Belgian Chef Seppe Nobels Denies Misconduct Allegations

Renowned Belgian chef Seppe Nobels is facing a series of serious allegations from former employees, including financial misconduct, exploitation of refugees, and cocaine addiction, following a months-long investigation by the newspaper De Morgen. Nobels has categorically denied all claims, calling them a “character assassination campaign.”

Nobels, 44, is one of Flanders’ most celebrated chefs, known for his social restaurant project Instroom — which gives refugees and asylum seekers work experience — and for his role on the award-winning VRT 1 television program Restaurant Misverstand, which employs staff diagnosed with early-onset dementia. He has received numerous accolades, including a Green Michelin Star, the International Emmy Award (2024), and was appointed Commander in the Order of the Crown.

The Allegations

The investigation, led by crime journalist Joris van der Aa and published on July 4, centers on Nobels’ social restaurant projects in Antwerp and Mechelen, operated under the name Instroom in collaboration with the non-profit organization vzw Gatam. According to VRT NWS, former employees and co-founders allege that the project’s social mission was compromised.

Chris Bryssinckx of vzw Gatam told VRT that participants and trainees were deployed for activities insufficiently connected to the project’s social objectives. “In some cases, this involved work performed on private properties of Seppe Nobels,” Bryssinckx said. “Gatam was confronted with situations where project resources, participants, and preparatory work from Instroom were used for external assignments, while the financial proceeds did not always flow back to the project.”

Nico Dockx, the original co-founder of the project, told HLN that Nobels had lost sight of the original social goal. “It’s about money to maintain his expensive lifestyle,” Dockx said.

Further allegations include that staff and volunteers of a related non-profit, vzw UnitedWe, were deployed for catering assignments whose income flowed entirely to Nobels’ private company, Nobelsdining, rather than back to the project.

Drug Addiction and Code Language

The investigation also revealed that Nobels reportedly struggled with a serious addiction, first to alcohol and then to cocaine. He was allegedly admitted to a rehabilitation clinic in Thailand in summer 2025 at a cost of €15,000 per month, with the non-profit reportedly covering the expenses.

According to the reports, Nobels’ name emerged during a trial against an Antwerp drug dealer. He allegedly sent messages ordering “bloemkolen” (cauliflower) or “witte kool” (white cabbage) as code words for drugs.

Intimidation Incident

When De Morgen approached Nobels for comment, he allegedly went with a trainee to the home of a former employee and then to that employee’s restaurant. Antwerp police confirmed they filed a report because Nobels attempted to force entry. The report has been sent to the public prosecutor’s office.

Nobels’ Response

Nobels has firmly denied all allegations. In a statement issued through his lawyer, he said: “The suggestive allegations are formally contested. We stand fully behind our project and our achievement, which we realized with great passion and enthusiasm. Apparently, people want to bring down Seppe Nobels and his entourage, privately and publicly. We deeply regret this.”

Speaking on Radio 1’s De Ochtend, Nobels specifically addressed the financial allegations: “I have never used the foundation’s bank card for private purposes. If I eat an ice cream on the Knokke promenade or something else, I pay for that myself, like every person, correctly and privately.”

He described the allegations as a “character assassination” and said he would take appropriate legal steps “in due time.”

Background and Context

The collaboration between Nobels and vzw Gatam ended in 2024. Gatam has since continued the restaurant independently under the name Samenloop, completely separate from Nobels. The Instroom project, meanwhile, moved to Antwerp’s Linkeroever in November 2025.

Nobels rose to prominence after winning four of six main prizes at the “Best Junior Chef of Belgium” competition in 2005. He opened Restaurant Graanmarkt 13 in Antwerp in 2010 and was named “Best Young Chef” in the S.Pellegrino guide in 2015. His television career includes appearances on Grillmasters and Restaurant Misverstand, the latter winning an International Emmy Award in 2024.

What’s Next

The case has become a major media story in Belgium, with significant public debate. The police report sent to the public prosecutor could lead to charges related to the intimidation incident. Nobels has promised legal action against those he believes are responsible for what he calls a smear campaign, though he has not yet filed any lawsuits.

The allegations also raise broader questions about oversight of social enterprises that combine charitable missions with commercial operations, particularly those involving vulnerable populations such as refugees and asylum seekers.