Crispy, golden fries: they’re our national pride. Did you know that Belgium has more than 4.600 fries stands? That means you can find one in every district and village. Our locals adore them! For the Flemish, fries are anything but a side dish. That’s also the reason we’re so good at making them. As well as having the best potatoes, we also have the pride and the skills to make the best fries in the world. Taking the time to prepare them as they should be, from the correct chopping technique to the second cooking: there’s a real art to the creation of fries.
Belgian fries, not French fries
While they may be known across the world as ‘French fries’, there’s nothing French about them. The name ‘friet’ comes from patates frites, Belgian-French for ‘fried potatoes’. One possible explanation for the association could have been formed in the First World War, when American soldiers were introduced to ‘fried potatoes’ in Belgium, but thought they were in France because that was the language spoken in that region. Whether you call them Flemish or Belgian, our delicious fries are made from bintje potatoes per tradition, and are the tastiest you’ll find anywhere on the planet.
Once your order is prepared, these crunchy golden batons are seasoned with a little salt. The most popular order is a cone topped with mayonnaise; simple and delicious.
Flemish classics with fries (of course)
“We don’t see fries as fast food, but as art.
We take the time to prepare them as they should be”
Do you know how to recognise a Flemish person eating mussels?
By the empty shell they use to eat the mussels – a practice you won’t find anywhere else!
The stew gets its intense, sweet-and-sour taste from a range of Flemish regional products:
from beer to mustard to apple spread.