Skip to content
Left arrow
FOUR Magazine logo
Search icon

Christophe Hardiquest

Chefs
|
06 May 2019
|
3 min read

Belgian chef Christophe Hardiquest combines classic cooking techniques with excellent produce to create contemporary and flavorful dishes at 2 Michelin-starred Bon Bon in Brussels.

Raised in Belgium’s city of Liège, along the Meuse River, Christophe grew up eating simple food, but it wasn’t long before the chef’s interest in food was peaked, and he decided to enter the world of gastronomy.

After attending the Hotel School of Namur, Christophe went on to gain experience at a host of restaurants, both in Europe and the United States. First an apprentice chef at the SAS Radisson Brussels Hotel working under chef Yves Mattagne, then a commis chef for Chef Roland Debuyst at the Silver Bocuse in Lyon. Christophe then moved to New York where he worked at La Cremaillère restaurant, before coming back to his birthplace in Belgium work as chef de partie, then sous-chef, alongside chef Pascal Silman at Conrad Hôtel Bruxelles.

In 2001, Christophe felt it was time to start a new chapter of his own, and Bon Bon was born. Although Bon Bon is now an impressive spectacle, the restaurant and chef have humble beginnings. With little money to his name, the chef started with nothing but a stove and a dishwasher, cooking with family casserole dishes and using his skill and determination, it wasn’t long before he was noticed for his culinary prowess.

Soon, Bon Bon became the spot in town that was the “place to be” to get the best food – and it wasn’t long thereafter that the Michelin Guide awarded Bon Bon with its first star. Since then, the restaurant, and its chef, have grown from strength to strength, blossoming into one of Belgium’s best and most loved culinary establishments.

Christophe Hardiquest’s approach to cooking is multicultural, epicurean, and above all, generous. With sustainability at its core, Christophe’s cuisine promotes dialogue and sharing. The chef’s kitchen is one of improvisation, with no tules or borders.

“Work with quality products, know their origin. There is no large kitchen that lies without products of excellence.”

“The technique should not be felt, it is only in the service of taste and emotion.”

Christophe focuses on quality, craftsmanship and, of course, good seasoning. His philosophy: just cook good food that oozes warmth from its heart, tells a story and results in a good feeling.

Dazzling diners in the moment, spontaneity, showcasing the product’s excellence, perfectly pairing flavors and preparing fresh food are the chef’s driving factors.

To Christophe, it is important that the diners understand his cooking, and they are “participants in the composition of the symphony of emotions that he is about to live” through his food.

Bon Bon is a place where every guest is entitled to experience their ultimate luxury and where each guest is guaranteed a unique moment and unforgettable experience.

In 2017,  Christophe extended the Bon Bon concept to his Bon Bon Origin project, which aims to rediscover traditional Belgian recipes, revitalizing them by deconstructing them and then rebuilding them in a contemporary way. Christophe will also invite chefs from around the globe to cook with him as part of this project, and these collaborative dinners will explore the terroirs of the guest chefs’ native lands.

“The Bon Bon Origins project was born out of a fact: the globalization of international gastronomy is accelerating. My fear of seeing one day the same products, the same dishes, served in all the starred restaurants around the planet pushed me to act on my scale to try to counter this movement.”

“I thought it was important to go back to basics, to our roots, to our history, to our terroir and to continue to work on them to preserve this beautiful legacy for future generations.
After 2 years of historical research and culinary experimentation, I came to create a series of recipes. It is always Belgian cuisine, our products, but worked under a new and contemporary lighting. Today, a la carte restaurant, you will find a large part of these new creations.”

“Also, to emphasize the importance of preserving and making known our beautiful terroirs, my team and I decided to invite Belgian and international chefs working in the same direction. Together, we will each cook our most iconic revived dishes at a unique dinner. Finally, one last point which seems to me equally essential, is to try to sensitize the young chefs to their own soil. That’s why we decided to invite, at each of these dinners, a young talent to join us.”

FOURty Seconds with Christophe Hardiquest

FOUR questions with Christophe

Describe your culinary philosophy:

Modernized gourmet cuisine.

What is your greatest inspiration?

Travel and reading.

If you could take a plane ride to any restaurant in the world, just for one meal, where would you go?

Benu, Corey Lee.

What FOUR things would you take to a desert island?

Knives, seeds for planting, fishing line and matches.

Awards
  • 2 Michelin Stars at Bon-Bon | The Michelin Guide France 2014-2019
  • 1 Michelin Star at Bon-Bon | The Michelin Guide France 2004-2013
  • “Delta d’Or” Award 2008
  • Chef of the Year 2008 | Gault & Millau
Restaurant Bon Bon

Avenue de Tervueren 453
1150 Woluwé Saint Pierre
Brussels
Belgium

Tel: +32 2 346 66 15
Web: www.restaurant-bon-bon.be
Email: restaurant@bon-bon.be

 

Images © Stephanie Derouaux, Hungry For More Magazine and Luc Viatour

World’s best winner 2014     |     World’s best luxury lifestyle media brand 2022

About

|

Editions

|

Contact

|

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Four magazine

|

All Rights Reserved

About

|

Contact

|

Editions

|

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Four magazine

|

All Rights Reserved

four-magazine.com use cookies to deliver an optimised experience. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of all cookies used.
Cookie settingsaccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

CookieDurationDescription
__cfduid1 monthThe cookie is used by cdn services like CloudFare to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. It does not correspond to any user ID in the web application and does not store any personally identifiable information.
_abck1 yearThis cookie is used to detect and defend when a client attempt to replay a cookie.This cookie manages the interaction with online bots and takes the appropriate actions.
bm_sz4 hoursThis cookie is set by the provider Akamai Bot Manager. This cookie is used to manage the interaction with the online bots. It also helps in fraud preventions
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
ts3 yearsThis cookie is provided by the PayPal. It is used to support payment service in a website.
ts_c3 yearsThis cookie is provided by PayPal when a website is in association with PayPal payment function. This cookie is used to make safe payment through PayPal.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

CookieDurationDescription
akavpau_ppsdsessionThis cookie is provided by Paypal. The cookie is used in context with transactions on the website.
nsidThis cookie is set by the provider PayPal. This cookie is used to enable the PayPal payment service in the website.
tsrce3 daysThis cookie is set by the provider PayPal. This cookie is used to enable the PayPal payment service in the website.
x-pp-ssessionThis cookie is set by the provider PayPal. This cookie is used to process payments from the site.

Performance

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

CookieDurationDescription
YSCsessionThis cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form.

Advertisement

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

CookieDurationDescription
_fbp3 monthsThis cookie is set by Facebook to deliver advertisement when they are on Facebook or a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising after visiting this website.
fr3 monthsThe cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin.
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysThis cookie is set by Youtube. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website.

Others

Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

CookieDurationDescription
_gat_gtag_UA_120081375_11 minuteThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_83740222_11 minuteThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_mcid1 yearNo description
ak_bmsc2 hoursNo description
CONSENT16 years 9 months 2 days 6 hoursNo description
ec_store_chameleon_fontsessionThis cookie is provided by Ecwid and it is used to save the font utilised in the website's online store.
enforce_policy1 yearNo description
l7_az30 minutesNo description
LANG9 hoursNo description
x-cdnThis cookie is provided by Paypal and is used in context with shopping transactions on the website's store.