Virtuoso Life - November/December 2017 - 64
On the Table just yet. Schutte feels that there are no rules for cooking in the Netherlands - chefs are free to pursue whatever interests them, adding their own ideas to the basics. It's this pairing of globally informed creativity with superior local ingredients that's propelling the dining scene. "Everyone is doing their own thing," he says. "In Amsterdam, it's exciting, because it's diverse." Whatever the reasons behind the culinary surge, it's clearly a success: There are now 16 Michelin-starred restaurants in Amsterdam, compared to four in 2010. Here, six reservations to secure before your trip. Rooted in Place BOLENIUS Clockwise from top left: Short rib topped with carabinero shrimp at Librije's Zusje, Bolenius chef Luc Kusters in his kitchen garden, local transport, museum restaurant Rijks, and its langoustine with oyster cream and green meat radish. Kusters has served up his vegetable-forward paean to Holland for nearly seven years, but it wasn't until December 2016 that he received his first Michelin star. "I've been doing the same thing from the very beginning," he says. Dishes such as monkfish with tart tomatoes and watermelon, surrounded by a spicy red broth and topped with Dutch caviar, offer a surprising combination of flavors. Kusters sources a lot of his produce from a garden near the restaurant: The Kitchen Garden from the Zuidas, for instance, is a warm salad consisting of 20 veggies harvested yards away from your table. And if you want to dip into the Netherlands' burgeoning wine-making scene, Bolenius stocks seven different types. George Gershwinlaan 30; bolenius-restaurant.nl. From East to West LIBRIJE'S ZUSJE Since opening three years ago, the Waldorf Astoria's grand restaurant has proven a hit for chef Schutte, who cooked in Hong Kong for several years before returning to the Netherlands. His stint in Asia shines through the use of kimchi, pandan milk, and lychee, but Schutte also champions Dutch ingredients throughout. Among his most talked-about creations: a plate of raw carabinero shrimp piled on a crisped short rib and amped up with Schutte's take on XO sauce, a slightly spicy concoction from Hong Kong made from dried seafood. "I like to be progressive and really push the buttons," he says. That's certainly the case when, at the end of your meal, the server 64 V I RT U O S O L I F E
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