The story
Hors-Champs in Gembloux serves modern Belgian cooking through a reverse engineering approach that starts at the soil. Stefan Jacobs checks what the vegetable plot and local farmers deliver each week before drafting the seasonal tasting menu. This commitment to regional gastronomy earned a Gault & Millau 16 rating and a Michelin Green Star for operational sustainability. The kitchen replaces single-use plastics with compostable alternatives while keeping flavor development central to every plate.
Seasonal ingredients dictate the composition of each course. Duck tartare arrives dressed with marc de Bousval alongside a textured crumble made from rendered goose fat and fermented quince purée. Winter service highlights venison loin resting on a smoked juniper reduction, paired with roasted celery root and pine forest morels cooked in yellow wine. Every element relies on precise curing, slow smoking, or cold emulsification to preserve the original character of the produce.
Guests dine inside a structurally restored four-square farmhouse featuring deliberately raw architectural finishes. The layout supports an attentive but unobtrusive service style that lets the food take center stage. Each dish functions as a deliberate study in texture and acidity, moving from briny amuse-bouches to rich main courses without relying on heavy sauces. The space maintains a quiet intensity that matches the calculated precision of the French-inspired regional cooking.
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History
If you zoom out on this 19th-century Gembloux farm, you’ll see a bakery, a B&B and an impressive restaurant. The duo behind this flawless concept? Stefan Jacobs (ex-Va Doux Vent in Uccle) and his partner Aurélie Leempoel, who play the roles of a lifetime, featuring close-ups on local ingredients (they maintain two garden beds), from the decor (custom-made furniture and tableware) to the cuisine. The night we went, it included all of the following: glamorous asparagus prepared two ways, as a ganache-like cream with crispy seaweed and achiote, then raw with fresh seaweed and an asparagus peel foam; a lovely bison pot-au-feu with lacto-fermented parsnip and celery, plus a curry plant and wild garlic jus; incredible dispouye di Nameur (pork tripe fricassée), grilled mackerel and flame-charred onion; a stunning poultry trio, prepared as a pie with grey knight mushrooms, roasted, and in a spinach salad; before ending the meal with a plant-based dessert made from hemp seeds, dandelion greens and chervil. FYI, fans: they also make Sunday picnic baskets and host other food-based events. // Ambre Oisy
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