Last weekend, the world-famous Australian singer Nick Cave walked into the Frieterij chip shop in the municipality of Berchem near Antwerp, where he ordered fries and a homemade mushroom croquette.
Cave, who performed with the Bad Seeds at the Best Kept Secret music festival in the Netherlands on Sunday, walked into the frituur in the Belgian province of Antwerp the evening before.
"We do not really know why he chose our shop, but it is quite an honour," Frieterij manager Leonard Glazema said on local radio. "Apparently, there was a Belgian with the crew. He may have recommended us, because we are quite well-known in Antwerp. We were once awarded a prize for our stoofvlees."
And that stoofvlees (also called 'carbonade flamande,' or 'Flemish beef stew') was ordered by Cave's entourage, along with several large packs of fries.
"Nick Cave himself chose our homemade mushroom croquettes," Glazema said. "I think I will make more this week, because I am guessing they will be in high demand now."
The person who served Cave, however, had not recognised him at first, and only realised that the person who had ordered fries and was eating them on the terrace was famous when other people started taking photos.
"Because it was a quiet evening, I was not in the shop myself, but apparently he really liked the meal," Glazema added. "Had I known he was going to drop by, I definitely would have stayed."
On Saturday 25 June, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds will perform at the TW Classic festival in Werchter.
