i. Biography
Chef-ownership at Dis-moi Où in Genappe, Belgium is built around repeatable service craft rather than display. In Nicolas Michiels’s kitchen, the working language is à-la-minute cooking, flavorful sauces, delicate seafood, grilled meats, fine whiskeys, and judged land-and-sea combinations such as Quenelle de noix de Saint-Jacques et langoustine. The restaurant holds a MICHELIN Guide Bib Gourmand, a recognition aligned with cooking where value sits in timing, heat control, sauce work, and the discipline to serve familiar pleasure without excess.
The Path
Early craft formation across both kitchen and dining-room work gives a cook a different sense of service pressure. Nicolas Michiels built that range at Trèfle à 4; Table du 15; Hostellerie La Claire Fontaine, gaining exposure not only to preparation and plating, but to pacing, reception, and the practical demands of the room. Whole-house fluency matters in a restaurant built on direct cooking. Kitchen and dining room often operate as separate trades, but Nicolas Michiels’s path crossed both before he became chef-owner of Dis-moi Où? / Dis-moi-où (since 2008). That breadth shows in a style that is generous, controlled, and personal without needing decoration.
The Work Today
À-la-minute cooking and sauce work are the center of the Genappe restaurant’s daily discipline. Under Nicolas Michiels as chef-owner, those simple terms carry the pressure of final-moment execution: heat, seasoning, reduction, texture, and finish must land together when the plate leaves the pass. Nostalgic cooking can hold its shape when the hand remains exact. That combination places the restaurant in a recognizable register: familiar pleasures, properly handled, with enough deviation to keep them alive. Land-and-sea combinations require balance rather than novelty. Quenelle de noix de Saint-Jacques et langoustine is cited as an example of Nicolas Michiels’s handling of delicate seafood and savory depth. Homemade cheese croquettes point to the same kitchen logic from another angle: direct comfort, crisp and molten, dependent on execution rather than explanation.
Signature
The house signatures named for Nicolas Michiels — huisgemaakte kaaskroketten, Tournedos Rossini, and Dame Blanche — sit in a classic register: appetite, richness, Belgian warmth, and dessert as a clear closing gesture. The craft is not in making these dishes unfamiliar, but in serving them with the timing and proportion that let them remain themselves.
In Their Words “We wanted to give our guests the feeling that they’re coming to a dinner party in our home instead of a restaurant. At Basilico, we have a style that’s all our own.” “Today I only have a fairly discreet plaque on the façade to identify my establishment.”
Acclaim
Recognition for Nicolas Michiels includes Entry in Gault&Millau; rating 13 among the best-rated restaurants in Brabant wallon and Bib Gourmand. Taken together, those notices point to cumulative restaurant work: steady welcome, sauce discipline, confident grilling, and dishes built to arrive at the right moment.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Nicolas
What is Nicolas Michiels's current role?
As of 2026, Nicolas Michiels is Chef-owner at Dis-moi Où.
Where did Nicolas Michiels work before?
Nicolas Michiels's earlier career included Trèfle à 4; Table du 15; Hostellerie La Claire Fontaine.
What recognition has Nicolas Michiels received?
Entry in Gault&Millau; rating 13 among the best-rated restaurants in Brabant wallon (2024).
