Morille

Young chef Floris Vriens took over Restaurant Morille, located in the quiet town of Koudekerke, in 2024 from Dennis Willems, and this has certainly not been in vain for the originally Brabant-born chef. His cooking style has not gone unnoticed, and his commitment to sustainable practices using products from the immediate vicinity yields pure and flavorful dishes. This comes as no surprise, given that Zeeland boasts a rich variety of land and sea ingredients. Moreover, Floris can boast his own vegetable garden where the seasons generously provide him with vegetables and fruit. His menu, which offers a choice of five or seven courses, is largely composed of botanical dishes, and we are eager to see what comes next. Wine pairings are available, along with non-alcoholic beverages and tisanes (herbal teas) made from his own foraged herbs. After no fewer than five refined amuse-bouches—including a light chicken liver mousse with blackcurrant jelly on crispy brioche toast—house-baked sourdough bread arrives at the table, immediately earning applause. Crispy, slightly tangy in flavor, and with a delightfully firm crust. Exactly how we like it. Potato gnocchi from De Boer in Middelburg is served alongside red and yellow beetroot, confited onions, and a soft beurre blanc enriched with bay leaf. A visually stunning composition in both taste and presentation. Paired with a glass of elegant Bruno Suter Blanc de Blancs from the Zeeland Wine Estate de Boe. Quickly cooked and charred pointed cabbage rests on a cream of shiitake and meadow mushrooms, garnished with wild garlic emulsion, Zeeland bacon crumble, and a foamy mushroom sauce. Our taste buds light up. During another visit, we enjoy creamy Dutch yellowtail kingfish topped with a small cucumber salad, elderflower, and chervil. We say without any hesitation: welcome to Lekker!

Sustainability is highly valued in this warm and cozy restaurant. For instance, they strive to use only products produced within a 15-kilometer radius. Chef Floris Vriens brings a botanical...

Bring a hearty appetite when dining at Morille, as owner-chef Dennis Willems presents a fourteen-course menu designed to introduce you to his largely botanical cuisine. Drawing on seasonal produce from his own kitchen garden, the surrounding fields, the sea, the forests, and the dunes, he crafts dishes that champion sustainability and pure flavors. It’s quiet on our weekday visit, and Dennis would gladly welcome a busier room. You might wonder if fourteen courses are perhaps a bit too much of a good thing, but we quickly realize that aperitif bites and amuse-bouches are included in that count. Still, it’s quite a long sitting, despite the predominantly adventurous dishes being served at a steady pace. We begin with a glass of crisp apple cider infused with elderflower syrup and are greeted by imaginative starters such as a sausage stuffed with ossobuco and Zeeland pepper cream, a velvety bonbon of Zeeland asparagus mousse and hogweed, and unripe tomato pickled in sweet-and-sour sauce with its chutney, calendula, and sea fennel, served on comforting brioche with aged Zeeland cheese and wild garlic oil. The tone is set. What follows isn’t always consistently excellent. The lamb arrives with an overly generous portion of bland hollandaise sauce, and the accompanying Brussels sprout cream is barely detectable. By contrast, the pearl barley risotto with aged Zeeland farm cheese, wild garlic oil, forest herbs, enoki mushrooms, and fried morels earns thunderous applause. Dennis aims to source his wines, just like his ingredients, from the immediate vicinity, and our selection, Chaam’s Pleasure made from 85 percent Johanniter grapes from Dassemus vineyard, pairs beautifully with most dishes. Of the three desserts, the set curd cheese with sour cherry and rose hip jelly leaves a pleasant aftertaste. One final note concerns the bill: it is rather steep.

Cooking here adheres to the principles of Dutch Cuisine: pure, simple, local, and sustainable. Wild foraging and homegrown produce take center stage in this cozy restaurant run by owner-chef Dennis Willems. The menu is small and subject to daily changes. The wine list features exclusively Dutch and Belgian wines. A fresh coat of paint has recently been applied to both the exterior and interior. Following a parade of innovative amuse-bouches, such as spicy popcorn with crushed wild garlic and a brioche flatbread with wild leek mousse, it is time for the main event. A triptych of Zeeland asparagus comprises a sturdy little timbale, a terrine, and a small salad. All three are intensely flavorful, refined, and demonstrate a clear sense of creativity. The accompanying wine is a 2020 Chateau Amsterdam Serenade By Dawn Macabeo. It comes from an urban winery that does not cultivate its own vineyards, sourcing grapes instead. This is followed by pigeon served with pommes dauphine and hollandaise sauce. In the latter, we taste the unmistakable hand of the master, as we rarely dine on anything so excellent. For dessert, there is a macaron made from chestnut flour with a cream filling and a pickled young pine cone. Truly special! It is accompanied by a quenelle of dulce de leche ice cream and garnished with leaves of the Mexican marigold, which undoubtedly also thrives in Zeeland.

Whether you step inside wearing a three-piece suit or, so to speak, still have your cycling shorts on: anything goes and is welcome in this charming establishment run by owner-chef Dennis and Maaike Willems. Pure food, in harmony with the seasons, takes center stage here, and the manner in which you enjoy it is secondary to that. The kitchen of Dennis and his sous-chef Wendy Denayere is dedicated to Mother Nature. Foraging, their own vegetable garden with vegetables, fruit, and edible flowers, and produce from the fields, the sea, the forest, and the dunes define the approach. We taste ingredients we’ve never had before, such as pickled elm seeds, which are fleshy and slightly tart, served atop a wild leek mousse, accompanied by strained goat yogurt, paper-thin strips of potato chips, and wild herbs including chickweed. It comes with a dressing made from organic buttermilk and winter purslane. A genuine taste sensation. How lovely, I must say. An Albariño Alba Martin, Rias Baixas, Val do Salnes from northern Spain is poured alongside it. Light and refreshing, with refined notes of apple and grapefruit. We can’t stop eating the chestnut flour brioche bread with wild garlic; it’s just too good. That this place is packed every single day is hardly surprising. Nor do we find it odd that we’ll undoubtedly be hearing more about this inspired chef and his team in the years to come.

Opened in 2019 and making its debut in this guide last year. The opportunistic cuisine of owner-chef Dennis Willems centers on foraging and his own vegetable garden, as meals are prepared according to the seasons and the harvest from the garden, fields, sea, forest, and dunes. Dennis Willems: “We primarily rely on our own produce and foraged ingredients, supplemented by local suppliers located within ten kilometers of our front door.” An experienced bushcrafter, Dennis regularly ventures into the surrounding nature to gather leaves, flowers, fruits, mushrooms, and other edible wild finds. The name of his restaurant refers to his favorite discovery: the morel mushroom. He always strives to incorporate at least one foraged element into his dishes. The menu changes frequently, as guests are constantly surprised with new flavors and combinations in a pursuit of culinary exploration that naturally respects nature. And they certainly enjoy it, as the cozy and modern dining room, featuring green as the dominant color, is almost always full. A charming spot!

Restaurant Morille in Koudekerke is easily accessible and offers convenient parking. The interior is pleasant and cozy. The plush brown upholstered chairs are wonderfully comfortable, while the sturdy wooden tables set the stage for the tempting dishes crafted by proprietor-chef Dennis Willems and his right-hand woman, Demy Schreiner. As an experienced 'bushcrafter', Dennis heads out to the nearby dunes several times a week to forage for wild leaves, flowers, fruits, mushrooms, and other edible finds. The menu is concise, allowing guests to curate their own tasting menu ranging from three to eight courses. Dennis personally describes each dish at the table, setting expectations. His enthusiasm is highly contagious, instantly motivating diners to savor each ingredient straight from nature. The skin-roasted sea bass served with buttermilk foam and squid ink crisps is presented beautifully, while the briny wild-harvested blossoms and leaves add delightful flavor accents. Hostess and sommelier Jenny Schreiner is attentive and dedicated, expertly selecting harmonious pairings. Such as the Moulin Montarel Viognier 2015, which pairs perfectly with the fish course; a floral and fruity wine with notes of babbelaar, honey, nougat, peach, and a hint of chamomile. The dessert arrives in a flowerpot: advocaat ice cream with "stones" of dark chocolate and mocha, alongside sugar crystals garnished with a sprig of greenery. A small white bowl accompanies it, containing chocolate stones, a plover egg made of white chocolate filled with violet cream, sea buckthorn gel, currant gel, and muscovado sugar "soil". Playful, but above all, delicious. Welcome to this guide!