Family De Vocht

Emiel De Vocht and his brother Luc grew up in a warm market gardening family in Sint-Katelijne-Waver. They have been working side by side for over ten years and are proudly the fourth generation to run the family business. They specialise in lamb’s lettuce and parsnips, which they grow with the greatest care and harvest by hand. Emiel and Luc deliberately choose to handle everything themselves to guarantee the very best quality on the market.

The biggest challenge for the De Vocht family is the weather. Their greenhouses are unheated, and parsnips don’t like overly wet conditions. “We’d much rather have a summer with 40 degrees than a wet summer, because that’s really bad for our parsnips,” says Emiel.

Looking ahead, the family plans to continue with their current activities. They’ve made significant investments to produce their crops as efficiently as possible, and they are very proud of that. They also want to remain part of BelOrta. “We’re really happy with BelOrta. It also means much less hassle with administration,” adds Emiel.

The family is very creative with their own produce. They make fresh salads with lamb’s lettuce and chicory, and delicious parsnip soup. Plus, parsnip fries and chips are a real delicacy — definitely worth a try!

Outside of farming, the De Vocht family really knows how to enjoy life. They value life beyond work: enjoying a good meal at the weekend, going to concerts by Bart Peeters & Philippe Geubels, and working in their own vegetable garden are some of life’s little pleasures. Emiel’s motto is, “Think positive and keep smiling — it’ll take you the furthest in life.”

We’ll end with a tip from grower Emiel: want to stay in top shape? Eat lamb’s lettuce! It not only looks great on your plate, but it’s also packed with health benefits.