At the end of the road, the beautiful inn. Happiness might stop for some in vain displays, adding gilding to landscapes, but in this place and its décor, one would rather read an almost enchanting poetry, repeated with each visit. It's because one must climb up there, to the heights of Dinant on the Meuse, to arrive elsewhere; a elsewhere that transports you to one of the most beautiful villages in Wallonia. It is also necessary to take the time to admire, along the way, the sumptuous farm castle sheltered in the pretty village of Falaën. And to acknowledge that we should salute time, bow to it, give it reason, tell ourselves that it is a friend. It is there, at the bend of a country road, that one discovers a setting that one could imagine being born from the palette of a painter where the Fermette is located.

The establishment experienced its first forkfuls decades ago, costumed like a beautiful inn with its local stones and ivy greening the façade, the place already welcomed gourmands from near and far.

Today, Michael and Sarah are twenty years old. Twenty years, it's the time to love, it's the magical time, it's the time of the Fermette. It's their time for the Fermette, since they took over. And if, in many places, time inflicts bites, here it is gentle, it caresses.

In the dining room, life still revolves around the open fire, where beautiful ribs are still told (you don't change a signature), the host also takes the measure of the gourmet program. Michael Vancraeynest has chosen generosity and coherence. In an era of disregarded environment and a way of eating that tramples on small farmers, he puts his creativity at the service of proximity by working with top-notch producers who reveal his approach. In his hands, the popular becomes almost noble, and the natural is his lifesaver.

As evidence, the Seasonal menu offered in 3, 4 or 5 courses with a delightful price-pleasure ratio: Shredded crab in its natural state, rhubarb and light cucumber mousse, Warnant snails, garlic mousse and parsley juice, confit gizzards, Perfect egg, green asparagus stew and barely cooked peas, guanciale and grenache reduction, mousseline, Fish fillet, white asparagus and black garlic mayonnaise, roasted cauliflower puree, land-sea sauce, Pigeon in two preparations, carrot in all its states, Grilled entrecote with wood fire, béarnaise, salad and sautéed potatoes, Cheeses from Falaën and elsewhere and to finish, Falaën strawberries, elderflower water, Timut pepper mousse.

In contrast to this inexhaustible kindness, there is of course Sarah's smile, more than a hostess, she lives as a true accomplice of each guest.

An address whose simplicity and authenticity are law, a repeated favorite.

LD