In 2015, the first UNIQLO in Belgium opened in Antwerp, the stomping grounds of such renowned designers as Dries Van Noten and Martin Margiela. The store breathed new life into Meir, the city’s boulevard of fashion, and remains a favourite among modish students and residents of Antwerp who love high-quality goods.

An Antwerp native, born and bred, chef Céleste Verhoeven showed us a recipe for meatloaf glazed with cherry sauce. In Belgian households, this dish is a harbinger of fall and a sign that “cold weather is here.” Cherries are freshest in early summer, but this sauce uses canned cherries, packed fresh at the start of the season. Rather than thickening the sauce using vanilla pudding powder, Céleste prefers to boost the aroma with cinnamon sticks and a small amount of butter.

Known in Belgium as “meat bread,” this meatloaf has a texture much like hamburger. Aside from ground pork and beef, it uses only eggs and breadcrumbs. Once the mixture is ready, you simply place it in the oven. Locals like to make a little extra, so that they can eat it the first day with the sweet and sour cherry sauce, then enjoy the leftovers the next day with spicy mustard. Instead of wine or liqueur, this dish pairs best with Belgian beer.

For an added touch of Antwerp, set the table in plain white. In this town, white is the colour of everything from the bread down to the plates and tablecloth and napkins. And not just because this is the homeland of Margiela—to the people of Antwerp, white symbolises elegance. Céleste’s kitchen and the Uniqlo U shirt dress and apron that she’s wearing today are all white. The brilliant red of the slow-simmered cherry sauce adds a charming touch of colour to this iconically Antwerpian scene.