Belgium: ‘Dinner in the dark’ due to energy crisis – ‘The idea is to go back to the cave age’

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A Belgian restaurateur’s initiative offers a way out of the crisis of cold dishes, raw food – “We prepared a whole range of dishes that only need to be cooked in seconds”

And while in Brussels, the seat of the EU institutions, but also in other countries, the governments are arguing about how to deal with the energy crisis, what consumers will pay, what the state will undertake, some catering businesses, a sector that was greatly affected by the time of the pandemic, they rush to find immediate solutions. In the capital of Belgium, a group of restaurateurs are implementing their own “recipe” against the energy crisis and offering their customers an alternative to what life would be like without light, electricity and natural gas.

No ovens or radiators

All this exciting at the Surrealiste brasserie in Brussels. This is not an act of surrealism, but an act of resistance, for others perhaps even a unique culinary adventure. “People are seeing increases of 30 to 40% in the supermarket. And what do we restaurant owners do” asks Francesco Keri Racine, owner of the brasserie. “We are raising prices. But we charge gas and electricity prices on top of that. We can do our work without energy sources. We need to think a little more and society should realize how critical the situation we live in is.”

In Brasserie Surrealiste there are no ovens, stoves or radiators, and no hot plates to keep the food warm. There are no coffee machines, no lamps. But the food is still great. Just a little cold and the steak lightly charred, grilled, on a Japanese barbecue. And of course the dishes are served on tables full of candles.

Cold dishes, pistachio dessert

“The idea is to go back to the cave age,” says Kerry Racine. “We have prepared a whole series of dishes that only need to be cooked in a few seconds. But the search for flavor is still part of our job.” What’s on the menu? Brioche with anchovies, raw albacore tuna, porcetta and fire-cooked focaccia, roast pork with beans and ricotta cream with pumpkin jam and pistachios for dessert.” But what sounds like a romantic atmosphere and unique experience is actually what customers could face more permanently if energy bills continue to rise.

“We have reached the point where we have to choose between a warm home or a restaurant meal,” says one patron. “Finding the balance is complicated. It goes without saying that the current situation reflects on everyday life. There are habits that need to be changed. We try to change them even if it’s not easy.” Despite the dramatic increase in inflation in Belgium, 50 couples participated in the “Dinner in the Dark” initiative, organized by 12 restaurateurs. An initiative that may find imitators in other countries as well. Moreover, it combines the painful after the useful.

DW – Irini Anastasopoulou

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