Belgian vol-au-vent: history and tradition in Brussels
- 14 hours ago
- 2 min read
Each month, L’Ultieme Hallucinatie puts the spotlight on one dish from its menu, revealing all its secrets.
This month, we turn our attention to a true monument of Belgian gastronomy: the vol-au-vent.
The must-try dish at our brasserie
A comforting, generous, timeless classic, recognisable from the very first forkful.A recipe everyone thinks they know, made up of tender chicken, veal meatballs, mushrooms, and a perfectly creamy sauce.
And yet, this national dish isn’t quite as national as one might think.
While the vol-au-vent seems inseparable from Belgian tradition, its origins actually lie further afield.
Once again, it all starts in France.
Its story begins in France in the mid-18th century. Originally, the term “gâteau vole-au-vent” referred solely to the puff-pastry shell, so light it might almost take flight.
The figure who would give it its true stature was Marie-Antoine Carême, famously known as “the king of chefs and the chef of kings.” Born in 1783, initially a pastry chef celebrated for his elaborate pièces montées, he would go on to become one of the first cooks to achieve international fame. Over the course of an extraordinary career, he served, among others, Talleyrand, Napoleon, the future George IV, and James de Rothschild.
It was Carême who established the vol-au-vent in the form of a large pie some twenty centimetres across, generously filled with veal, poultry, shellfish, fish, or even snails, proudly placed at the centre of grand tables for everyone to help themselves.
As for the individual version served today, its origins lie rather in the bouchée à la reine.In 1902, the renowned Escoffier described it in his Guide Culinaire as “a round, fluted puff-pastry case filled with a creamy poultry purée.”
This dish itself is thought to be an evolution of the puits d’amour, a pastry tinged with scandal, created for the mistress of Louis XV, Madame de Pompadour. Queen Marie Leszczyńska, wife of Louis XV, is said to have asked her own pastry chef for a savoury version of the cake to rival her competitor.
A black, yellow and red sauce
Enjoy this generous dish in the warm setting of our Orangerie where the atmosphere invites you to indulge in a true moment of gourmet pleasure.
Vol-au-vent may not be Belgian on paper. But on the plate, it certainly is.
Each dish is carefully prepared by our chef Younes, who takes care to enhance this Belgian classic with his unique touch.
Come and see for yourself at Ultieme Hallucinatie!
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