On Friday 25 February, a group of Dutch chicory forcers went on a day trip to Belgium. There was a great deal of interest in this fascinating trip which was organised by LTO-Groeiservice and sponsored by Chicosem. Several chicory forcers were unable to go because the bus was very quickly filled.

Fermenting chicory roots at Joost de Paepe

The first stop was at Joluwa. At this nursery to the south of Brussels, around 120 ha of chicory are forced. At this time, we were able to see the Fakir harvest. At Joost de Paepe, Fakir is currently producing a full crop of chicory and makes a lovely presentation as packed product. Joost also explained his decision several years ago to choose for the fermentation of his chicory roots. After we had visited the fermentation plant and everyone had had the chance to ask questions, we continued our journey to Kampenhout for a lovely chicory lunch in the chicory restaurant De Veilinghof, followed by a visit to the neighbouring chicory museum.

Mini-chicory at Bart Bruyninckx

The day ended with a visit to the mini-chicory nursery run by Bart Bruininckx. The beautiful presentation of the chiconettes, each with an average weight of 40-80 gram, made a huge impression. Here too there was plenty to talk about and the discussion was continued in the bus home. Joost Stallen who travelled with the group will be publishing a detailed report of this successful day soon in the Weekblad Groenten Fruit.