INTERVIEW – With traffic flow meticulously planned down to the millimeter, no paper order forms or refrigerated displays, nothing will be left to chance in La Patate's first location. The CEO reveals the engineering designed to guarantee the best chip shop experience.

INSIGHT – The excitement surrounding the 2026 Michelin Guide has barely subsided, and Belgian restaurateurs are facing a less glamorous reality: the grind of accounting and making ends meet down to the last euro. In starred establishments as well as less sophisticated ones, profitability is achieved through meticulous planning. It's a reminder that while cooking is an art, its long-term success relies on science.

Streamlining staff and inventory, a new location, expanding the catering service… In just a few months, chef Alain Bianchin has managed to leave his restaurant in Overijse, which held a respectable Michelin star but was struggling financially, to reinvent La Table in Ohain. And to establish the restaurant as the only one in Wallonia to receive a first-ever Michelin star in the latest guide.

For the past two months, the armed conflict initiated by the United States and Israel against Iran has complicated and increased the cost of operating establishments in the hospitality industry. In the kitchens, professionals are adapting, fighting back, and searching for new, makeshift solutions.

A partial demerger project is being implemented within the structure of the retailer Colruyt. Its leading brand, Solucious, will eventually become the sole legal entity centralizing the foodservice activities transferred from its other subsidiary, Valfrais.

INSIGHT - Average has become a danger zone. Traditional restaurants and classic local shops are crumbling. Indecision regarding positioning and strategic inertia are ticking time bombs for the various players in the sector.