Words and photos by Ashley Joanna
Edited by Breandán Kearney
Humans of Belgian Beer is a series of photographic portraits which celebrate a people and their culture.
As a wide-eyed teenager, Thomas Debelder would watch on as his uncle Armand Debelder, Chairman of the High Council for Artisanal Lambic Beers, would entertain brewers and journalists in their family restaurant for new beer releases. By the time he was 14-years-old, Thomas had become hooked on the story of Lambic, fascinated by the intricacies of the restaurant business, and curious about the family empire his grandfather, Gaston, had created.
The 3 Fonteinen restaurant has always been in Thomas’s life. When he was picked up from school, he’d be taken for a home cooked lunch by his grandparents, who founded the famous Lambic restaurant in the early 1960s. He grew up in the apartment above the restaurant, helping his parents Guido and Thérèse when he could. At 16 years old, he would wash dishes, organise the beer and wine cellar, and help bottle blends of traditional Geuze and Kriek with his uncle Armand, who was brewing in an adjacent warehouse.
Thomas is the current manager of the 3 Fonteinen restaurant, having taken over from his parents and grandparents before him. “People think it’s easy when you take over a business from your father,” says Thomas. “That the path is settled and you just jump in and you’re off to success. But the thing is, it’s not that simple and learning and growing never stops. You always have to evolve and I don’t want to let my family down.”
Thomas takes care of the carefully selected bierkaart at the 3 Fonteinen restaurant, as well as creating a food menu that combines old traditions with modern creativity and simplicity. The pairings always change with the season, but he never fails to include Oysters with Oude Geuze (his all-time favourite) or Steamed Codfish and Leeks paired with Lambiek Fabriek’s Muscar-Elle.
“I have no regrets working in the family business,” says Thomas. “It is my honour and responsibility to keep it going. My grandfather and father always said there is one way to earn your life and be happy and it is to own your own business and keep family close. This is my mentality and a motto that is ingrained in me. I feel very lucky.”
“The kitchen is always open” is a phrase Thomas says has been heard around the 3 Fonteinen restaurant during each of its 3 generations of family ownership. It speaks to a warm, inviting feeling, where the smells of the kitchen have come to represent Debelder family meal-times. There’s laughter. And there are arguments. But, Thomas says, there’s always love.
I have no regrets working in the family business. It is my honour and responsibility to keep it going.
Thomas Debelder
