The beautiful and romantic Hotel Vitznauerhof is located in Switzerland's Vitznau. The restaurant Sens, which is located on the edge of Lake Lucerne, belongs to this hotel.
Part 1 in the series The Creative Chef Collection is about Jeroen Achtien, the culinary wizard in the kitchen of the restaurant. The book describes in detail the steps that Jeroen has taken to put restaurant Sens on the map. It is a fascinating account of a journey that has only just begun and the end of which is far from in sight.
Why Ron Greve started this series about great chefs he tells himself on the website . It is worth reading it and watching the video because it immediately becomes clear that The Creative Chef Collection is not just a culinary story, but gives a good insight into the life, work and creativity of a leading chef.
Jeroen Achtien has worked for the Librije for many years and it shows. Not only in his way of cooking, but also in the way he runs the kitchen. Rest and good cooperation is the basis of everything. Besides, of course, the first-class ingredients.
Just step by step because I'm tumbling over myself to tell as much as possible about this book.
In addition to the beautiful photos, there are the conversations and stories that come to the reader in bite-sized chunks. Sometimes it is about a dish and Jeroen describes which techniques are involved and why he makes it the way he makes it. Sometimes it's about the creative process and how that is turned into a dish. We read a lot about his personal life and his motivations. About the beginning that was very heavy. About his dreams and the future.
We go with him to suppliers. Especially in the beginning, he wanted to get to know all suppliers personally and see where the products come from. We pay them an extensive visit and see and read how their great products are created. You will find the same enthusiasm everywhere. The drive to deliver the best of the best. The whole book reads almost like a thrilling novel. It is in English but you will forget that after the first page. You want to read more, know more, experience and taste it. We go into nature with Jeroen because at the Librije he learned that there are many special ingredients in nature. In Switzerland this is significantly different than in the Netherlands and he had to find his way in the herbs and plants that were new to him.
Ron Greve got the idea for this series through a show on Netflix about star chefs. That didn't go deep enough in his opinion. I'm not familiar with the series (sorry, no Netflix) but I understand exactly what it means. A cookbook shows you the finished product and a series sometimes takes a look behind the scenes, but there is so much more that underlies the entire culinary process. And it's all equally interesting. Are there no recipes in it? No and again yes. There is an insert with QR codes and if you scan it you will arrive at the website with the recipe. There are 24 in total. It is doubtful whether you will ever make these pieces of art, but you can always be inspired.
You won't put the Creative Chef Collection down once you start. And you will read it again and again and flip through the photos again and again. Kudos also to the copywriter Joost Scholten and also to Peter Lockwood who translated the book into English. It is also very nice to google the suppliers or to walk through the streets of beautiful Vitznau with street view.
In short, you will be sweet with The Creative Chef Collection part 1 Jeroen Achtien.
Tribute! I enjoyed this book. On to the next.
Jeanette