The Queen’s Stables

One of the things I like best about autumn is that it’s also the ‘game season’. By the end of September the first game birds and other ‘wild’ animals appear on the shelves in the supermarket and the menu cards of the restaurants.

My favourites are definitely the feathered creatures like pheasants and partridges. A fine Belgian classic is the ‘faisan Brabançonne’. It is named after Brabant, a province in the centre of Belgian. The star product of this region are the Belgian Endives, which were originally grown only in the triangle formed by the towns of Brussels, Leuven (to the east) and Mechelen (to the north). This region has the best soil in the world to grow Belgian endives. In the seventies farmers from northern France came to Brabant to buy the soil by cubic metres to mix it with their local soil, in order to grow endives that were just (actually nearly) as good as the original product.

A ‘faisan Brabançonne’ is pheasant with braised Belgian Endives. I’ll do a post on the recipe as soon as I can lay my hands on a nice specimen.

In the meantime let me tell you about a restaurant where, in the eighties, I had the best ‘faisan Brabançonne’ I’ve ever eaten in my life. It’s called ‘Les Ecuries de la Reine’ (the queen’s stables) and is located in the village of La Gleize, south of the famous Formula I racetrack of Spa-Francorchamps. Although the restaurant still exists, it has lost its rough rustic charm since it has changed hands.

In the past it was kept by a former gamekeeper who still had some connections in the trade. And by ‘connections’ I mean regular hunters as well as illegal poachers! The man had a big white moustache and wore dark glasses and a kaki military jumper. Under the counter of the bar of the restaurant he kept a large handgun. The upholstery of the stools by the bar was made of cow skin. And behind the bar, between the bottles of liquor stood and hung worn pieces of horse tackle. The back wall of the restaurant section was one large fireplace in which in autumn and winter a nice log fire was burning.

A nice wood fire burning in the 'Ecuries de la Reine'
sometime in the late eighties.
Not a good quality photo, I'm afraid, as it's a scan ...

The entire interior was made of bare bricks; the floor, the walls and the vaulted ceiling. The room was dimly lit and vaguely smelled of smoke and damp burning wood. The cutlery was very simple and rustic and very often you would find yourself drinking from a glass from which a bit was missing or which was cracked and worn. Eating in this restaurant really felt like going back in time.

In spite of its noble name, there was nothing royal about the ‘Queen’s stables’. In spite of the small deficiencies, which would be unacceptable nowadays – Gordon Ramsey would have a fit if he had seen this place - the restaurant was very cosy and the food was glorious. Especially the pheasant with braised Belgian endives and a spicy cream sauce! It was here, that I first drank a ‘Sancerre rouge’ from the Loire Valley. Until then I didn't even know that Sancerre also came in red!

Today the restaurant is kept by a young chef who, although he has maintained the original lay-out of the restaurant, has adapted it to modern standards. The other parts of the former farm building have been transformed into guest rooms. And from the look of it, business is booming. Which isn’t a complete surprise as the area around Spa is a very popular holiday and weekend destination.

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