Onno Kokmeijer GM Chef of the Year 2018
After Michelin, the Gault&Millau guide is one of the most important distinctions for chefs and restaurants. This year, the guide has been completely revamped.
The GM guide, the sixteenth Dutch edition, has been completely revamped this year and produced by a new team. Winners are honored in no fewer than fifteen categories. The originally French guide was created in 1969 as a reaction to that other French guide: Michelin.
The large number of categories is also the charm of this guide. It gives a good picture of what is happening in the Dutch restaurant world. Not only the 020 region, but also the rest of the country is generally well represented. The top ten is always reserved for the usual suspects of the well-known two- and three-star restaurants that we also know from Michelin. But in between, there are often lesser-known establishments that spark curiosity.
Bistronomer of the Year
This year, there were several new categories, such as Asian Restaurant of the Year (Mei Wah, Eindhoven) and Bistronomer of the Year (Dennis de Haan, Restaurant de Haan, Groningen). This year, a GM award was also presented for the first time for Cocktail Bar of the Year (Tales & Spirits, Amsterdam). Also new: Craftsman of the Year, an award that very deservedly went to the Gebroeders Hartering. Newcomer of the Year was restaurant 212 (number 16 in the FavorFlav Top 100 this year) by Richard van Oostenbrugge and Thomas Groot. Discovery of the Year, according to Gault&Millau, was restaurant Rijnzicht, Doornenburg. Also amusing: the award for ‘Value for Money’, for the restaurant with a ‘friendly price’, which this year went to restaurant Huisje James in Ugchelen
Top 3
In addition to the awards, the guide awards each of the 700 listed restaurants (including 200 restaurants that had not previously appeared in the guide) a score from 0 to 20 points. In the new format, only restaurants with twelve points or more are included (previously, the threshold was eleven points). The top 3 consists of De Librije (19.5 points), Inter Scaldes (19.5) and De Leest (19 points).
Other FavorFlav favorites from the list: Rijks (16.5), Rijsel (14), Kaagman & Kortekaas (15), Maris Piper (15), C Amsterdam (on the list of the best cocktail bars in the Netherlands), Bolenius (16), Taiko (17) and Café Caron (14).
The 2018 Awards
1. Chef of the Year: Onno Kokmeijer (Ciel Blue, Amsterdam)
2. Young Top Chef of the Year: Jim de Jong (Restaurant De Jong, Rotterdam)
3. Discovery of the Year: Mike Cornelissen (Rijnzicht, Doornenburg)
4. Vegetable Chef of the Year: Chris Naylor (Restaurant Vermeer, Amsterdam)
5. Bistronomer of the Year: Dennis de Haan (Restaurant de Haan, Groningen
6. Craftsman of the Year: Paul Hartering (Restaurant Gebr. Hartering, Amsterdam)
7. Asian Restaurant of the Year: Mei Wah, Eindhoven (Taks Yuen)
8. Value for Money of the Year: Huisje James, Ugchelen (Heine Ruitenbeek & Inge Scholten)
9. Pastry Chef of the Year: Yurii Ivanov (Restaurant Wiesen, Eindhoven)
10. Newcomer of the Year: 212, Amsterdam (Richard van Oostenbrugge & Thomas Groot)
11. Hostess of the Year: Marleen Brouwer (De Loohoeve, Schoonloo)
12. Sommelier of the Year: Koen van der Plas (Interscaldes, Kruiningen)
13. Wine List of the Year: Bottles, Sas van Gent (Jens and Bart Hoogstad)
14. Terrace of the Year: Kasteel Engelenburg, Brummen (Johan & Carin Agricola)
15. Cocktail Bar of the Year: Tales & Spirits, Amsterdam (Boudewijn Mesritz & Lydia Soedadi)
