Food Reporter & Gault&Millau chooses these three chefs for their forward-looking and sustainable vision
Food Reporter, a media platform for hospitality professionals and young talented chefs powered by Bidfood, in collaboration with Gault&Millau, has named Dani Hoefnagels (Restaurant Demain), Demian Parasmo (Restaurant Rabbit Food) and Josephien Blom (Héron Petit Restaurant) as the New Chefs on the Block.
Yesterday, these New Chefs were proclaimed at the Filmtheater Slachtstraat in Utrecht, led by two-star chef Bas van Kranen (Restaurant Flore). The election takes place twice a year and with their focus on sustainability and innovation, these chefs get a well-deserved stage to share their vision and culinary expertise.
Despite his young age of 25, Dani has already gained a lot of experience at several top establishments at home and abroad. Early this year, he and his girlfriend Romée opened fine dining restaurant with bistro Demain in Cadzand-Bad, on the former site of Pure C. Dani finds it important to cook as purely as possible with the very best products. That is why Demain's menu features a nice mix of Mediterranean and Zeeland products. According to him, his dishes have to meet the demands guests have now, but also work towards a sustainable future. He shares this vision with his team, and together they enjoy working on the entire customer experience: from the music and atmosphere to smell and taste.
Demian likes to think out-of-the box and he does just that with the restaurant he founded with his partner Imane Dafer: Rabbit Food in Arnhem. Here, the entire menu is plant-based and uses local and seasonal produce. Creativity is incredibly important to Demian and it has to be with the local products available. From the products on offer, he goes to work to put together the best menu for his guests. The actual dish may vary slightly from day to day, based on what produce is available, but is always plant-based, made from scratch and based on Italian cuisine. The passion Demian has for his work is felt by his staff and guests alike.
Josephien works as a chef at Héron Petit Restaurant in Utrecht and already feels like a fish out of water there. The restaurant focuses on pure and honest food straight from the source. As such, they have close contact with their local suppliers: the farmer, the gardener, the wine supplier, the cattle farmer, the cheese maker, the fisherman. Working with local and fresh produce fits perfectly with Josephien's vision, who loves working with unusual ingredients and prefers to serve her guests something new every time. The path Josephien has taken to get to this point is different from most chefs. After her training at the Cas Spijkers Academy, she worked first in the kitchen, then in the waitressing department and then again in the kitchen. In order to understand all facets of a restaurant before she would start working as a chef.
Vivian Bruinsma, Manager Food Reporter: "The stories of the New Chefs on the Block are incredibly inspiring. We at Food Reporter feel it is very important to put these talents in the spotlight and connect them with like-minded chefs and entrepreneurs in the industry. In order to encourage them to really start making a difference in our industry."
Food Reporter has captured the stories of the three chefs in a series of documentaries available from today. The documentaries give a unique insight into their worlds, showing how they are shaping the future of gastronomy with passion and creativity. Go to foodreporter.co.uk or YouTube to watch the documentaries.