Restaurant Me Liefste* has been on my wish list for quite a while. The restaurant just celebrated it’s first anniversary and when looking for an inspirational, quiet location for our annual strategy meeting at Stockmanverstraete, we knew that Me Liefste was thé ideal spot.

*Meliefste means ‘my love’ in Dutch and once you hear the name you never forget it because it’s so romantic and pure.

For the moment it is not difficult to book a table. Yet….

The star struck foodie army has not discovered this wonderful food paradise. Yet…

But hurry, it’s a question of months until Meliefste will be much harder to get.

The fact that the restaurant of Dutch chef Thijs Meliefste and his lovely wife Anuschka is totally hidden in the backyard of ‘Het Veerse Meer’ in Zeeland is also one of the reasons only dedicated foodlovers find the way to the marina of Wolphaartsdijk.

Last week, we made the trip. Only one hour drive from Ghent my home town, so that was fine. The road to Wolphaartsdijk is so idyllic and desolate that it’s the perfect ‘get in the mood’ of Meliefste’s kitchen. As you see on the pictures, we arrived in typical Dutch (and Belgian) grey weather, but left with a fab blue sky.

Thijs find his inspiration and passion in the nature of Zeeland. He stays very close to the seasons and works with pure ingredients, from the use of special local plants or berries over today’s catch super fresh seafood from the Oosterschelde. Care for nature, animals and the environment are crucial.

Thijs and his crew are also one on the 11 forage chef crews in The Netherlands. Wild picking, or the art of finding things edible in the wild like berries, plants, herbs, flowers, fruits or mushrooms is very liberating and brings back real flavors on your plate.

Thijs worked as a souschef in Het Gebaar in Antwerpen (1 Michelin-star), Katseveer bij Wilhelminadorp (1Michelin-star) and did his internship at 3 Michelin-star restaurant The Fat Duck in London. Impressive, but Thijs follows his own guts and I must say: the meal Thijs and his crew served us was wonderful.

We started with beautiful and delicious gourmet snacks, all in fairytale settings. From a mini forest surrounded by moss, over driftwood and dune rocks, all appetizers got their own décor.

We had….

Chicken liver and grated smoked dear hart

Bread soufflé, crème of whisky and old cheese

Camouflage crusty chicken skin, dill powder and smoked eel

Black salsify scorzonera

to start with.

First courses

a delicious oyster with apple root and whey.

bakes sepia, onion caramel with a broth of onion

chard leek covered with grated truffle, jerusalem artichoke, truffle, raw mushrooms, and a broth of celeriac.

Main course

skrei, lettuce heart and a jus of green garden herbs.

Dessert

pear, trompettes de mort jus and a snow of blue cheese

Coffee

a reflection of nature: chocolate & raspberry ganache, sloe berrie gel

a macaron with black truffle

a liquid bolus

a merengue with berk juice and elder cream

Caffenation  coffee

Meliefste is a delight.

Authentic, pure and creative plates with superb ingredients, complex and balanced and made with so much love and energy. The restaurant is located on a true idyllic place and has a terrace on the marina for sunny days.

A must go. And say hi to Thijs and Anuschka from us. They are as wonderful as the food they serve.

Later!

Kate

Meliefste
Wolphaartsdijkseveer 1
4471 ND Wolphaartsdijk
+31 (0) 113 581326
info@restaurantmeliefste.nl

http://restaurantmeliefste.nl/nl/
https://www.instagram.com/restaurant_meliefste/