The Town of the Horse Eaters

"We're called Pjeirrefretters - which means we eat horses," the Mayor of Vilvoorde told me with a smile.

I had arrived at the horse-eating capital of the world. For a small industrial town just north of Brussels, Vilvoorde boasts two restaurants serving nothing but horse meat. I was at De Kuiper's (pronounced Kur-pa), which has been serving up horse meat since 1859. Its owner Alfons Gulickx took over the business from his father and has dedicated his life to the perfect horse steak.

Horse steaks on the griddle at De Kuiper

He is passionate about what he does even if he admits it's embarrassingly simple. At De Kuiper there's only one thing on the menu - horse steak. 

The steaks come griddled, broiled in horse fat or served raw as a steak tartare; a side order of frites and a few sprigs of greenery are the only additions.

These steaks are frying in their own pitch-coloured fat

The raw steak tartare - apparently the pinnacle of horse meat

A steak restaurant might sound like a funny place for a vegetarian to be hanging out. I was there for AP, apparently horse meat is in the news at the moment.

The cosy, wood-panelled restaurant was packed for lunch and Gulickx reckons the press coverage (even negative) is good for business. He says he gets lots of customers who come to show their support.

So what does horse meat taste like? I didn't try any but I was curious to know. It has a high-glucose content which gives the meat a much sweeter taste than beef. It's also fattier than beef but contains a more iron. I have to eat bags of spinach to get my iron quota - one horse steak and I'd be set for the month. Gulickx reckons venison is a better comparison and the fresh steaks certainly had that earthy, red colour of game.

Alfons is owner of De Kuiper

Shockingly I quite approve of horse meat. Whereas cows, pigs and chickens are bred with one thing in mind (your belly) a horse is never raised purely for human consumption. The horses could be pets or they might be working animals - once they reach the end of their life they are slaughtered and butchered. This is actually very sensible, there is no waste. To cremate a horse is ridiculous and almost unethical when you consider it could feed an entire village. With over population, this planet can't afford to waste a thing.

I've never liked the conveyor belt of the meat industry - breed, feed, fatten, slaughter. Profits need to be kept low and harvest times are driven down. Horse meat is almost like recycling in comparison.

Part of the reason horses aren't farmed as food is they're quite inefficient. The calories they consume aren't converted to fat so readily as cattle. Another unusual twist is older horses taste better than younger animals, and have a richer flavour - this is not true of lamb and mutton.

Fresh horse steak and a fryer full of frites... the Belgian dream

As a vegetarian I've never understood why people object to eating horses or rabbits but happily scoff roast beef or pork. Although I draw the line at dogs... that's like eating a human in my books.

I spent a long time interviewing Alfons and he was interesting. We even discussed the Islamic invasion of Europe in the 8th Century. The Moors were defeating the scattered European tribes because they'd mastered the speed and manoeuvrability of cavalry. Suddenly the horse was no longer a treat for the cooking pot, it became vital for the West's survival.

Today most of De Kuiper's meat comes from South America. Argentina and Uruguay are its major suppliers but they also receive cuts from Mexico, Canada and sometimes even Australia. The meat arrives by ship into Antwerp which is now the global distributor.

The history of Vilvoorde and horses are intertwined. The region is famous for its Brabant shire horse - which the Mayor proudly assured me is the strongest horse in the world.

A statue of the strong Brabant horse

I spotted two horse statues in town. A shire horse on the roundabout in the centre of town and a slightly surreal bronze bust outside the town hall - it looks like the horse has been impaled.

Impaled horse statue... I blackened the background in Photoshop for dramatic effect

Belgium isn't the only country to eat horse meat - it's also popular in Japan - but here in the heart of the Brabant the controversial dish has found its spiritual home. On a blustery, bleak day in February, I could understand the appeal of a juicy steak served with a bowl of golden frites and washed down with a sour Gueuze beer.

Horse meat is for all the family

De Kuiper restaurant in Vilvoorde

I enjoyed my visit to Vilvoorde and De Kuiper. I like meeting people like Alfons with a genuine passion for food. It's just a shame more people don't get as passionate as I do about lentils and chick peas.