the convent

The convent was founded in 1979 by Rudi Devolder and his wife Sonja Deraedt. In 1993, the restaurant received its first star in the Michelin guide. This was maintained until the end of 2013, when 't Convent was removed from the Michelin guide. In 2011, son-in-law Sébastien Ververken became head chef at 't Convent, and his daughter Sharon was responsible for the dining room service. However, Sébastien left. In 2013, the restaurant suddenly closed its doors. Soon, various rumors circulated. The business was said to be bankrupt, and some even claimed that Devolder had committed suicide. As suddenly as the business closed its doors, Devolder reappeared on the scene. His son-in-law had left to work in a three-star restaurant in France, and Rudi claimed he needed time to process that and especially to rewrite the menu. Sharon and Sébastien now have their own business, Vol-Ver, in Marke. Mathieu, Rudi's other son, also has a restaurant. However, these two businesses are not connected to 't Convent.

The former star restaurant 't Convent in Reninge has become a target for vandals. The business went bankrupt at the end of 2014, and since then the former restaurant and the rest of the buildings have been empty. The building is for sale, but in the meantime, many windows have already been broken, and the entire site is overrun with weeds. Not that there is much left to salvage in 't Convent, as the contents were already auctioned off earlier. The police have asked the auctioneer to secure the site better, but that seems no easy task given the scale.

I have marked this place as a ruin because, due to the long vacancy, the deterioration of the buildings, and the vandalism, this seems to me the most appropriate.

RicoM