Wine, beer and dry-cured sausage … A holy heritage !

From the Middle Ages, the Church adopted beer and wine in order to provide clean and healthy drinking to the inhabitants of its abbeys, the monks. Indeed, it was not rare that water, even from a spring, could be contaminated in several ways. Seeing as it was necessary to boil the water used to make it, beer represented a drink that was easy to produce and generally healthy from a biological point of view. Furthermore, the Catholic Church, dominant in Europe in the Middle Ages, needed wine for its liturgies; the abbots from monasteries and bishops in all of Europe transformed themselves into wine-makers and vine-growers.

It is therefore a genuine heritage passed on by the monks and nuns of the Middle Ages and developed by men and women of today.

Honey, locally produced by traditional methods and with passion, is obtained from a varied flora representative of a multitude of flowers that the bees have foraged. The number of bee-keepers in Brussels and Wallonia is estimated at 3 340. This apiculture is conspicuous for the craft character of its activity. Discover the bee-keepers of our region ! Please contact them in advance to arrange your visit.  

Milk, a primary material that offers great possibilities: butter, cheese, cream, yogurt or milk-based desserts, all these delights come from milk. Several dairy farmers offer you these products. Do not hesitate to visit them and their farmsteads.

Among the local producers you will find a wide variety of seasonal fruit and vegetables. Eating fruits and vegetables of your region also gives you a chance to meet the dedicated crop-growers!

Belgium is the country of Chocolate. Here is a small shop in Chastre producing its own pralines.