Keep On Toasting Gourmet Food Truck in Brussels, Belgium

Keep On Toasting Gourmet Grilled Sandwiches

The food truck craze is coming to Belgium and Jean Baptiste Nyssen is leading the way with Keep On Toasting, delicious gourmet grilled sandwiches.

Not much gets us out of bed before nine, on a Sunday morning. So when fellow Brussels blogger Maxine asked if we wanted to meet at 9:30, on Place Flagey, I expected a bit of resistance from my better half. However, when I told Andrew the reason for the early wake-up call, he was completely on board. We were finally going to taste-test the legendary toasties from Keep On Toasting.

Truth be told, Andrew and I had never visited the Sunday morning market at Place Flagey before. So, arriving a bit early, we strolled through the snow-covered stalls and were tempted by some tasty treats. It didn’t take long before we gave in to our rumbling bellies’ demands. Once we spotted the Keep On Toasting truck, we couldn’t wait any longer.

If you live on social media, like we do, you’ve probably already heard about Brussels new food truck. For those of you who don’t live and breathe Facebook, Twittter and Klout scores, here’s the low down: Keep On Toasting is a Brussels-based food truck, serving up four different gourmet toasted sandwiches (toasties), each week, for €5 each.

How can we resist this ‘social media friendly’ welcome?

Tasting the toasties (say that five times!) had been on my ‘must do’ list, ever since I first heard about Keep On Toasting. Whenever I made plans, I was foiled by the weather; But not this time.

Owner and chef, Jean-Baptiste, was ready for us. He tossed one of each of the week’s offerings on his grill and poured us cups of delicious hot chocolate, perfect for the snowy morning.

As we took our first sip, Maxine and Luís, arrived, as eager as we were to try out the toasties.

Our first toastie was the Croq-British. A perfect breakfast sandwich, this toastie contained chopped up boiled egg, lardons (bacon), green beans and Stilton cheese. It was Andrew’s favourite of the day and a really strong second for me.

The Croq-British was Andrew’s favourite gourmet toastie (Right: Croq Alpin and Croq British)

Toastie number two was the Croq-Alpin: julienned, cooked carrots, Rosette de Lyon sausage, Raclette cheese and rosemary; this was another warming toastie, great for a cold day.

Toastie three, the Croq-Vert, by all rights, shouldn’t have worked. In the end, it was my favoruite and really enjoyed by all. This veggie croq is filled with a slightly sweet goat cheese. It’s mixed with green lentils, mango chutney, nuts and a hint of coriander. Spectacular!

My Favourite Croq-Vert and the Belgian Croq-Campagne

The final toastie was quite traditional compared to the previous three, the Croq-Campagne. This is a truly Belgian croq with Chimay cheese, Belgian endive, chives and Magistral ham. It was also delicious but paled after my instant love of the croq-vert.

All of Jean-Baptiste’s toasties are made with organic bread and the very best ingredients he can find. As evidenced by his active social media presence, Jean-Baptiste is also keen to interact with his customers and take toastie suggestions.

But it doesn’t stop at toasties. Keep On Toasting also offers a daily dessert. During our visit it was a portable apple crumble. Apple, chocolate, spices and a crunchy topping in a cone – yum!

Apple Crumble for folks on the go

It’s obvious this young, Belgian chef is passionate about what he’s doing and we have no doubt Keep On Toasting is only the tip of the iceberg of his food truck empire.

Jean-Baptiste is passionate about toasties!

Check the Keep On Toasting website @keepontoasting on Twitter, to see when it’s near you! Check our even more Street Food in Belgium! For more great restaurants in Belgium and beyond, check out our Restaurant Review page.