Chef’s favorites with Soenil Bahadoer: ‘The strangest thing I’ve ever eaten? Guinea pig!’
At Restaurant de Lindehof** he combines classic, refined French cuisine with the spicy, powerful Surinamese-Hindustani cuisine. Soenil hates messing around with beautiful products—or rather, he would much rather save them. As an ambassador for NorthSeaChefs he is committed to putting bycatch such as squid (literally) on the menu.
Always in the fridge
“Champagne, low-fat quark and red fruit.”
Favorite drink
“Champagne.”
Favorite ingredient
“Vadouvan spices.”
Indispensable when cooking
“Enjoyment.”
Favorite place to eat
“At my mother’s home.”
Most beautiful product
“When it’s in season: scallops.”
Favorite hangover meal
“Fried egg with bacon.”
Guilty pleasure
“Ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough.”
I hate
“When beautiful, pure products are turned into terrible dishes.”
Favorite fish dish
“I recently rediscovered pulpo. I’m a big fan!”
Favorite (budget) kitchen tool
“Mortar and pestle.”
Favorite cooking music
“The Hotel Costes playlist on Spotify.”
Always buy ready-made
“A Bun sandwich at the toko.”
Best supermarket product
“In most supermarkets, the wine selection is better than it’s ever been. I’m quite enthusiastic about that.”
If I could eat from only one cuisine for the rest of my life
“Then it would be Asian cuisine.”
Strangest dish I’ve ever eaten
“Guinea pig in Peru. I wouldn’t put it on the menu myself anytime soon…”
Favorite restaurant
“Tim Raue in Berlin. Order his signature langoustine!”
Favorite bar
“Dr. Stravinsky in Barcelona, and just tell them to make something nice. Always good there!”
Never again
‘Tripe; there are few things I won’t eat, but this is never happening again.”
When I don’t feel like cooking
“I go out to eat.”
Favorite food watch
“The Hundred-Foot Journey on Netflix.”
The best cooking tip I’ve ever received
“My former mentor Cees Helder always said that you should cook every day as if you were taking part in a competition.”
On Sunday morning I eat
“A boiled egg, low-fat quark with fruit and a smoothie.”
Last meal
“Roti and oven-baked chicken at my mother’s.”
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