Renewed top restaurant Morille in Koudekerke even more plant-based and local
Dennis Willems 
Brioche Allium
Cakeje van paddenstoel en veldbloem
Rabarber Zevenblad
Cremeux Lievevrouwebedstro
Dennis Willems 
Interieur Morille
Opening – Restaurant Morille in Koudekerke, Zeeland, is going one step further in cooking with local ingredients and its own wild pickings. By September 2022, the dishes will be largely botanical, with only an occasional dish complemented by a local and honest piece of fish, meat or venison. Only Dutch and Belgian wines will be served. Chef Dennis Willems’ restaurant achieved listings in restaurant guides such as Michelin, Gault&Millau and Lekker with its local nature cuisine since opening in 2019.
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After more than three years, chef and owner Dennis Willems is going to make cooking with local ingredients from nature and his own wild picking even more meaningful. Dennis Willems (40): “Since this year I started to cook with more vegetables and more sustainable and the dishes have become even more refined. I wanted this from the start of Morille in February 2019, but at the time I couldn’t quite determine whether there was a market for it. Given the positive response from guests this year, I decided to make the switch after all.”
Mostly botanical and local
“As of September, my dishes are mostly botanical, sourced from our own vegetable garden, from the wild and sometimes from growers and cultivators nearby. An occasional dish, such as the main course, is complemented by a local and honest piece of fish, meat or venison. The aim is to use only products from within a 15 kilometer radius. Flavorings like vinegar and kombucha we make ourselves or come from nearby. By the way, I do continue to use animal products like dairy, eggs and honey, so my kitchen is not vegan. But because we use very limited fish, meat and venison, the vegetarian guest can very well come to Morille.”
Even more than before, the supply of our vegetable garden, field, sea, forest and dune determines the menu. Dennis Willems: “In order to let the variety of the rich nature come through in the taste, I serve a Tastingmenu of 14 refined creations from nature. These creations consist of appetizers, amuses, dishes and desserts. In addition, optional delicacies such as oysters from Zeeland and Dutch cheese can be ordered.
The menu for the coming weeks includes a dish of cream cheese, sea lettuce and wild flowers that, like a Wellington, is wrapped in duxelle of oak hare, a pancake of wild garlic and a dough of poppy seeds. It is accompanied by a beurre blanc of milk whey and some wild garlic oil. One of the desserts is a creation of ice cream of rowan, espuma of rowan and a powder of ripple rose.
That we value sustainability and local, honest ingredients is also shown by our membership in Euro-Toques and ambassadorship of Good Fish.”
Drinks from the Netherlands and Belgium
The origin of the drinks also reflects Morille’s philosophy, although a distance of 15 kilometers is less feasible here. Maître sommelier Luc Dehaene: “The wine list features wines from the Netherlands and Belgium. Drinks like juices, ciders and beers we make ourselves or come from The Netherlands and Belgium. The tea comes from tea plants grown in Brabant and in addition we serve tisanes from our own wild picking. The gin is made with our own wild pickings, for digestives we use Dutch products and fermentation specialist Christian Weij makes a Dutch tonic for us based on water kefir. Because many guests like to finish with coffee, we continue to serve it, but organic and with the Fairtrade label.”
Restaurant restyled
To give the guest the best possible dining experience with lots of privacy, the number of chairs in the restaurant has been reduced to 24. Dennis Willems: “The restaurant has undergone a restyling and is equipped with round tables covered with linen. The bathroom has been renewed and the exterior of the building has been painted in a new color scheme. At the revamped Morille, guests can expect a distinctive and creative fine-dining experience featuring the best that nature has to offer.”
Restaurant Morille is located at Biggekerksestraat 3 in Koudekerke and is open for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday from 5:30 pm. The menu with 14 creations from nature costs € 95.
Website: Restaurant Morille.
