Why are Belgium's top chefs telling us to cook less when the heat rises?
As Belgium sweats through another summer, a Het Nieuwsblad feature gathers Flemish top chefs around a single, practical piece of advice for a heatwave: keep it quick, keep it fresh and get out of the kitchen.
In 30 seconds
- A Het Nieuwsblad lifestyle feature gathers Flemish top chefs' recommendations for heatwave cooking, centred on quick, fresh, minimal-effort dishes.
- The chefs' guiding principle, per the headline, is to be 'snel en fris' and to avoid standing in the kitchen for long.
- Belgium runs an annual federal heat-and-ozone plan via FOD Volksgezondheid, with heat warnings issued by the Royal Meteorological Institute (KMI/IRM).
- The shift toward lighter, Mediterranean-style summer eating tracks Belgium's increasingly frequent heatwaves.
Het Nieuwsblad, a Flemish daily, published a lifestyle feature in which several Belgian top chefs recommend the dishes they cook during a heatwave, converging on quick, fresh, minimal-cooking food. Named institutional stakeholders in the wider context include the Royal Meteorological Institute (KMI/IRM), which issues heat warnings, and the federal public-health service (FOD Volksgezondheid), which operates Belgium's heat-and-ozone plan each summer.
Background
Belgium's culinary tradition leans toward slow-cooked, warming dishes suited to a historically cool, grey climate. Increasingly frequent and intense summer heatwaves over the past decade have pushed lighter, Mediterranean-style eating — cold soups, salads, minimally cooked food — into the mainstream during the hottest weeks.
What to do
Readers can lean on quick, fresh, make-ahead dishes to avoid heating the house during a heatwave, while observing basic food-safety care with raw or chilled preparations in high temperatures.
The Belgian angle
The feature is aimed squarely at a Flemish readership and reflects everyday kitchen life across Flanders during heat spells, though the underlying advice applies to households across Belgium.
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- Publication date unavailable
- Retrieved by ODIN:
- 26 Jul 2026
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