2023-12-16 20:39:00
”Give me another one: my daughter ate it all”. With her hands on the long wooden stick, the little girl tears off the roasted meat like one would trim an ear of corn. His mother thought he would share. “But Zoé left me nothing.”
Jennifer is from Anderlecht. And she wouldn’t miss the Christmas torch. “You don’t find it everywhere: it’s really typical of the Anderlecht Christmas market,” she smiles, handing over the €5 requested. In their chalet at the foot of the Saints-Pierre-et-Guidon collegiate church, Gaëlle and her dad Freddy agree: “It’s a specialty that has existed for almost 40 years. As old as the market!” With their one-night colleagues, the pair work for the local walking club. “We took the Christmas torch from friends. It’s exclusive. The week before, we had fun cutting the bacon into thin slices. Then we twist it into a twist on the stick and roll it in a spice mixture that we have created. We cook them on site. It works well: it’s very well known here.”
Gaëlle and Freddy’s Christmas torch, “a real specialty” of the Anderlecht Christmas market. ©IPM – Ennio CameriereFrançois has been “5 times to the center”: in Anderlecht, he is there as a local resident. ©IPM – Ennio Cameriere
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We have been to the center 5 times but here, there is a big difference in price: it is cheaper.
The Anderlecht Christmas market is the second largest in Brussels following the Winter Wonders. And it’s true that between rue Wayez and the collegiate church, the huts follow one another all over the Place de la Vaillance. “I went to the center last Friday but there are too many people there. We walk in single file and we see nothing,” says Sylvie, bubbles in her mouth, coming down from Laeken. Leaning on the same high table, François nods. He came as a neighbor with his wife. “We have been to the center 5 times but here, there is a big difference in price: it is cheaper”. The couple enjoys the Christmas atmosphere. “What I would like is to go to the Christmas market in Liège once, even if I support the Mauves. It seems to be good too. My son lives there: he knows it like the back of his hand.”
Sylvie (left) and François (cap) with friends at the Anderlecht Christmas market: “there’s everything we like here”. ©IPM – Ennio CameriereCarlos serves his alcohols in chocolate cups. ©IPM – Ennio Cameriere
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You take a sip, then down the rest with the glass. It is a pasteis de nata liqueur, the Portuguese pastry. It goes great with chocolate.
Sylvie and François are watered by Carlos. Purple cap screwed on his head, the boss of Green Park, “in front of the stadium”, distributes alcohol like a No. 10 assists. “We innovate, we innovate!” The keeper brandishes a tiny bucket filled to the brim with a vanilla-yellow spirit. “You take a sip, then swallow the rest with the glass. It is a pasteis de nata liqueur, the Portuguese pastry. It goes great with chocolate.” It’s €3 for dessert. The regulars applaud. “Another innovation: the hot mojito”. Mint suddenly rises from the stove as Carlos fills it up. The bill follows the price of the mulled wine: €5.
For a good cause
Approaching Wayez Street, we stop in front of the oriental pastries of the AMO Alhambra. “Our project is to help schools in the Imli region, in Morocco,” explains Ilyes, who works for this open environment action service. “This year, the village experienced the earthquake. Our contacts there, they put education as a priority. So all the profits from our sales from these three days of market will go to the reconstruction in Imli: we are preparing the trip with 12 young people from AMO”. The counter displays kefta slippers, harshas (semolina pancakes), msemens (Maghrebi puff pastry pancakes) and of course ghribas and other biscuits with dried fruits and honey, to be washed down with mint tea. “It was the mothers from the association who cooked,” says Hajar, enthusiastically. We will learn that a city councilor with a scarf came the day before to buy a dozen to treat the company for a good cause.
AMO Alhambra will help the village of Imli, Morocco, with its profits. ©IPM – Ennio CameriereFrançoise sells trinkets linked to her passion for cats. ©IPM – Ennio Cameriere
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I moved. From 6 rooms, I went to 3. But now I no longer have the toilet in the courtyard! On the other hand, it’s smaller: I have to resell.
A big dog in her arms, a curious woman approaches an unusual shelter. “I love animals,” she exclaims. It must be said that Françoise’s cabin is literally overflowing with trinkets dedicated to her furry and feathered friends. “This is my collection, which I have been collecting for 50 years. I love cats: I have had up to 23. Today, I have 5”, enjoys Saint-Gilloise, cuddly puppy in her arms. She now prefers Valor to the Berchem meeting “where people sing and drink”. But why get rid of your treasures? “I moved. From 6 rooms, I went to 3. But now I no longer have the toilet in the courtyard! On the other hand, it’s smaller: I have to resell”. The collector rented a van “for €80” to transport her stock. And the stand costs him €150 as a non-Anderlechtoise. “I even put batteries back in all the dolls that move. Last year, I broke even. I hope that I will also succeed this winter,” she confides between her cushions embroidered with cats and her earthenware dogs. Who leave no stone unturned.
Jean, David and Julien are jobbers for the Anderlecht fan-shop: “the hats, scarves and cups are going well”. ©IPM – Ennio CameriereTo decorate the purple fans’ tree. ©IPM – Ennio Cameriere
You can’t leave the Anderlecht market without a detour to the RSCA stand. “It’s a first,” boasts David, a student used to working at the fan shop at the purple stadium. “We have new scarves and hats for €20. And then also pralines in collaboration with Valentino. Inside, there is a golden ticket, like in ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’: to be won, a VIP experience for 2 people”. It would make a famous surprise under the tree, which fans will decorate with Christmas baubles bearing the team logo. Julien assures that the customers “are rather relatives of supporters who want to surprise them. The fans tend to come to the store on match days.” The chalet even offers purple and white mugs: something to get back to when Sporting is having a drink.
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