De Wispeleir, 23, and Coenen, a 22-year-old emergency room nurse, opened Restaurant Alaise in Ekeren, a district of Antwerp, as underdogs, lacking business experience and unable at times even to look the show’s judges in the eyes. Over the five months of the competition, however, De Wispeleir (photo, right) showed herself to be a skilled and audacious chef – she even dared serve Flemish culinary legend Roger Souveryns a dish of his own devising.
The two faced off in the live finale against Michael De Ridder and Eef D’Haene, who had proved themselves capable of running a successful restaurant, despite having no culinary experience. “We still haven’t grasped what’s happened to us,” commented Coenen following the announcement.
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