Revi Food from Oostende is a producer of meals and meal components, ranging from ready-made dishes to croquettes. The food producer joined forces with Kasteel Brouwerij Vanhonsebrouck from Izegem to make the one and only Filoukroket - the Filou croquette.
Imagine a croquette with a delicious and generous filling of chicken, cheese, mushrooms, mustard and 24% Filou beer. Sounds good, right? “It took us a while to come up with the perfect combination of ingredients, but after a lot of experimenting and tasting we found the ideal filling”, says Wim Quinet, owner of Revi Food.
The food producer boasts over 30 years of experience in the fish sector and also specialises in the production of croquettes. “A croquette with a specialty beer filling was missing in our range. Filou seemed like the perfect candidate given the close links between the Belgian beer for prank lovers and our hometown of Oostende.”
Xavier Vanhonsebrouck, CEO of Kasteel Brouwerij Vanhonsebrouck from Izegem, continues: “Our speciality beer Filou is a favourite in Oostende. We are proud sponsors of basketball club Filou Oostende and football club KV Oostende. We have also linked the name Filou with the newly opened Filou Sportsbar, which is located close to the stadiums of both teams and the swimming pool of Oostende.”
Joint branding
This is the second time this year that the family brewery of specialty beers has embarked on a joint branding project. “Our collaboration with LiQ, a start-up from Harelbeke that makes ice creams with alcohol, was a real hit. The Vanilla Cherry Kasteel Rouge is a real crowd pleaser! We hope to achieve that same success with our Filou croquette.”
Revi Food definitely has the necessary expertise. About 30 years, the company created the Ostend shrimp croquette with local, fresh grey shrimps from the North Sea. Other classics soon followed, including the cheese croquette. “We always choose the best ingredients, which enables us to offer customers top-quality croquettes. When we created the Filou croquette, we also opted for quality ingredients that blend in perfectly with the soft, bitter taste of Filou,” says Quinet of Revi Food.
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A rich filling of chicken, cheese, mushrooms, mustard and 24% Filou beer. Sounds good, right?
Hospitality and retail
Since the reopening of the terraces on Saturday 8 May, these brand-new croquettes have been on the menu at Michelles Pub & Brasserie. “Our very own brewery pub is the perfect place to introduce our latest delicacy to the general public. Meanwhile, our chefs have prepared many dishes with these Filou croquettes,” says Vanhonsebrouck with a smile.
We also encourage other catering establishments to include the Filou croquettes on their menus. Orders can be placed via Seastorm, the Revi Food catering brand. Under that brand, the company delivers a selection of high-quality products directly to the catering industry. “However, in the longer run, we hope to also sell our products through other partners,” Revi Food says.
“We aim to expand our sales to retail so that consumers can also enjoy Filou croquettes at home too. For now, we’re kicking off at our very own Beer Boutique, where you can also buy the Kasteel Rouge ice cream by LiQ”, Vanhonsebrouck adds.
