A plate of piping hot waterzooi makes our mouth water, yummy! Initially - read: in the Middle Ages - this regional soup was prepared with fish from the rivers Lys and Scheldt. Later on, the fish was occasionally replaced by chicken and now, both versions are equally popular. A small tribute to a fantastic regional dish.

Do you want to know why Ghent waterzooi is so popular?  It’s only logical! It warms you up from the inside out, it’s filling, it’s refined and not all that hard to prepare.  And it’s affordable: the ingredients are vegetables - traditionally carrots, leek and celery -, potatoes, chicken and cream. And perhaps a dash of white wine or an egg yolk, although that’s not a must.  Don’t you feel like cooking yourself? The restaurants listed below serve excellent waterzooi.   

Did you know that Emperor Charles V was a big fan?  So you see, this dish has been around for quite some time.  Waterzooi is said to have its origin near the former Braempoort in Ghent. In the thirteenth and fourteenth century the river teemed with fish at that spot, because it was the place where a number of grain mills stood.  The grain and flour that were spilled into the river attracted all sorts of fish.  Perch, pike, barbel or eel were used to prepare the first versions of the dish we now know as waterzooi.