About us
Location
De Gebrande Winning: a chronicle of a boyhood dream
De Gebrande Winning is the restaurant created from scratch in, November 2014, by chef Raf Sainte. He inherited his obsession with pure produce and local ingredients from grandmother Simone. She traveled all over the city with the shopping bag in hand in search of the meatiest ribs, the juiciest chicken on a spit, vegetables and fruits she grew herself. In doing so, she created the typical dish-es that only a grandmother could conjure up on the table. This love for precision and products is also in Chef Raf Sainte's blood. With Grandma Simone's passion, he brings a cuisine inspired by the past, but detached from conventions or classical beliefs.
The restaurant is hard to separate from its location in Sint Truiden. The farmhouse dates from the early 17th century and owes its current name to the passage of the infamous gang of thieves, the Bokkerijders. In 1784, they came to claim their robber tax and set fire to the farmhouse when the farmer refused to pay. The building was rebuilt and is known to this day as "De Gebrande Winning.
Restaurant
Never eat without drink: the beers
The interest and knowledge for beers can also be traced back to Chef Raf's youth. It was his father who years ago started a collection of old beers that today is expanded and added to every day. Thus, at De Gebrande Winning you will find Orval from the year 1965 to the present in the collection. Much of this collection can be found on the drink menu, but there is always more. Therefore, it is recommended to speak to the sommelier and ask about what can be found in the cellar beyond the beer menu. Together with Chef Raf, he will search there in the dusty corners to find a suggestion to your taste and preference, without you gasping for air afterwards from the prices: 'Good beer, should be accessible for everyone' is always the motto of the business.
Crowning glory
In 2020, Ratebeer awarded the restaurant the award of "Best Beer Restaurant in the World”. An un-expected accolade that moved us and has motivated us to live up to that title ever since. Week after week, the chef's culinary passion and creativity are combined with the extraordinary beer cellar to surprise guests with original dishes and surprising pairings often with an unexpected twist.
Team
Owner and chef Raf Sainte
Chef Raf Sainte's story begins at his grandmother's kitchen table. There he is inspired by all things cooking and food. He begins an education in the hotel school of Herk de Stad and completed an internship at the renowned Scholteshof. He learned the drive for perfection and a preference for lo-cal produce here. He later followed passages at de Goei Goesting and Het Kookpunt in Hasselt, among others. Since 2014, he has been chef in the kitchen of his own establishment.
Front of house
De Gebrande Winning would not be the same without the team on the floor. This well-oiled machine ensures that every service becomes a unique gastronomic experience for every guest. With a lot of know-how, enthusiasm and quite a bit of humor, they contribute to the unique story of the business.
Hostess Loes Smets
Hostess Lieve Otten
Zythologist Joachim Tops
