-Eik vierkantshoeve in Pajottenland, 40 covers. Eliane Brussels closed during the summer relocation.[23] |
| Restaurant | What changed | Why it matters here |
|---|---|---|
| Souvenir (Brabantdam, Ghent) | Closed at original Brabantdam location, 2025. Briefly returned above Lubbi, won't return to Brabantdam. | Held 1★ + Michelin Green Star; G&M 15.5 in the 2026 guide despite the closure. The 1★ Souvenir experience is no longer bookable; the cooks are at Lubbi.[26] |
| Chambre Séparée (Ghent) | Closed end of 2020 after ~3 years. | The wood-fire chef's-counter format that Eliane (Brussels) is the spiritual sequel to — 16 seats around an open kitchen, ~20-course tasting menu, 1★ in the 2018 guide. Why the chef-counter chair you'd otherwise want is now a 55 km drive.[28][27] |
| The Jane (Antwerp) | Closed 2025 after 11 years. Sergio Herman exited; Nick Bril took full ownership before the closure announcement and plans a new, more intimate Antwerp project. | Held 2★ in a former military-hospital chapel — for years one of Belgium's most photographed dining rooms. ~€23,000/month rent cited as a closure factor. ⚠ if you had it on a Ghent road-trip list, it's gone; watch for Bril's next room.[29][30] |
| Hertog Jan (Zedelgem, Bruges) | Closed Dec 2018 after holding 3★. Reopened at Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp in fall 2021 at 2★. | The 3★ near Bruges that for years was the West-Flanders destination is now an East-Antwerp destination — different drive, different room, same cooks.[13] |
The shape of Ghent fine dining today comes largely from three friend-chefs photographed together as the "Flemish Foodies" in the late 2000s: Olly Ceulenaere, Jason Blanckaert, and Kobe Desramaults. They share a simple, seasonal, local-produce credo and have been credited with putting Ghent on the global food map.[31] Where they each are now is most of what's bookable as a "Ghent chef story":
- Ceulenaere — still in Ghent, still 1★, still at Publiek. The trio's continuity pick.[5]
- Blanckaert — back in Ghent at Debra (2025) after Aroy Aroy and J.E.F. before that. À la carte; no fixed tasting menu.[24][25]
- Desramaults — left Ghent. Eliane is in Brussels (1★, opened Oct 2024); summer 2026 he runs a Pajottenland pop-up; In de Wulf (Heuvelland) and Chambre Séparée (Ghent) are both closed.[22][23][27]
Outside the trio, the Hof van Cleve lineage matters more: Vrijmoed (Ghent, 2★), Blanckaert (Ghent), and Boury (Roeselare, 3★) all spent years training under Peter Goossens before opening their own. If a chef name on this page wasn't a Flemish Foodie, they were almost certainly a Hof van Cleve cook.[2][12]