Mathieu Vande Velde

The Climb

At Namur hotel school, the craft was built on fundamentals: structure, discipline, and the standards that prepare a cook for serious service. Mathieu Vande Vande carried that base into the kitchens of renowned Michelin-starred restaurants, where repetition, precision, and consistency shape every shift. The work in those rooms is less about flourish than control, and that is where technique becomes reliable. Later, Le Roannay in Francorchamps became the setting where that training took its current form. As chef there, Mathieu Vande Vande works in a register of modern French fine dining, with plates shaped by the demands of service and the discipline gathered along the way. The result is a style that reads as composed and contemporary, with the kitchen’s attention fixed on exactness.

Today

At Le Roannay in Francorchamps, the craft sits inside modern French fine dining, a framework that suits a kitchen built on precision and measured surprise. Mathieu Vande Vande describes the work in human terms, but the practice remains firmly on the plate: the aim is to connect with the guest while keeping the cooking clean, composed, and attentive to the ingredient. That approach is clear in his own words: “My cooking is first and foremost an expression of my journey and the people I've met. I like to surprise my customers, create a connection, and convey the emotion of the ingredients in every dish.” Taken plainly, it points to a cook who treats service as exchange, and who uses the plate to hold both technique and feeling without separating the two.

In Their Words “My cooking is first and foremost an expression of my journey and the people I've met. I like to surprise my customers, create a connection, and convey the emotion of the ingredients in every dish.”

Recognition

For Le Roannay, the Michelin star in 2023 placed the restaurant within the Michelin frame, while Young Chef of the Year in 2023 marked Mathieu Vande Vande as a cook already being read for pace and control. Taken together, the two recognitions point to a kitchen work judged on refinement, personality, and the ability to deliver with clarity.