Belgium offers a richly diverse palette of fruits and vegetables developed through long tradition and based on authentic know-how. The auction market system dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, and Belgian production, through its Flandria mark (Europe's leading quality mark at 475,000 tonnes) is a model of an exceptionally well planned, high-quality system. Belgium produces 1.19 million tonnes of vegetables grown in open fields, including 534,000 tonnes for the fresh food market (137,000 t of leeks, 70,000 t of chicory, 68,000 t of carrots and 54,000 t of Brussels sprouts). This produce is mainly grown in Flanders,

Belgian fruit production mainly covers apples (370,000 t including the Jonagold variety and various hybrids), pears (250,000 t including the Conference variety), strawberries (44,000 t including the excellent Hoogstraten variety), small fruits and red fruits (10,000t).

For centuries now Belgian cuisine has been famous for the taste and quality of its meat and charcuterie, most of which is produced in Flanders. Pork is the most popular meat (50 kg per year per person, including 16 kg of charcuterie products). The flagship products of the charcuterie sector are: Ardenne ham (IGP - protected geographic origin, 1,500 tonnes) produced exclusively in the Belgian Ardennes region (dry-salted, smoked over hardwoods gathered in the region, aged in cold chambers),

With its prime dairy herd, Belgium is able to offer a rich and varied range of cheeses. In relation to its size, Belgium is one of the countries with the most diverse range of cheeses boasting over a hundred varieties (nearly double if we take into account all the different versions). There are fresh cheeses (Maquée, Bètchéye de Nivelles), soft cheeses (with washed rinds such as the famous Herve Doux, the Fleur de Fagnes, the spicy Remoudou de Herve, and the Boulette de Huy, among others), semi-hard cheeses (Chimay Cru à la Bière, Passendaele, Val de Salm, etc.), hard cheeses (Vieux Bruges, Fagnar, Seozen, Baeuvoorde, etc.), blue cheeses (Bleu de Franchimont, Chateau d’Arville, Pas de Bleu, etc.), and goat's cheeses from Wallonia.

Belgium is, beyond question, a land famous for its beer. Of the original 3,000 breweries and 10,000 beer varieties listed in 1900, only about 140 breweries and 450 beer varieties remain today. Annual consumption is 97 litres per person, against 150 litres only forty years ago. Beer is widely used in Belgian cuisine; there are three main types of fermentation process: high-temperature (yeasts that react at high temperatures, +22°C), low-temperature (slave concept, 5% vol.), and spontaneous (air-disseminated micro flora gives the beer its acid taste: Lambic, Kriek and Gueuze). According to Mrs Anne De Ryck (manager of the De Ryck brasserie), "high-temperature fermentation results in stronger tasting beers with a floral note"

Belgium's love affair with chocolate dates back to the time of the Spanish invasions and the conquest of the Artois. Since the 19th century, Belgian artisans and industrials have been developing high-quality products and brands of international renown through a dedicated effort covering selection of the best cocoa beans, subtle blending and careful preparation (the beans are crushed to 12 microns as opposed to 24 microns elsewhere). Artisans produce 100% pure "cocoa butter" under the Ambao label.

In Belgium, gastronomy reigns and the country is dotted with Michelin-starred chefs. Many famous chefs have made their name in Belgium; P.E. Cauderlier (see box), the counterpart of our genial Escoffier in France, to name just one. With its extensive range of meat and tripe, game and poultry, seafood produce, delicatessen products, charcuteries, cheeses, fruits and vegetables, desserts, sweets and pastries, Belgian cuisine offers a host of subtle and sophisticated dishes that includes Gantoise-style asparagus, jellied calf's head, eels in green sauce, Douny duck, chicory gratin, Brabançonne cockrel, Flanders hotpot, Flemish carbonades (beef stew cooked with beer), Gantoise-style waterzoï (soups with fish or chicken), potjevleisch (jellied meat terrine), Ostend-style sole, frogs legs with chicken, stoemp (cabbage hotpot), veal sweetbreads with herve doux cheese, French toast with apricots.