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Frederik de Pue is getting back to his roots. The Flanders, Belgium-born chef—who opened Table in Shaw as well as the now-shuttered Azure and Menu MBK in Penn Quarter—is set to debut the Flemish-inspired Flamant in Annapolis this spring.
“I’d like to do to Annapolis like I did to Shaw,” he says. “I like being somewhere before everyone else,” he says. “Plus, it’s such a quaint city with a lot of history.”
The opening marks de Pue’s return to restaurants after a two-year hiatus when he was operating his catering company. The chef has also been in and out of the headlines because of legal woes.
Flamant is taking over a 2,800-square-foot detached dwelling in West Annapolis, which formerly housed a children’s toy and clothing store. It will have approximately 40 seats across two dining rooms—both with a view into the half-open kitchen—plus a small bar that seats a dozen and a patio for roughly 30 more when the weather warms.
The fare will focus on what de Pue calls “classic European cooking with a twist.” He plans on changing the menu every six to eight weeks and will serve dinner only. Potential dishes include braised lamb shoulder for the table; escargot mousse with parmesan and lemon pepper; and vol-au-vent—buttery puff pastry towers filled with a mixture of game birds, such as pheasant, Cornish hen, squab, and grouse.
The chef is hoping to include at least a couple of traditional dishes from his homeland. During the winter, he aims to offer his take on waterzooi, a thick chicken stew with leeks, celery, carrots, and potatoes. Spring will bring Flemish-style white asparagus topped with chopped hardboiled eggs and Hollandaise sauce.
De Pue has just one rule for his latest venture: “I’m at the stage now where I like cooking and writing menus, so I just want it to be fun.”
In February and March, de Pue plans on meeting with fishermen and farmers around Annapolis to set up arrangements for sourcing local ingredients. He will continue to run his catering company, Catering by Frederik de Pue, but will move its operations to the second kitchen in the basement of Flamant.
Flamant, 17 Annapolis St., Annapolis, MD; flamantmd.com