Serge Driesen is a member of the ‘33 Master Chefs of Belgium’ and of the ‘Disciples of Escoffier’. In his ‘t Vrouwenhuys, located in the estate of the Corsendonk Priory, this jovial chef serves up gastronomic fare based on quality Belgian products. Naturally Driesen cooks with Corsendonk beers, but he also looks beyond the Priory’s walls. "We should not only be proud of our national drink", he feels, "we should also give it the attention it deserves on our tables". Driesen goes on to say, "Using beer in the kitchen calls for practice and experimentation, but I can assure you of one thing. If you drink wine with a dish in which beer has been used correctly, then it should jolly well be a good brand. If not it will be nowhere near as good as the beer, certainly as far as subtlety is concerned! Beer is like a little angel splashing on your tongue".

CHOCOLATE SORBET IN A SYRUP OF CORSENDONK® CHRISTMAS ALE

Ingredients for the sauce: 1-12 oz. bottle of Corsendonk® Christmas Ale 1 generous dessert spoon of apple syrup a dash of Kahlua coffee liqueur for the sorbet: 4 dl of water 1 dl of Corsendonk® Christmas Ale 150 g of sugar 40 g of glucose 30 g of unsweetened cocoa powder 100 g of pure chocolate 4 meringues fresh dates (if desired) spun sugar Serves 4

Preparation For the syrup reduce the bottle of Corsendonk® Christmas Ale with the apple syrup to two thirds. At the end add a dash of Kahlua and leave to cool. Then make the chocolate sorbet. Mix the water and the Corsendonk® Christmas Ale with the sugar, glucose and cocoa powder and bring to a boil. Leave to simmer one minute and then add the pure chocolate after removing from the heat. Let cool and turn into a sorbet in an ice cream maker or leave to gradually freeze in the freezer. When ready to serve, arrange the sorbet on a plate and top with the meringue and, if desired, spun sugar. Spoon the sauce around the sorbet, garnish with fresh dates and serve immediately. Enjoy with Corsendonk® Christmas Ale.