De Helleketel

Photos and words by Cliff Lucas.
Edited by Breandán Kearney.

Café Society is a photographic series which celebrates the spaces at the heart of Belgian beer culture. See more here.

A discreet wooden pocket door with frosted glass panes leads from Lena Masson’s bedroom into the café her family has owned since 1895. Lena has lived here her entire life. Blue and yellow shutters frame the windows overlooking the famous hop fields of Poperinge. Inside, woven chairs and tiled tables rest underneath exposed ceiling beams. Handmade witch dolls hang from the rafters, having been added one-by-one for the last twenty years so that there are now hundreds of them scattered around. De Helleketel was originally a hunting pub where hunters would enjoy a pint after searching for hares (two stuffed hares, playing cards, remain above the bar). Lena’s grandmother, Emma Masson, was the first to run the café while her husband worked as a truck driver. Lena’s mother, Simonne, followed suit, keeping the café going while her own husband drove for the local brewery, La Hay. And in 1966, at age 13, Lena began working here until she eventually took over as the third-generation of female owners. A free, Seeburg jukebox full of American classics sits next to a refrigerator full of local beers. Here, everything’s by the bottle. Lena recommends the Helleketel from Brouwerij De Bie—a flavourful amber ale of 7% ABV. And in the back where there’s room to sit for a meal, you’ll find a slew of traditional café games like Trébuchet and Kachelspel. The café’s name—De Helleketel—means “The Witches Cauldron,” and it’s always been the women of the Masson family who’ve stirred the magic here.