Yuri Verbeek is a Dutch celebrity chef & culinary consultant who has graced the world of theatre and fashion runways at home and abroad for his euphoric culinary artistry as I would call it, combined with his passion for music and most inspired by one of the greatest rock star of all time, Prince. Sadly, we lost Prince all too soon but he lives on in the form of a huge poster displayed in the well-kept once-upon-a- time wine cellar turned wines and selected foods shop at the back garden of De Kokkerie, the reservations only private dining restaurant which Yuri now owns since 2003. With Covid-19 hitting the restaurant business worldwide, De Kokkerie is momentarily transformed into a traiteur and a cozy place for customers to pick-up their online meal orders four times a week. Where else can you watch Annie Lennox in concert while picking up your food other than in Chef Yuri’s kitchen.
And here, Prince lives on!
With Yuri’s many creative ideas he could hardly contain, chef Yuri has written many unpublished recipes and authored two published books about his life as a chef and the other, a cookbook written with short introductions of wit & passion. He is also a columnist for some newspapers but at the moment his mind is occupied writing down exciting menus and projects for something of a surprise for the near future when De Kokkerie is again allowed to open its doors to re-welcome its guests, this time for lunch only. A lunch with a twist.
A feast for the eyes and palate. A taste of fine dining in de Kokkerie with baked scallops in vanilla oil garnished with organic herbs & edible flowers.
Photo: Yuri Verbeek archives
Way back in the 90’s, my American friend, Bill, was a presenter of a television show in Bangkok called Thailand International on channel 13 state television. One of his guests was Ria van Eijndhoven, the first Dutch female chef who started a cooking program on Dutch television during the 80’s. She came to Bangkok for a promotional event and was asked to be in his show where she talked about Dutch cuisine and De Kokkerie, the oldest cooking studio in the Netherlands where she owned at that time and where many television cooking programs were made.
While walking in Delft along the Buitenwatersloot (literally translated as outside canal) with Bill one afternoon in 2000, we passed by a window with the sign, De Kokkerie. Bill started telling me about Ria whom he interviewed in his television show. He recalls Ria giving him a pair of little Dutch clogs as a gift to pin on his shirt. We didn’t ring the door, we just walked on and said to ourselves, what a small world!
This year, we had snow in February. As soon as the sun came out, I braved the icy streets. I passed by De Kokkerie. For the many times I have been passing by that narrow lane, the door was always closed. This time, there was a red rope on the footpath leading to the front door, the one they put to cordon-off people from being too close to celebrities or dignitaries when they walk on a red carpet. Although the door is closed, they are open for business as the woman who came to stand beside me while I was peeking through the window asked if I was there to pick-up my order. De Kokkerie is open? I texted Bill to let him know. He might want to see Ria again. I didn’t have the time to wait for the door to open as the woman rang the bell and I bid her a good day. On my way home from my walk, curiosity took the better of me and I went inside De Kokkerie in search of Ria.
The traiteur was beginning to pick up on customers but a young man who was just three days into his training as a chef met me at the door. I asked for Ria but he doesn’t know where she is and showed me to chef Yuri instead. Something caught my eyes at the entrance table and I thought I saw Ria. There she is, with her chef’s apron and smiling at everyone who enters the door!
On meeting Chef Yuri
Energetic, very busy and running two kitchens at the same time, Chef Yuri welcomed me to his place with enthusiasm, and invited me to see the cooking studio where they used to film cooking programs as Ria told Bill, just at the back of the now traiteur. Posters of his early days as a young chef are mounted on the walls and two huge pots are sitting on the stoves emitting a wonderful aroma of something that you want to literally slurp on, on a very cold February afternoon. “My very own Dutch pea soup,” he quipped. In his generosity, he poured me half a bowl to try amongst the pastries spread on the busy work table. It was a very busy cooking day. I was too engrossed looking around that I missed the warmth of the soup to savour all the elements and it was already cold when it touched my lips. But it was very good! He sent me home with his own mustard recipe in a bottle, and a gondola (a pastry shaped like a gondola boat filled with salami, chopped peppers and cheese). Best of all, he signed one of his recipe books, Chef Over de Vloer for my perusal. It was a fruitful day!
That afternoon, I rang up my good friend, Laurence Civil, Travel and Food writer living in Surrey, UK, who has profiled some of the best restaurants in Asia and the United Kingdom and have written about prominent award-winning chefs, Michelin stars, World’s 50 Best and Asia’S 50 Best restaurants. He is also a former member of the voting academy. I told Laurence he will love Chef Yuri.
Wanting to know more about De Kokkerie, I asked to interview our newly found chef. What transcribed is that he also agreed to do an online cooking session with Laurence. When artists like Chef Yuri wants something to happen, they happen fast before the idea disappears. It took one phone call for him to tell me that he will do the online cooking and if I can arrange to have Laurence be ready to watch from the UK in such a short notice. Laurence rushed from work to home to catch up with the time we have agreed for Chef Yuri to cook (The Netherlands is one hour ahead of the UK) and for us to be home before our 9 p.m. curfew. With everyone else’s efforts, we managed to make it happen. The cooking was great, my video shooting went well, and the end result was an evening of fulfillment. Laurence raised his glass of wine to toast at the end of the live online cooking. Though he didn’t taste the innovative take on Lobster Thermidor by Chef Yuri, he will be in Delft to taste one for himself, when travel restrictions are lifted. That was the last of Chef Yuri’s interview for the season and the first online interview across the pond. As restaurants remain close in Europe, online cooking is what is viable for now to interact with chefs.
Here is the link to the online cooking with Chef Yuri, followed by wine pairing with his consultant Sommelier, Allard Sieburgh who recommended ANIMA, a South African Premium to the lobster dish.
Yuri, The Making of a Celebrity Chef
Yuri’s passion for cooking started when he was 16 and was inspired by his mother’s home cooking and baking. Now in his traiteur, his mother’s apple and rhubarb pies are a permanent supply of the weekly take home menu.
As a young man, Yuri’s mother took him to the first 1-star Michelin restaurant in Delft, Le Chevallier (1980-1989) where he met the first Dutch Chef to acquire three Michelin stars, Cees Helder. From then on, he was determined to become a chef. Not just a chef but the best. He trained at the culinary institute at the Saur Restaurant, one of the oldest fine dining restaurants of the country that opened in 1927, in The Hague. Saur restaurant received its first one Michelin star in 1958 and then again 1959. It was awarded again a one star in 1967 and held it until 1989. The restaurant closed down in November 2013. Yuri’s time at the Saur gave him the best training foundation to be an accomplished chef that he is today. By the time Saur closed down, Yuri has already made a name for himself. That same month, Chef Yuri along with internationally renowned floral designer, Pim van den Akker were busy preparing for their collaboration on what was called the Food Floral Fashion show alongside local fashion designer, Aziz Bekkaoui to be shown at the Prinsenhof Museum in Delft. That was just a foretaste of a bigger show they will bring to the Messe Hannover the following year with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and German Chancellor Angela Merkel opening the event, and then again in another Food Floral Fashion Show in Genoa, Italy in 2016.
Those spectacular Food Floral Fashion shows were a time to show off and show off Yuri did, showcasing his etheric side by creating dishes that explode with presentation & taste, highlighting the magnificence of the flower dresses the models were in. Imagine eating a pearl made of oysters in oyster cream wrapped in Agar-agar (the natural gelatin one from the sea) topped with edible gold leaf melting in your mouth, and diamonds made of vanilla orchid sugar sitting on a purple edible vanilla orchid that explodes with so much flavor like an aphrodisiac as it touches your tongue. Ambrosia!
Those Food Floral Fashion shows were the best highlights of chef Yuri’s career having pushed all boundaries of his creativity to produce spectacular dishes for the discerning palates that came to experience sight, smell, taste, and an affair to remember.
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend. These diamonds on a bed of purple edible orchid flowers were a labour of hard work and long hours to create an edible gem. Made from vanilla sugar from the orchid family Vanilla Planifolia plant. Even the men enjoyed them!
All vanilla comes from the fruit of an orchid. Of the tens of thousands of orchids known to the world, Vanilla planifolia is the only orchid to produce an edible fruit and what an amazing fruit that has turned out to be. https://www.gulleygreenhouse.com/vanilla-bean-orchid/
In my interview, chef Yuri talked about another feather in his cap, his wonderful and exciting time as a guest lecturer in the top-notch Dutch culinary school Cas Spijkers Academy, named after its founder, the celebrated Michelin-starred chef, Caspar Henricus Augustinus (Cas) Spijkers, knighted with the Order of Orange Nassau in July 2011 for his great services to the Dutch culinary culture. Unfortunately, he died of esophageal cancer on the 29th of October 2011, just 3 months after receiving his knighthood. The academy has grown and now has 3 campuses in Nijmegen, Twente and Breda.
Chef Yuri’s message to young students who are still pursuing to be chefs of the future: “Believe in yourselves. Create your own style of cooking and do not simply rely on the things you learned from school. While they are very important, explore your own originality and creativity, experiment on new ideas, put love into your work, practice, practice and practice and you will be fine.”
When I asked him about Ria, he said, “She is my culinary grandmother. Because of her, she opened the door for many chefs to be on television. When I retire, I will hand-over the De Kokkerie to another chef and I expect it to be cared for as Ria did and just as I am caring for it now. The cooking legacy of De Kokkerie should be kept for more future generations of chefs to come, to come here to cook their foods.”
Ria van Eijndhoven has retired from professional cooking. Now in her 80’s she’s enjoying her retirement, and travels the world over whenever the opportunity comes.
As I ended my interview, I asked Chef Yuri if the much-loved Dutch winter dish, Stamppot should be reconstructed. The reason is, I am not a fan of the dish because I don’t like its main ingredients of sauerkraut, endive, kale, spinach, turnip. I also do not like rookworst.
Chef Yuri gave me a beautiful answer and he said, “I can easily reconstruct it but it’s a culinary heritage. I like to eat it the way our grandparents and forefathers from 100 years ago have been cooking it and we must respect that. The only thing is, when you make it, make a very good one.” That really puts me to shame.
Stamppot (literally means mash pot) eaten during the cold winter months, traditionally made with mashed potatoes, mixed with any mashed vegetables and always accompanied with smoked sausage.
Photo: ah.nl
There is so much to write about chef Yuri. He is truly an inspiration for his culinary moments but I leave it to everyone’s imagination to dream of his many beautiful, sumptuous dishes. Here are a few on this slide show to whet your appetite. Enjoy!
De Kokkerie is a coking studio, a private dining restaurant, a traiteur and a catering company. They also provide cooking workshops. The number of people for workshops may vary during this Covid-19 times. They can be reached by email at: info@dekokkerie.com, by phone: +31(0)15 215 8313 and other means of contact are mentioned in their website: http://www.dekokkerie.com
De Kokkerie Traiteur, Buitenwatersloot 42, 2613ST Delft, The Netherlands
More on Chef Yuri at https://www.dekokkerie.com/yuri-verbeek/
*Photos on Cas Spijkers & Chef Yuri at the Academy: From the Facebook archives of Cas Spijkers Academie Nijmegen.
Chef Over De Vloer cookbook with beautiful photographs by Remy Vaartjes, Hardbound, Dutch language. Available at bol.com
His other book, Kook- en dagboek van een chef-kok, 2003. Dutch. Available here: https://www.bol.com/nl/c/yuri-verbeek/4318911/
Laurence Civil is a British luxury travel writer & food writer. He has travelled extensively worldwide while with British Airways and lived in Bangkok, Thailand for a couple of years before returning to live in his family farm in Surrey, UK. He is currently finishing his Gin Guide to Slovenian Gin distilleries to be published online this year. He enjoys his wine. The Artisanal Provender is his publishing platform. https://www.facebook.com/theartisanalprovender/
William “Bill” Monsour lives in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. An American originally from Pasadena, California, U.S.A., Bill is an actor, a dancer, a wonderful singer, a Speaker’s Coach, Speech Writer, Training Consultant at Speaking Arts International, a Zoom Expert and a great company. He can be reached at https://speakingartsinternational.nl/en/
JaneSNA 