And so the restaurant with the name meaning “taste above all” has our group scurrying down Ghent’s Ketelvest alleyway on a Friday evening in late July, umbrellas in hand, dodging puddles. Once inside, we hang up our jackets in a separate hallway (handy tip from a friend, to avoid them reeking of hot oil) and take our seats in the packed dining room.
The tables have stove-top burners built into them and elegant place settings of light grey linen, white plates, long-stemmed wine glasses and flickering candles. Happy to be warm, dry and cosy, our group of 10 promptly orders three bottles of both red and white bold South African wines.
We then start discussing who wants what: fish, meat or cheese fondue, or stone grill. We all want fondue, so the fish eaters shift to one end of the table while the meat eaters shift to the other. I stay put in the middle with the only other fan of cheese fondue. The reason for sitting together is this: You have to cook your own food.
A variety of bite-sized pieces of raw meat arrive on small plates, some containing different cuts of lamb, others holding chicken, beef, meatballs and sausage, plus here and there some courgette and mushroom. These go on your skewer and into a big pot of hot grape seed oil. After a few minutes, the meat is cooked through, tender and full of flavour, thanks to this particular kind of oil.
Same concept with the fish, although this goes into a bubbling pot of seasoned bouillon instead of oil, which makes fish fondue all the more healthy. Not only that, but the few bites of white fish and prawn that I sneak off my friends’ plates are extremely tasty and succulent. I promise myself I’ll come back and order the all-fish fondue platter.
We cheese eaters are happy, too, as we use bits of crusty white bread to sop up gooey, melted Swiss cheese. The fondue is excellent and rich in flavour, despite having a tad too much white wine in the mix.
Thankfully, they keep bringing us salad as a counterweight: an overflowing bowl of crispy fresh watercress, carrots, witloof, cucumbers and ripe red tomatoes. It just keeps coming; every time a bowl is emptied, another one arrives. The same goes for the house-made fries.
Of particular importance to the natives at our table are the six bottomless bowls of sauce to go with the meat and fish: spicy, garlic, tartar, mayonnaise, cocktail and mustard.
The portions turn out to be just right, with nobody leaving hungry. The bill is surprisingly mild – around €35 a head. But it’s the quality of the ingredients that counts the most, and these are top notch. Taste above all indeed.
Ketelvest 8, Ghent; 09.329.59.59
Tues-Sun, 18.00-22.00 (Sun 12.00-14.00)
Main dish: €20-€30
High-quality fondue and stone grill dining in a fun, social atmosphere
Contact Bite at flandersbite@gmail.com
Flanders Today is a 
11°C / 22°C
