Zedelgem, on the night of Friday, 21 December 2018, at 1.34 am; for the very last time, Gert De Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens say good-bye to the guests of Hertog Jan***. The friends have worked side by side for fifteen years to reach the pinnacle of gastronomy. First in the form of a casual wine brasserie and later as a fine dining restaurant with close ties to nature. Gert and Joachim have proudly displayed three Michelin stars on the façade of their renovated barn building ever since 2011, and they’ve also achieved an Olympic score of 19/20 with Gault & Millau. Driven by their clear and creative vision, Hertog Jan*** made it among the very select group of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Gert received the ‘European Chef of the Year’ award in 2014. In the course of their business partnership, Gert and Joachim haven’t just had a life of successes, great experiences and fantastic achievements. It hasn’t been a bed of roses and they have also endured just as many moments of exhaustion, disappointment and pain. Now in the next stage of their career, Gert and Joachim are focusing on developing their Hertog Jan*** Restaurant Group with the same energy, dedication and passion as in the past years. Their plan is to bring together new restaurant projects under the new structure to keep each other on their toes, while surprising their guests.