The story
Màloma, in Rosières (1331 Rixensart, Belgium), is a locavore kitchen at Chemin de La Carriere 5, where chef Georges Athanassopoulos cooks seasonal tasting menus shaped by fermentation. Gault&Millau awarded it 14 points in 2026.
The restaurant takes its name from malolactic fermentation, the process that softens wine by turning malic acid into lactic acid. In the kitchen that idea appears as sourdough, fermented cabbage, kefir water and small fermented touches on individual dishes. Menus change with the seasons and with what the producers bring in, so the same dish rarely returns unchanged.
A lunch reviewed by Le Fooding began with kefir, homemade bread and sumac butter, then moved to white asparagus with an œuf parfait and grilled pollack finished with a sour yeast dashi. The room sits in an 18th-century farmhouse with a timber frame, floor-to-ceiling windows and globe lights over Mortex-topped tables. Indoor tables are preferred whatever the weather, and there is also outdoor seating.
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History
Having exiled himself from Schaerbeek to Walloon Brabant, should Georges Athanassopoulos be considered a gastronomic defector? After cooking up a storm in the capital for five years, the chef has scaled up from a pint-sized fine dining spot in the city to an 18th-century farmhouse, bringing together Wallifornian artisans and entrepreneurs under one roof at Foster Farm. Fortunately, this fermentation virtuoso has stayed true to his locavore credo at his new venture, Màloma, the on-site restaurant full of character with its original timber frame, floor-to-ceiling windows and globe lighting overhanging Mortex-topped tables. The three-course lunch menu was all the proof we needed: the complementary kefir, homemade bread, sumac butter and the churro covered with feta were followed by the first white asparagus of the season and tender leeks deglazed with cider, served with an œuf parfait heralding spring; grilled pollack prepared using the ikejimi method, enlivened by a sour yeast dashi broth with sorrel, chervil and ground ivy; and a Dame Blanche ice cream sundae pimped out with salted cinnamon granola packed with ground cocoa beans. What better way to make friends in the area… even if Georges still lives in Schaerbeek and carpools to work each day – naturally! · Frans Simoens
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