Nature’s Premiere
Viki Geunes:
The Spring Collection 2026
Zilte *** · Antwerp, Belgium
· 3 Michelin Stars
Gault & Millau 18.5/20 · GaultMillau Chef of the Year 2008
Viki Geunes:
About the Chef
Viki Geunes was born in Neerpelt, Belgium in 1972, and followed an unconventional path into fine dining. He studied industrial sciences at the Technical Institute in Geel rather than attending culinary school, teaching himself to cook through discipline, experimentation, and an instinctive intelligence for flavour that still defines his work today.
He opened the first incarnation of Zilte in Mol in 1996, at the age of 24. Eight years later came the first Michelin star, followed by the second in 2008 and the GaultMillau title of Chef of the Year — recognition not only of technical excellence, but of a singular culinary voice shaped outside the traditional brigade system.
The move to the MAS in Antwerp in 2011 transformed Zilte’s setting without altering its identity. When the restaurant relocated within the museum in 2020, the third Michelin star followed soon after. Today, Geunes is recognised as one of Europe’s most accomplished self-taught chefs — a figure whose cooking is defined by refinement, control, and a constant dialogue with the product.
SPRING QUOTE
“Seasonality is the foundation of how we work;
everything starts from there.”
VIKI GEUNES – ZILTE
About the Restaurant
Zilte sits on the tenth floor of the MAS — Antwerp’s Museum aan de Stroom — with panoramic views over the city’s rooftops, the port, and the River Scheldt beyond. It is one of Belgium’s most striking dining rooms: a three-Michelin-star restaurant suspended above Antwerp, where contemporary architecture and culinary precision meet with unusual clarity.
The restaurant is also a family project in the truest sense. Chef Viki Geunes works alongside his wife Viviane, their daughter Gitte, and son-in-law Aaron Moeraert — four people who have helped shape Zilte into one of Belgium’s defining tables. Zilte earned its first Michelin star in 2004, its second in 2008, and its third in 2021, confirming its place at the highest level of European gastronomy.
Spring Inspiration
For Viki Geunes, spring is not a decorative theme but the most vivid expression of how Zilte already works. As he explains, “Seasonality is the foundation of how we work; everything starts from there. Dishes change constantly at Zilte based on what produce is available to us; if something becomes ready sooner than expected, we adapt to it. There’s no set rhythm to what’s on the menu – it’s always in partnership with the seasons.”
That sense of partnership gives the menu its energy. Rather than forcing ingredients into a pre-decided narrative, Geunes responds to what arrives at its peak and builds from there. In spring, that responsiveness becomes even more intense: products are fleeting, textures are finer, and timing matters more than ever.
White asparagus remains one of the season’s defining signals at Zilte. “In spring, we love working with white asparagus. They have such a short window of being in season that it’s particularly exciting to find a way to work them into a dish; we’re forced to react really quickly.” That immediacy runs through the menu, from langoustine with poultry liver, rhubarb, and sakura blossom to red mullet with sea cucumber, lardo, and sumac; from asparagus with eel, wild garlic, and puntarella to king crab with fregola sarda, morel, and buckwheat, before moving into wagyu with artichoke, octopus, and smoked hay, and desserts built around citrus and gariguette.
Zilte at the MAS, Antwerp
Experience Spring at Zilte
10th Floor, MAS Museum · Antwerp, Belgium
Reserve your Table at Zilte
info@zilte.be
+32 3 283 40 40
@zilte.restaurant
@vikigeunes
Inside Zilte
Spring Menu Gallery
A visual journey through Viki Geunes’ Spring Collection 2026 at Zilte.
View the Spring Menu 2026
Iodé · 8 Courses
Langoustine
Poultry liver – rhubarb – sakura blossom
Imperial Heritage Caviar
Tear pea – lentils – quail
Red Mullet
Sea cucumber – lardo – sumac
Asparagus
Eel – wild garlic – puntarella
King Crab
Fregola sarda – morel – buckwheat
Wagyu
Artichoke – octopus – smoked hay
Citrus
Marigold – mango – riz condé
Gariguette
Dill – crème crue – chartreuse
For Selective Partners
Nature’s Premiere remains open to a limited number of brands whose products genuinely belong inside Michelin-level spring storytelling — tableware, luxury ingredients, beverage houses, and hospitality suppliers positioned through editorial relevance rather than conventional advertising.