Onions and vlaai

Put the two of those things together - food and festival - and the prospect of Aalst as host city of Week van de Smaak (Week of Taste) seems not only enticing, but almost inevitable.

The "City of Taste" has been preparing its programme since before the announcement in November last year that its bid to follow Hasselt, Kortrijk, Lier and Leuven as stars of Week van de Smaak had been successful, says Ann De Block, a curator at the Aalst city museum.

Aalst is a town with strong social bonds, going back as far as the emancipation of the factory labourers by Adolf Daens, the 19th-century activist-priest, the subject of a popular 1970s novel by Louis Paul Boon, himself an Aalstenaar. (The work later became a film and, in 2008, an incredibly successful musical.) "The town has a very busy social life," De Block confirms, "built mainly around the groups who work all year to prepare for carnival."

Aalst's patron saint is St Martin, one of the most popular medieval saints. His name-day falls on 11 November, which is the city's annual Market Day, and also the official launch of the Week van de Smaak. Aalst plans a special market of regional products in its city centre and will introduce the new cookbook Over vlaaien en ajuinen (About Pie and Onions).

Activities in Aalst during Week van de Smaak, which begins today, are listed in a pocket-sized brochure that can be picked up at the tourist office - one of the prettiest you'll find anywhere in the country - under the 15th-century Belfort. It's also available free from anywhere that sells food or drink.

Aalst was the site of a famous ajuin (onion) market in the 19th century, which led to the nickname Ajuinen for the townsfolk - originally a mocking insult but now heartily welcomed by the Aalstenaars. It was also the centre of the hop-growing industry, so much so that there was a law banning anyone not from the region from selling "Aalst hops" - one of the first instances of a legally protected appellation d'origine.

So it's only to be expected that Aalst has taken to the concept of the Week van de Smaak's "hoppas": tapas designed to accompany a good Belgian beer. On 11 November, mayor Ilse Uyttersprot will don her official apron and, with the help of Karel and Ken, winners of the latest season of reality TV series Mijn Restaurant!, put together a special concoction, whose ingredients are top secret. It's free and starts at 11.30.

Karnivale, the winning restaurant of Karel and Ken, is on the Molenstraat, which is to gastronomy in Aalst what Bond Street in London is to jewellers. All day long on 20 November, you can sample special snacks concocted by the various food stores lining the street, from meat to chocolate to authentic Aalsterse vlaai, Aalst's single recognised regional product.

It's a pie, it's a cake! No, it's vlaai
Only five bakers in Aalst have so far been awarded the right to produce Aalsterse vlaai, but many more make it, and it's apparently easy enough to prepare at home. I tasted one from Lowie, one of the five recognised bakers. A kind of pie, it has a mousse-like consistency that's at first is surprisingly unpleasant, particularly if you are expecting something more like a cake.

After the initial surprise, however, the taste is rich and unctuous, heavily influenced by cinnamon, which is in the soft rolls known as mastellen that form the basis of the vlaai. You also taste mace, which is added to the mix. Other than that, it's sweet and - not surprisingly for a recipe involving one litre of milk - you have to add not only 45 sugar lumps, but also 450 grams of candy syrup. A little goes a long way.

And you can go a long way to get some, with special vlaai cycle and walking routes in the area of Aalst. A €1 booklet from the tourist office details the route and stops and includes coupons for reductions on vlaai, as well as local beers, afternoon tea and chocolates.

While Michelin-starred chef Wouter Keersmaekers is this year's official host of the Week van de Smaak, Aalst has its own patron, VRT journalist (and scourge of many a politician) Phara De Aguirre. She was born in the city to a family originally from the Basque region of Spain, so she embodies not only the City of Taste but also this year's Country of Taste.

De Aguirre will help judge the two recipe contests Aalsters potje and Cucina del mundo, as part of the closing events on 21 November. There'll also be a concert by Belle Perez, another Flemish star with Spanish roots.

Away to Aalst
The full programme of events in Aalst during Week van de Smaak can be found free all over town or downloaded from www.weekvandesmaak.be

Every day offers several options, but here's a few to especially look out for.
> It wouldn't be Aalst without onions, and on closing day, 21 November, there will be 2,000 litres of free onion soup on offer at the Grote Markt, which serves as The Ramblas of Aalst.

> "Forgotten" vegetables are constantly on the menu at the Brasserie Markt on the Grote Markt. On a €40 menu from 11-13 and 15-20 November, you can taste these overlooked delights and learn a bit more about what to do with them. (www.markt12.be)

> In De Soeptrein (Soup Train), they will be serving pap from 12-20 November at lunchtime (except Sunday). This is what most people survived on during the Middle Ages: a simmering gruel of whatever vegetables were to hand, some grains and a piece of meat if someone trapped a rabbit. I have it on good authority that it won't be quite as austere now as it was then. Every day features something different for €4. (www.desoeptrien.be)