Willem Hiele Oudenburg
No.62 World's 50 Best 2025 — elite chef
Veronica's Take
Chef Willem Hiele has claimed the No. 62 spot on the World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 list with his Oudenburg restaurant, a striking brutalist building set in Belgium's historic Keignaert nature reserve. His seafood-focused menu is a study in seasonal precision, with dishes that highlight the ocean's offerings, enhanced by fire and intense, robust sauces. Hiele's journey—from a simple Flanders fishing hut to this architectural landmark—embodies his culinary ethos: a deep reverence for the sea, expressed through playful creativity and an unwavering dedication to bold flavors.
restaurantwillemhiele Chef Willem Hiele moved from his Flanders fishing hut to quite different surroundings: an impressive architectural building which used to be a residential house in the historic polders of The Keignaert nature reserve. Although well hidden, up close the brutalist building is imposing. Step inside to experience Hiele’s stellar seafood-led cooking, which moves to the rhythm of the seasons and the ocean, with dishes often touched by fire, a light playfulness and accompanied by intense, powerful sauces.
Key Facts
The people behind Willem Hiele Oudenburg
Willem Hiele
profileChef-patron
Chef-patron of the eponymous Willem Hiele in Oudenburg (No.62, World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025). Moved from a Flanders fishing hut to a brutalist building in The Keignaert polders; seafood-led, fire-touched cooking.
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