Caketail competition - presentation of the jurors

11/28/2022 - The final of the Caketail Comtest takes place today in Antwerp! Discover the 6 renowned personalities of gastronomy who responded positively to our request.

A big thank you to each of them!

CHEF side:

Stéphanie THUNUS

Stéphanie learned the basics of cooking at the Namur hotel school. She started her career at the Maison du Cygne, where she met Sébastien. She then expanded her knowledge behind the stoves of Evan's Herb Grill in Wemmel. She likes to work with quality products and is guided by them to develop her menu.

Au Gré du Vent" is the culmination of a common dream of the young couple: to open their restaurant to share their passion for gastronomy.

The restaurant was built on an old barn owned by Stephanie's family. Only the small chapel to the right of the entrance still bears witness to this past. Stéphanie comes from a family of farmers whose farm is located opposite the restaurant.

LadY Chef 2014 - Michelin-starred 2014 - Grand de demain/ 16/20 gault millau 2014

David BAERT

Pastry, a passion that David Baert has made his profession.

His story is that of a passionate man guided by happy encounters, a hard worker, driven by an irrepressible desire to please.

David is the pastry chef of Hof van Cleve, the 3 Michelin star restaurant in Belgium, where he shapes bread, confectionery and pastry in all the splendor of homemade bread on a daily basis.

A true gourmand, always looking for new flavors and new combinations, always with an incredible respect for the ingredient.

Roland DEBUYST

It is in Nossegem, in the suburbs of Brussels, that you have to go to meet Roland Debuyst, he in the kitchen, and Ayse in the dining room.

After training at the Ceria and starting his career in places such as the renowned Radisson SAS Brussels, Sofitel and the Sheraton Airport hotel, Roland Debuyst opened, in 1993, his own restaurant, "L'Orangeraie", a perfume of the South...

In the kitchen, he focuses on working with textures thanks to which he likes to surprise the taste buds of his visitors. He loves competition and, with the first prize Prosper-Montagné in 1995, he marks a first step towards the Bocuse d'argent of 1997. Other distinctions enrich his list of achievements, including 1 Gault and Millau star in 2002.

Mai 2005 marks a turning point. Roland decides to close his classic gourmet restaurant to launch Orange Food Fashion, a trendy establishment... Then he followed with the opening of the Mariadal brewery in Zaventem, which the Michelin Guide awarded a Bib gourmand in 2009. 

In December 2015, a new challenge: he started the adventure of BeBurger restaurants, of which he is the co-founder, a restaurant dedicated to quality burgers! In May 2017 followed the creation of Alfons Burger. At the same time, he works as a consultant in the kitchens of the European Parliament. In October 2017, he completely redesigned Orange Food Fashion, which became Bistro R.

 

SOMMELIER side:

Alfred Cointreau, President of the Jury

Alfred Cointreau is part of the sixth generation of the Cointreau family and was born and raised in Angers, France. This alone would make him the ideal candidate for Heritage Manager of Maison Cointreau. But the thirty-something doesn’t rest on the laurels of his last name.

His personality was molded by his family history, his meaningful personal encounters, fed by an insatiable curiosity and an unrelenting passion for cocktail culture. Originally not destined to be in the family business, Alfred remembers his grandfather, a faux retiree, continuing to frequent the distillery daily. He had an inimitable passion for his craft, which he passed on to his grandson.

In addition to being a father of two spirited little girls, Louison and Suzanne, Alfred serves as Heritage Manager for the family business and is responsible for keeping up the culture of Maison Cointreau. After trying his hand at various distillery roles, from unloading bags of orange zest to bottling to the art of distillation, Alfred decided he preferred being out in the world.

A man of many talents (except sitting behind a desk), Alfred spends his time moving around, meeting people, and exploring bars. As long as he hears the clinking of ice cubes, he feels at home. Wherever he may be in the world, he always finds time to slide up to a bar, keeping his illustrious origins to himself, and give the bartender carte blanche. Champion of the orange label, Alfred Cointreau embodies the sensitivity and tranquil lifestyle typical of Angers, and is proud to share them with the rest of the world.

Charlie GUILLIAMS

Charlie Guilliams is the owner of Alfonse, a company founded in 2016 focused on cocktails and hospitality. Antique dealer by training and passionate about art, she met her husband after a trip in 2013 and very quickly, they developed together their first mobile bar service.

In 2018, they opened Botanical by Alfonse, a craft cocktail bar in Namur, and recently Liquorette by Alfonse, a dining bar located in the same city.

Spontaneous and literary, she naturally took charge of the company's communication, on the networks where she shares daily the creations of the bars and her passion.

Hannes DESMEDT

I am a creative mind and passionate about flavors. I started my career as a young sommelier in great restaurants (Hertog Jan, Michelin*** - Hof van Cleve, Michelin***) and I quickly fell in love with the art of bartending. I continued to learn the trade focusing mainly on flavor and food combinations.

I created my own company Wine Blend in 2017 where I gather all this expertise and share it with the next generation of entrepreneurs.

In June 2021, I published my first cocktail book "Apéro Maison": an expert but understandable explanation of the preparation of more than 60 recipes, classified into casual cocktails, festive cocktails, gourmet cocktails, no-low & craft.

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