Q&A with Hidde de Brabander
24Kitchen pastry chef Hidde de Brabander can currently be seen in the 24 Kitchen series De Brabander Bakt and Favourites By. His signature: soft, chewy nougat. He recently became the third person in the Netherlands to earn the title of Master Pastry Chef. Time for an interview.
Which food trend should we put an immediate end to?
The cupcake was the biggest allergy of all time. Fortunately, it’s no longer a trend. But you still see them far too often. Cupcakes must disappear from the face of the earth.
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Most memorable eating experience?
Not the best gastronomically, but definitely in terms of emotion: it was during the Pastry World Championships in Lyon. I went to Brasserie Georges with a French colleague. A gigantic dining room, with waiters who all looked like brothers of Louis de Funès: frantically rushing around. They simply put the bottles of wine (pots Lyonnais) on the table. And huge platters of choucroute were brought out—enough to frighten you. Every five minutes, the lights went out because another omelette sibérienne was being carried in. And everyone applauded again and again! I went back the next day.
Favorite drink?
Very standard: a beer. I’m not hipster enough for craft beer, so just a pilsner. I’m also crazy about whisky. A combination of the two is even better.
My favorite dessert to make at home uses nothing but supermarket products.
Essential kitchen gadget?
My KitchenAid. It takes so much work off your hands, which is very useful when you have to do many things at once—as a pastry chef does. That’s why it’s a real baker’s little helper.
What would you never eat again?
Nothing. Sometimes I don’t like something, but I like to think that’s down to the preparation and not the product. I want to keep believing that everything is delicious if it’s prepared properly. Even durian.
Which country is your favorite when it comes to food?
It sounds classic, but France nonetheless. Both in terms of pastry and cuisine. Precisely because French cuisine is such a beautiful melting pot of different culinary traditions. Especially the pastry, which has many influences from Italy. The French will probably want to put me under the guillotine now.
What should everyone try at least once?
Chef Jonnie Boer called it a ‘decadence sandwich’ when I prepared it for him. It was the signature dish of Cees Helder, and was served until the very end at his restaurant Parkheuvel in Rotterdam. I was the pastry chef there at the time. It is foie gras wrapped in truffle and baked in brioche dough, sliced open in the kitchen and drenched in a veal truffle jus.
What is the best supermarket product?
My favorite dessert to make at home uses various supermarket products: Mona banana quark, pieces of Bastogne biscuit, crème-filled biscuit sticks and slices of banana. My children go crazy when I make it for them.
What’s still on your culinary wish list?
My ultimate dream is to cook with and for my favorite band, Tool. Singer Maynard has his own vineyards, Caduceus, so the wine will be taken care of too.
Which cookbook should everyone have on their shelf?
The finest pastry book ever is Grand Livre de Cuisine by Alain Ducasse. A monstrously thick book. A bible. Guaranteed to still be good ten years from now. And—in contrast to many pastry books published today—not built on ego. Even though Ducasse himself has quite a substantial ego.
What do you like to make at home when you want to eat quickly and well?
I often cook alone or with the children, and then I make hearty soups. Quick and healthy, because you can put all kinds of vegetables in them. And then we make large croutons to go with them.
Which dish do you have no self-control around?
With our barbecue team De Zwarte Hand (including butcher Gert-Jan Kiers and Julius Jaspers), we grill those thick ribs. I keep eating them until they’re all gone. Not until I’m full, but literally until not a single fiber is left. That’s surely the primal idea behind eating meat on the bone. I always explain it like this: I was a vegetarian until I was twelve, and I’m still catching up…
Text: Marjan Ippel
Photography: Remko Kraaijeveld
