CARCASSE

October 2019

Rounding off ‘Goatober’ at Carousel we welcome Hendrik Dierendonck into the kitchen, one of the finest butchers in all of northern Europe. A genuine meat connoisseur with terrifyingly good knife skills, Hendrick rose to prominence supplying quality meats to celebrated restaurants like In de Wulf and La Paix before opening a rather excellent one of his own in the coastal town on Koksijde: Carcasse (the clue’s in the name).

Hendrick’s farm-to-table knowledge underpins the restaurant’s own Michelin star. In his own words, “the story of our meat used to come to an end as it left the butcher. Now it continues at our table. The butcher and the restaurant are connected like never before.” Working ‘nose-to-tail’, nothing is wasted. “Craftsmanship, passion and terroir” are at the core of everything he does and the results are like a meat lover’s psychoactive hallucination.

The lightness of touch of daintier starters like ‘Suckling Pig Tacos with Avocado and Xi-ne-pek Onion’ soften you up for the knockout blow delivered by big-as-your-head mains like the whopping great Côte à L’Os or the cut-it- with-a-spoon tender Kid Goat on his Carousel menu. Bring a bib and the number for a reliable taxi. You’re going to need some help getting home.