Chicken Inasal at Humphrey Restaurant

BRUSSELS, Belgium – A restaurant owned by a Filipino-Belgian is serving up dishes inspired by his grandmother's homegrown recipes.

Humphrey Restaurant is founded by Chef Glen Ramaekers and Yannick Van Aeken in 2016. Ramaekers was left on his own to run the restaurant after Aeken's departure in 2018.

Ramaekers was born in America, but it is in Belgium where he finished his studies and built a family.

His mother, who is originally from Negros, was working in the Belgian embassy in the US when she met his father who was a chef.

His brother is also into the food business, and that's why he was motivated to study culinary arts.

But when it comes to food, Ramaekers' biggest influence is his grandmother.

"I rely on my taste buds. For me when I taste the dishes, I need to have the acidity, the sourness of my grandma's or lola's food. For me, it's analyzing and bringing that flavor back into my plate," he said.

Ramaekers serves food with a distinctly Filipino taste inspired by his grandmother's recipes -- just the way he remembers it in their family kitchen in Negros.

"I like that my food tastes like we make the food in the Philippines. We make it look different, adapted for the country here. But basically, in the end, the flavor will be specifically what I know is from our family kitchen, from my Lola back in Negros," he said.

Among his bestsellers are Chicken Inasal, Paella Valenciana, Filipino Chicken Noodle Soup, and Lumpia.

Paella Valenciana at Humphrey Restaurant

"In the summer, everybody loves barbecue. I think I wasn't just proud enough to serve just simple barbecue food. Even if it's something simple, it has to be well-thought out and must be done in the right way," he said.

Although his restaurant is doing well, Ramaekers is also planning to venture into the chocolate business. He hopes to create a Belgian chocolate that would be manufactured in the Philippines.

The Filipino-Belgian chef also dreams of opening a restaurant back home.