Sergio Herman quits The Jane (but there are mussels)
Star chef Sergio Herman is leaving his restaurant The Jane in Antwerp; his business partner Nick Bril is taking over. Sergio is going to focus on cookbooks, his new girlfriend and… mussels?
The Zeeland chef started the restaurant in Antwerp seven years ago, together with his business partner Nick Bril. The restaurant, housed in a beautifully renovated church, has two Michelin stars. Over the past four years, the famous chef was less often found in The Jane’s kitchen, as he was busy with other projects. For example, he appeared on television in the programme Sergio & Axel and had a busy time privately: he ended his marriage to Ellemieke Vermolen and met a new love shortly afterwards. He also recently published a (beautiful!) cookbook, New Italian, with recipes inspired by traditional Italian cuisine.
Enjoying pioneering
Nick is excited that the restaurant is now entirely his. He loved pioneering during the restaurant’s early phase, he tells the Belgian newspaper De Morgen. ‘That was a wonderful journey. As a result, I’m even more motivated to help The Jane Antwerp grow further.’ Nick is hardly sitting around twiddling his thumbs, because besides his work in The Jane’s kitchen, he is captain of a Belgian team competing in the prestigious Bocuse d’Or cooking competition.
Tonic, tableware
According to well-informed sources, Sergio was bought out by Nick, but no amounts have been disclosed. A few years ago, Sergio also left his restaurant Oud Sluis, when it was at its peak. What will the chef do now? He is busy with his new restaurant Le Pristine, also in Antwerp, and wants to focus on further expanding the Sergio Herman Group, in which he has brought together activities such as developing tableware, chairs, breakfast quinoa and a tonic flavour.
Of course, Sergio will still have some cooking to do, as he still has four restaurants and his Frites Atelier. The chef also announced that, starting 1 July, he will run a pop-up mussel restaurant at his restaurant Pure C, together with Syrco Bakker, who is the chef there.
Read also:
- Snacking with Sergio Herman
- Sergio Herman is looking for staff for new restaurant Le Pristine
- Sergio Herman has new culinary plans, and it sounds very exciting
Source: AD, De Morgen, Quote, Culinaire Ambiance and Omroep Zeeland
