Can we cook from a Michelin Star book?
Unraveling the myth with Aan de Poel
Unraveling a myth with Aan de Poel: can amateur cooks like ourselves make a Michelin Star recipe? We prepared a Fäviken recipe and an Aan de Poel signature dish.
When talking about our selection of culinary books, we occasionally catch ourselves claiming that these recipes are “actually quite do-able.” But are they? Time to put ourselves to the test with a little help from our friends from restaurant Aan de Poel. Aan de Poel’s two Michelin star chef Stefan van Sprang selected one recipe from Faviken and another one from their own book ‘Aan de Poel’, then dressed up our most culinary skilled MENDO man Joeri Worm with a chef’s jacket and granted him to enter the restaurant’s sacred domain – the kitchen – to unravel the myth once and for all: Can you cook a Michelin Star recipe?
Aan de Poel
In this photo
Chef Stefan van Sprang (Aan de Poel) in an attempt to reassure MENDO's Joeri Worm.
[Joeri Worm] Stefan, what recipe did you choose and, why?
[Stefan van Sprang] I chose a recipe from Faviken, because I admire the simplicity, purity and strength of it. And I selected one of our signature dishes: Cod, prepared in three different ways. It’s a bit of a fusion recipe and you will see that the dish changes during the process.
[JW] Exciting, why Faviken?
[SvS] Faviken is my favorite restaurant. It’s located in the middle of nowhere ― it almost literally feels like it’s the end of the world. To me, this is the most unique restaurant there is. elBulli and such – they are obviously amazing, but there is nothing like Faviken.
[JW] How do you describe Aan de Poel’s kitchen?
[SvS] We’re an international kitchen with influences from many countries – from Japan to France and from Spain to Scandinavia. [Stefan smiles] We call it a tourist menu!
[JW] What is your favorite ingredient?
[SvS] I just love langoustine. That is definitely my favorite.
[JW] I’m a bit of a dork in this kitchen: do you have more of those?
[SvS] We do, occasionally. And I must admit that I think it is good fun.
[JW] You probably know the book Where Chefs Eat – where chefs recommend their favorite restaurants. Which restaurant would you suggest?
[SvS] Apart from Faviken and Aan de Poel – obviously – I suggest you go and have dinner at de Kromme Watergang. And Vis aan de Schelde is a guaranteed good meal.
[JW] Noma, Faviken, Mugaritz, Quai: they all have their own book and now you have one too. What’s that like?
[SvP] It’s just amazing! We have been working on it for 3 years, and, since we are quite demanding, it was hard work, but we’re extremely proud that we have realised it.
[JW] How do your guests respond to the book?
[SvS] They love it. Guests often buy a book after they have enjoyed a night at Aan de Poel and it is fun to see and hear that people are amazed by the fact that their dishes almost looked exactly like the perfect images in the book.
The chef’s verdict
[JW] How did I do?
[SvS] Really good. You are talented [Stefan smiles, again…]
[JW] Is it fair to say that this Faviken recipe is actually do-able?
[SvS] Yes it is. But I must say, that it is not so much about the preparation as it is about the ingredients. It is so pure and simple, and those ingredients are key―that’s what makes it so good. And the book didn’t completely specify the ingredients so we had to do some guessing.
[JW] How was it for you to prepare another chef’s recipe?
[SvS] I liked it, in particular because they are my favorite restaurant. And I enjoyed figuring out the techniques they use at Faviken. For example, when I was at Faviken I noticed them preparing dishes on coal, and I guessed they also did that with this particular dish. I used the Green Egg instead.
[JW] Which chef would you like to see prepare one of your dishes?
[SvS] That would have to be Le Ciel Blue’s chef Onno Kokmeijer.
‘The book didn’t completely specify the ingredients so we had to do some guessing.’
‘The book didn’t completely specify the ingredients so we had to do some guessing.’
Joeri’s final verdict
On the photographs most of these dishes – or pieces of art – look totally impossible to me, but I was surprised by the purity and simplicity of the preparations. That surreal sauce for the Aan de Poel dish, for example, was created by chopping really basic ingredients like onion, leek, ginger and garlic. It was a secret powder that eventually turned it into this amazingly smooth curry. It’s those details and the quality of the ingredients that make the difference. And that is exactly what makes these dishes not do-able in the end. So I will remain using the phrase ‘it’s actually quite do-able’ but from now on I will add “if you have a Michelin star chef on your side – or if you are one yourself.”
Thanks Aan de Poel for having us. Check MENDO’s selection of culinary books.
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