5 reasons why you want to watch Sergio & Axel
Flemish actor Axel Daeseleire and our very own top chef Sergio Herman travel all over the world for the program ‘Van de kaart’ to eat delicious food. Because apparently Sergio was king, emperor and admiral in his own kitchen, but he hadn’t seen much of the wider world yet. We’re giving you five reasons why you definitely don’t want to miss this seven-part series.
1. A relaxed Sergio—you’ll hardly recognize him
That top chef spent years stressing out in his restaurant, and now he’s traveling with his friend Axel. No shouting at innocent dishwashers and sous-chefs, but simply eating a few spring rolls and wandering through local markets—it’s clearly doing him good.
2. The chef is always the chef
Sucking out an ant? ‘This tastes like cinnamon and apricot,’ Sergio analyzes. Spice market in India? ‘If you use a quarter of a star anise too much, you can already taste it.’ Northern quahogs, a rare mussel from Norway? ‘What a powerful, deep flavor. I’ve never tasted a shellfish like that before.’ Whenever something is being eaten, the culinary talent goes into overdrive.
3. You’ll want a friend like Axel too
It feels as though he’s showing Sergio the world for the very first time. ‘This must be some kind of gastronomic brothel for Sergio,’ Axel proudly says when he sees the chef darting around Khlong Toei market in Bangkok. Is the vintage car in Mexico stuck in the muck? Axel arranges a tow truck. Does the chef want shellfish? Axel dives into the cold Norwegian fjords.
4. The word ‘goesting’ takes on a different meaning
Previously, we only knew that word from those sleazy Jambers programs; thanks to this show, you’ll start associating it with craving delicious food.
5. It’s educational
Or are you going to say you already knew exactly how mezcal is made? ‘Don’t judge, taste first—that’s what I learned from Sergio during this trip,’ says Axel. ‘And then it can happen that I’m sitting there eating sheep testicles for breakfast.’ The glass of mezcal at breakfast was Axel’s idea, though. ‘That’s how easy it is to persuade Sergio Herman,’ says the chef, as he downs his liquid breakfast.
Don’t want to miss any more? Tune in to NPO2 on Thursday evenings, and you can watch missed episodes again on NPO Start.
