Building a Taste of Home

Max, who has been working in the restaurant industry for over twenty years, decided to open Gigi eleven years ago. “I thought of the opportunity to combine the restaurant with the shop after noticing that many customers were asking where they could buy the ingredients we used,” he says when asked what inspired him to open the store.

“My parents were immigrants who worked in the coal mines of Heusden-Zolder. Opening an Italian restaurant and shop was my way of honoring their journey and keeping our heritage alive.” This ode to his family is perhaps why he chose to give the store a 1950s-style decoration, which helps make the space feel warmer and homier.

“Our goal was to give customers a taste of home and the feeling of being on holiday in Italy for just a little while.”

Authentic Flavors and Ingredients

Gigi sells the same (and more!) high-quality Italian products that are used in Zoff. Every product is directly purchased from local Italian producers and farmers, and they have a large selection of top-grade Italian brands and their products, from wines and liquors to olive oil and all sorts of pasta and sauces. “True Italian products – no influencer food,” as Max jokingly puts it.

They also have a wide selection of luxury items, such as the special Dolce & Gabbana collections for Christmas and Easter or their beautiful moka pots in collaboration with the iconic brand Bialetti. Their selection of panettoni and colomba (the Italian Easter cake) every winter and spring is truly worth the visit. Not just because the products are excellent, but because the packaging is absolutely stunning. They make the perfect gift: you get a delicious, high-quality dessert and a beautiful designer box, all in one. Although, according to Max, the products customers truly can’t get enough of are their ricciarelli and cantuccini biscuits.

Sharing Culture Through Food

Max believes that to do this job, you really have to love both the work and the people. “It’s a passion.” That explains why, besides loving his work, he also adores the Leuven community. “Leuven is a dynamic city, deeply rooted in academia. In terms of knowledge and quality of life, it’s excellent. It’s such a pleasure to walk around the city; you can feel the intellectual atmosphere everywhere.” And intellectual or not, there is something most of us have in common: the passion for food, especially good food, which is precisely what Max wants to bring to the community; his love for the food from his home culture.

This passion he feels is always better when shared, as I’m sure we can all agree. When Max started this business in 2004, the concept of sharing food at the table was still quite new in Leuven, and he prides himself on being one of the first establishments to introduce it to the city. Whether you stop by while walking around or visit the store after eating at Zoff, be sure to make Gigi one of your next must-go places in Leuven.