When is the annual Chez Clément Pétanque Tournament held?

The Pétanque Tournament always falls in September. The choice of month is no accident. September is the last properly outdoor month of the Belgian year, when the days are still long enough for a full daytime tournament to run without lighting and the temperature still comfortable enough for an outdoor lunch service. It also closes the summer season cleanly, by the time the boules are put away in the late afternoon, the brasserie is psychologically ready to swing into autumn, towards the Raclette season in October-November and the Christmas-period bookings beyond.

The exact Saturday of the tournament rotates each year, depending on family commitments and the school calendar of the surrounding Walloon Brabant municipalities (Rixensart, La Hulpe, Lasne, Wavre). The brasserie team publishes the date in advance and accepts registrations from teams of regulars, from groups of friends, from local clubs, and from company teams looking for a more relaxed business outing than the usual restaurant booking. The cleanest way to confirm the date is to call +32 2 652 33 92 or to write to info@brasseriechezclement.be.

The single-day format runs morning to late afternoon: arrival and draw, first rounds, Pétanque lunch at midday, elimination phases, final. The brasserie's daily restaurant service continues alongside, the lunch service from 12:00 to 14:30 and the evening service from 19:00 to 22:30 carry on as normal, with the tournament absorbing some of the dining-room capacity in a coordinated way. The kitchen led by Vincent Frédéric De Laloy, in the house since 1996 with a brigade of thirty-two, scales without strain to fifty teams plus regular service.

The tournament has been running for several years and falls inside the wider 168-year history of the brasserie (founded in 1858 by Henri and Sidonie Clément). Marie and Gilles Verleyen, the fifth-generation owners since 2021, have kept the September rhythm steady. If your aim is to plan a visit to the Walloon Brabant around the tournament, combining a day at the brasserie with the Solvay estate, the Folon Foundation, La Hulpe castle or the Lake of Genval, September is a particularly pleasant time of year to do it.