Everyone who frequents the Bocuse d’Or knows Roland Debuyst and his wife Ayse for their joyful and tireless commitment alongside Belgian candidates. To meet them in their own country, you have to go to Nossegem, in the suburbs of Brussels, where he works in the kitchen while she greets customers. After training at Ceria and starting his professional life in places like the well-known Radisson SAS Brussels, in 1993 Roland Debuyst opened his own restaurant called the Orangeraie, a fragrance from the south in a place where the atmosphere of Provence pervades in homage to a region he loves dearly. Known for being a tireless worker, he places great value on textures, which he uses to surprise his visitors’ taste buds. He is a keen competitor and winning the first prize in the Prosper Montagné competition (Belgium’s leading chef) marked an initial step towards the Bocuse d’Argent in 1997. May 2005 saw a turning point. Roland decided to close his traditional gastronomic restaurant, brought in an architect to give a complete facelift to the premises, and launched Orange Food Fashion, a trendy establishment in which he serves contemporary cuisine that hasn’t forgotten to taste good. It was an immediate success. He followed this in 2007 by taking over the very beautiful Mariadal brasserie in Zaventem, which was awarded a Bib gourmand by the Michelin Guide in 2009. In December 2015, he took on a new challenge, as co-founder of the BeBurger venture, a restaurant devoted to quality hamburgers! August 2016 saw the creation of “Brasserie Alfons”, which focuses on high quality meats and artisanal products on that theme.
Where will it all end? A new turning point for Orange in 2017, totally redesigned, restyled and renamed Bistro R; success has come knocking.
