Category Archives: Events

The chocolate ribs with Malou

On 7th November, la Grande Balade broadcasted on RTL offered an original recipe created with MalouGabsi, semi-finalist of Top Chef 2020. The recipe : chocolate and Brussels Ketjep lacquered spare ribs, cooked on the barbecue!

To see the recipe in motion, it’s here. And for the most impatient, here’s what you need :

Ingredients:

  • Spare Ribs
  • 1 or 2 red Peppers
  • 1 mix of Quinoa
  • Brussels Ketjep
  • Poultry stock
  • Hot pepper sauce
  • Dark Chocolate
  • Butter
  • Flat-leaf Parsley
  • Salt & Pepper

The recipe :

1. Season the ribs with salt and pepper and steam them in a steam cooker to make them tender.

2. Cook the quinoa mix as indicated on the packet. Add the melted butter and chopped parsley.

3. Cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds. Stuff with the quinoa mixture and put on the barbecue.

4. For lacquering, mix hot pepper sauce, poultry stock, chocolate and Brussels Ketjep. Melt on the barbecue in a small pan. The acidity of the Brussels Ketjep balances the sweet and fruity taste of the chocolate.

5. Put the ribs on the barbecue and brush them several times with the mixture of Brussels Ketjep and chocolate to obtain a nice crust. Make sure the barbecue is not too hot.

Enjoy with a nice little beer!

Brussels Ketjep now in Paris !

It’s official: Brussels Ketjep sauces are now available in Paris! And not just anywhere but in the prestigious setting of la Grande Épicerie de Paris and le Bon Marché Rive Gauche.

In late August, both brands unveiled the event exhibition “Il était une fois la Belgique” (translate “Once upon a time Belgium”), dedicated to our beautiful country. A unique chance for Parisians, tourists and expatriate compatriots to (re)discover more than hundred brands made in Belgium. All within a Belgian-comic scenary. Mode, design, food,… you’ll find something for everyone, and even more! It’s also a chance to attend various masterclasses, workshops and signing sessions. Anyway, the walk promises to be a memorable experience.

The six iconic Brussels Ketjep sauces also stand on both stores shelves, between Belgian beers, chocolates and mussels cooking pots. The chance to get your hands on the brand in France, exclusively until the 18th of October. And for Belgian friends who will hardly make the trip to the French capital (now classified “Red Zone”), here are a few pictures ?✌️
Chalarmaise

CHALARMAISE, the actual fake one!

Chalarmaise sauceDe Ideale Wereld (DIW) is a quirky daily TV broadcast in Flanders, usually brimming with absurd Belgian humor. For the music festival Pukkelpop, the presenters decided to create interior and exterior stages for a completely wild mini festival. They also proposed an original first aid stand. The idea: run to the rescue of festivalgoers who were running out of sauce for their fries, hot dogs or burgers! Knowing Brussels Ketjep well, the organizers contacted the brand to ask it to create a special sauce for the event. That’s how Chalarmaise came to be. Its name was chosen in reference to running gag, with the invented word “chalarmeren” (for Smurf lovers, it’s the equivalent of “Smurfing”). The event was a total success. The DIW group thought it would sell the sauce in 300ml bottles. Everything was ready for the release when…the directors of the broadcast found out that, since the channel was a public one, they couldn’t sell a product promoted over the radio.

But the project didn’t stop immediately. They decided to use television to promote this product that would never be sold in stores. The Chalarmaise bottles that were already produced were given to the people who came to listen to the broadcast live. Almost every day, fake, quirky ads were created to promote the Chalarmaise. The audience went nuts. They wanted nothing but to try this new sauce. Major supermarket chains were destroyed on social media for not stocking it.

Chalarmaise sauce

But finally there came an opportunity to sell it, by donating the proceeds to charity. On Saint Nicholas, December 6th, the whole DIW team drove the Chalarmaise caravan across the country. It started its tour at the Flemish Parliament, where the ministers were forced to buy several pots for their righteous deeds. After that, it was the public’s turn to be able to buy and finally taste this sauce. They only had to line up for hours in the Antwerp, Gent and Louvain train stations.

That’s how a sauce can live a full but ephemeral life, just like a butterfly.

Chalarmaise sauce

Congrats Brussels Black Angels!

The Brussels Black Angels it’s:

  • Three finals in three years.
  • Two Belgian championships.
  • Not a single match lost this season.

Because the Black Angels are managed and organised by the country’s biggest professional clubs, they’re leading American Football in Belgium. The players are also role models in terms of motivation, spirit of competition, and sacrifice. Not only are they gladiators on the field—they’re always ready to entertain their fans during the games.  In short, Brussels Ketjep loves you guys!

Despite their domination, the 30th Belgian Bowl kept all its promises against the Tigers, Brussels’s other team. The Tigers, a well-organised team, came back from their slow start at the end of the game with a 27-20 score, adding a drop of suspense in the last two minutes of the game.

The atmosphere was on fire that day: we had some tremendous plays (some touchdowns in particular), DJs, and smiling dancers from the CheerSquad. American Football is not as popular in Europe as it is in the United States, even though each game is exhilarating. American customs for having fun are just as respected as fair play on the field.

Congratulations BBA! ?? ????

La Terasse O2

Aaaah yes, La Terrasse at the Hippodrome! We look forward to it every year, as it’s always the sign of fine weather, late aperitifs, and sometimes, even exciting soccer games.

This year, for the 14th edition, it’s been renamed as La Terrasse O2 but we have kept the same ingredients; a Chiringuito style bar, chic shutterbugs, and an awesome atmosphere (no sand unfortunately, but the lounge chairs are plentiful!) not to mention all the beautiful people parading round in their new summer fashions.

La Terrasse is rather like a holiday without going beyond the border. And at this inauguration cocktail, it’s our friend Attar! who was chosen to spin; he was at the controls of a massive DJ set that made our hearts thump to the sound of the beat.

For your information, Brussels Ketjep will spend the next two months in “chill” mode, relaxing as we accompany Chef Laurent’s local and seasonal dishes.

La Terrasse O2, from May 19th to July 20th. See the full agenda here

Brussels Food Truck festival

Brussels Ketjep has spent the weekend at the Brussels Food Truck Festival, the biggest of the kind of Europe. The 4th annual incarnation of this culinary event was held this year at Thurn & Taxis, and featured 103 food trucks from 15 different countries. How about a tasting tour?

At the very least you had to admit there was a variety to suit every taste. Judge for yourself:

Asian, Moroccan, Armenian, Lebanese, Belgian, Breton, Northern French, Southern French, Alsatian, Irish, Italian, Creole, African, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Venezuelan, Latino, Cuban, and Mexican foods — all these were represented.

Not to mention the humble hamburger, THE star of the festival. Multi-coloured breads, snail sliders, or gourmet burgers, modern fusion or classic, certain of the food trucks showed unbelievable creativity. We took the opportunity to say hello to our friends of the Bistrot Truk who inaugurated their new truck specialized in …. Belgian French Fries!

Did you miss it? Don’t panic, the Food truck festival will be on tour this summer all over Wallonia. Find out more about the schedule below:

Louvain-la-Neuve (Parking Aula Magna) : 30 juin – 2 juillet

Charleroi (Place Verte) : 7 – 9 juillet
Waterloo (Butte du Lion) : 20 – 23 juillet
Ans (Esplanade de l’Hôtel communal) : 28 – 30 juillet
Gembloux (Parc d’Epinal) : 11 – 13 août
Tournai (Parc Reine Astrid) : 18 – 20 août
Mouscron (Parc Communal) : 25 – 27 août
Arlon (Place Schalbert) : 8 – 10 septembre
Fléron (Place de la gare) : 15 – 17 septembre

ROB, Bruxelles Gourmande with Brussels Ketjep

This weekend of the 7th and 8th of October, our gourmet supermarket celebrated its place the haute cuisine history of the capital over the last 70 years. On this occasion, various suppliers and producers attended, giving presentations and setting up tasting stands inside that fine establishment.

 To warm your hearts and bellies, Brussels Ketjep chose to set up outside its headquarters, to welcome the curious and the voracious. And what better dish than Belgian chips cooked on the spot, accompanied by our sauces? Indeed, the success of this all-too ephemeral cook-off was superb, with stocks running out early Sunday afternoon.

But, salty fries can make you thirsty… So we had the idea of turning to the stand of Dikkenek beer, made by the Belgoo brewery. Not far away, Flagrants Délices offers us a taste of beef jerky with a nice dark Bertinchamp. Where else can a Belgian beer make it possible to improve upon the most popular snacks of the USA, Africa, and Asia?

Those with the heartiest appetites could then turn to the stand of the Viva M’boma restaurant, a real institution in Brussels. There, Chef Olivier Vanklemput officiated, offering traditional dishes, most made with offal. These oft-forgotten ingredients remain no less noble, and often garnish the fine prepared dishes on Rob’s shelves.

To conclude, a sweet finale was called for! The famous Maison Dandoy prepared its famous speculoos biscuits, while Xavier Rennotte showed the public how to collect tasty honey directly from the hive without disturbing the dear little bees. Perfect, as it included learning by tasting. Emi & Lou also sampled their new jam recipes with the speculoos, and Papabubble made their sweets right under our child-like eyes.

One small fries for Man, a giant leap for Brussels Ketjep

People always laugh at other people who think they see strange things in the sky. Except that yes, in fact, planes are now flying low from Zaventem airport. And we can see Superman on his float during the parade of the balloons, in the capital. So when your mate (the one makes such an impression elbowing his way to the buffet table with his elbows) or your dear mama (who likely wears the thickest glasses) tell you they have seen a packet full of chips, flying through the air … Well, believe them!

The answer lies not in the paranormal, but a crazy idea. In partnership with David Antoine of Radio Contact, Brussels Ketjep sauce (does the expression “flying saucer” coming from this?) has launched a serving of fries aloft, to inaugurate its journey in space! Double-fried, in beef fat … It’s hard to check the flavour of the potatoes, either on Earth, or in orbit. Especially after they fall through the atmosphere and receive their fatal last cooking (for the moment, do not believe the Gauls with their story of the sky falling on their heads)… but this feat is the real deal. On April 28, 2016, Belgium blasted off its first cornet full of French fries!

To finish our story about the conquest of space, it’s all being inaugurated by a Tintin album, followed by Dirk Frimout (the first Belgian in space) and Frank De Winne (former captain of the International Space Station). But stay alert: sauces in zero gravity will stain white clothes even faster!