Chef Coppi Desramault leaves Sicily for new business in Brussels

YPRES – Celebrity chef Koby Deramault will open a new restaurant in Brussels in November. He says he wants to do his best there. For the past year and a half or two, the affable Westhocker has been working on his own project in Sicily, but that book is now closed.

In the spring of 2022, Desramault unveiled his Sicilian plan, following previous initiatives in Ghent and Ostend. “After a short vacation, I am very happy to share this news with you,” Desramault wrote on Instagram at the time. “On June 1, Stazione Vucciria will open in Pollina, on the island of Sicily. It is a collaboration between me and the Italian restaurant group Virga & Milano, based in Palermo. Together with my colleague Tiziano Francetta, we will prepare the finest Sicilian dishes in front of the fireplace and close to the beautiful beach.

Summer and winter

Now the Sicilian restaurant is coming to an end. Coby Desramault revealed his plans on the TV talk show Café Congé.

He admitted that the Sicilian venture was not entirely successful. During the summer tourist months, the place fills up quickly. “Only 70 percent of the diners were Flemish,” commented Coppi. “However, outside the tourist season, things were not going so well.” Locals “It’s pretty much gone. Sometimes you just need to put your feet on the ground, no problem. Sicily was beautiful but now it’s over. In the end, my daughter also helped make the decision, because she just wanted to go back to Belgium. She saw it there.”

Asked about his future plans, Desramault – who made his name at the start of his career with In de Wulf (Dranouter) – said he would open a new project in Brussels in November. He did not give further details. “But I will go into it with full enthusiasm and I want to prove myself 100 percent,” he said.

(KK)

Image: Mediahuis archive