The secret of the perfect Belgian waffle

Yves Bas is a quiet, unassuming man, but his disdain is barely under control as he discusses the waffles of Liège. "Everywhere in Belgium has its own waffle recipe," explains the chef at Abu Dhabi's Belgian Cafe as we stand in the labyrinthine kitchens at the InterContinental hotel staring at a large electric waffle iron. "The Liège one is very heavy with crusted sugar. I only make the Brussels waffle: it's big, it's light, and crispy with bigger cubes, or dimples, which make it fluffy. That's why I had to have this waffle iron imported from Belgium. You just can't get a Brussels waffle iron over here."
Bas knows his Belgian bistrot cooking. After 10 years running his own establishment in his home city of Hasselt, near Brussels, he is passionate about the simple, homely ingredients that make Belgian cuisine what it is. "At the Belgian Cafe we have our potatoes imported from Belgium for the frites," he says, "because we tried local potatoes and, because of the heat, they have too much sugar and immediately go dark brown. It's impossible to make golden frites with them.
"The grey shrimps, too: you can't get them here, so we fly them in five times a week. The difference is, grey shrimps are cooked on the fishing boat in seawater as soon as they are caught. It's very distinctive. We bring in the mussels and the mayonnaise too." And then, of course, there are waffles. A world away from the Birdseye Potato Waffles of many a childhood, a different breed from French galettes, and certainly never eaten for breakfast, like the American version, Brussels waffles are street food, an eggy batter fried on the waffle iron and served immediately, with a thin, browned crispiness to the outside and light-as-air batter on the inside.
They are dusted with icing sugar and, in the case of those at the Belgian Cafe, topped with a selection of sweet ingredients such as fresh strawberries, Belgian chocolate sauce, whipped cream and Belgian vanilla ice cream (made by Crème de la Crème, based in Hasselt). Getting down to work, Bas pulls out two giant metal bowls, which he cleans vigorously to make sure there are no traces of oil or fat to ruin the batter. Picking up a hilariously large whisk, he begins to create his favourite Brussels waffle recipe, which makes 15 waffles.
Method Start separating the egg white and the yolk into the two bowls. Make sure not even a trace of yolk gets into the white. Add the hot water to the yeast, mix it in and leave for a while. In a pan on the stove, gently melt the butter in ½ litre milk, gently whisking together once in a while.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites until stiff - the classic (but risky) test is to turn the bowl upside down: if it's stiff enough it won't fall out. Add the flour, sugar and salt to the yolk and mix together. Blend in the yeast mixture. Add the milk and butter and whisk together so that there are no lumps. Make sure all the flour is dispersed. Carefully fold in the egg white, and stir to blend, but not too much: the snowy egg white is the key to the light batter.
Cover with cling film and leave to rise for half an hour in a warm environment, such as a room with no air conditioning. It should double in size and will smell slightly doughy and sour. Spray a light covering of oil on to the waffle iron and heat to 300C. Ladle in some batter and cook - "The first one always goes wrong," warns Bas. Remove from the iron, dust with icing sugar and then top with ice cream and hot chocolate sauce or strawberries and whipped cream.