To this day, the people of the Low Countries proudly refer to themselves as Burgundians. Lovers of life who enjoy a good glass of wine, a richly laid table and the pure pleasure of eating together. But how ‘Burgundian’ were the real Burgundians? Does the idea of luxury and excess in the kitchen hold true? Or is this a myth shaped over the centuries? Who was invited to sit at those abundant tables, and what was on the menu? And who had to satisfy their hunger elsewhere?

Museum Hof van Busleyden searches for the origins of the shared food and drink culture of the Low Countries. The exhibition Burgundian Dining, travels back 500 years in time, to Mechelen, at that time the heart of the Burgundian Netherlands.

Like a four course meal, Burgundian Dining explores four themes. From sumptuous banquets in city palaces to steaming kitchens, where cooks and kitchen maids prepare everything, then on to the city and its markets and surrounding fields. A sensory exploration of a shared past that leads to a question which is just as relevant today: when do abundance, wealth and luxury tip over into greed, excess and waste?

The exhibition extends beyond the museum’s exhibition hall. Visitors are invited to explore the story further in the museum’s permanent display. Hiëronymus van Busleyden’s reception room still evokes the atmosphere of the lively table conversations that once took place there.