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Star chef Margo Reuten cooks at Restaurant M. at MASTERS EXPO

Since 1993, Margo Reuten (Maasbracht, 1965) and her partner Petro Kools (Valkenburg, 1965) have run their own restaurant Da Vinci. The most beautiful highs have alternated with unfathomable lows. What has always remained constant: their love for each other and the profession. "We don't go for a hundred, but for a thousand percent." Star chef Margo Reuten will also serve her best dishes at Restaurant M. at MASTERS EXPO. You don't want to miss that, of course!

Text: Bart-Jan Brewer
Image: Esther Quelle

In the beautiful building on the harbor of Maasbracht, we are warmly welcomed by Petro Kools. The coat is accepted and while the coffee drips darkly, the master host leads us around the restaurant. Eyecatcher of note is a black 1967 Fiat 500 standing pontifically in the entrance. "For the production of our book, we were with a whole club in Pietralunga in the province of Perugia in 2003. Over a glass of wine I jokingly said I wanted a Fiat 500. Three months later there was one with Italian plates at the door. And since 2012 ábehind the door." This spot used to be home to a grand café with the Maritime Museum on the upper floor. The building was designed by architect Maarten Engelman, who was inspired by shipping. This is reflected in the colors, materials and design. Like stepping into a cabin! Only here you don't have to worry about hitting your head. It is high and spacious and at the same time warm and atmospheric. Partly because of the art, including sculptures by Maastricht glass artist Peter Bremers. We enjoy our coffee "on deck," looking out over the largest inland harbor in the Netherlands. After Petro's engaging welcome, his partner Margo takes the helm from him. She sets sail for her childhood, which took place on a farm three hundred meters from the restaurant. "Rounding the corner on the left here, a little further on the right, there is my childhood home. It was freedom, joy in my childhood. I'm the oldest of four, I have two more sisters and a brother. We had every vegetable you can think of, there were apples, pears and plums in the orchard, there were sheep, cows, calves and chickens... Even as children, we helped as much as we could on the farm: we took care of the chickens, picked fruit, helped cook, shelled peas for pickling... Those were the tastiest and thickest peas you can imagine. As a result, I became very critical and always set the bar high. In the evening, all sorts of things were put on the table, from our own garden and from our own livestock. Sometimes a calf was rejected by its mother and we raised it in the kitchen. We had a separate room for that, where we gave the animal milk and raised it. You gave it a name, came to love such a calf. But at some point it was sold. At an early age we learned from my father that cattle were the sprinkles on our bread. That's the way of life." Her father grew up in the meat business. During the interview, he walks in, just to say hello, as he does every day.

Photo: Esther Quelle

Pies and asparagus

Of course, Margo was also raised on flan and asparagus. "My mother often sat down to the flan early in the morning. And as for asparagus: you can get them anywhere, but in Limburg we have the very best, because of the clay soil. The only thing I used to prefer not to eat was liver and kidneys. I'm still not crazy about them. And we didn't serve fish at home; my father didn't like that. Because I started doing this profession, I had to learn to eat things like lobster and oysters." It didn't used to be a foregone conclusion that she would later become a chef. "I wanted to be everything, liked everything. Dad did a lot of business with a butcher and one day he needed hands. 'Margo will come and help on Saturdays.' That's how I ended up working for that butcher when I was fifteen. I loved working there so much! Because I was in a different place where different rules applied and, studious as I was, I could learn different things than on the farm. So I breaded schnitzels and helped

I helped prepare cold buffets. Once I got to go with the lady to one of those parties where those buffets were served. We were showered with compliments. It gave a kick to see people enjoying the snacks we had worked on all day. Then it dawned on me: I want to be a chef. Also because it was a lot warmer in the kitchen than at the butcher's, haha. Mom and dad left us free in our choice. So everyone went in a different direction: my one sister became a hairdresser, the other is in fashion and my brother does process engineering."

Highest level

In order to become a chef, Margo took a hospitality course in Roermond. Part of this was an internship to experience what it was like in practice. She was able to work at the highly regarded Hotel Prinses Juliana in Valkenburg. "Already on the first day my feelings were confirmed: this is what I want to do later on. It was a fine apprenticeship, although the pressure was high. I was seven-ten, knew nothing and was the first and only girl in the kitchen among fourteen cooks. I benefited enormously from Toine Hermsen; he taught me the basics and the trade. When I got my diploma, I was the first to let him know: 'Chef, I passed!' To which he replied, 'Margo, can you start Aug. 1?' Yes, of course I could!" Three and a half years she stayed there. During the vacations she was expected to work at home on the farm, but lie- ver Margo gained new experiences elsewhere. She asked Toine Hermsen if he could arrange internships for her. This is how she ended up at the two-star restaurants Kaatje bij de Sluis in Blokzijl and De Swaen in Oisterwijk, owned by Cas Spijkers. "In Blokzijl I had a fantastic time and De Swaen was totally the sky! I thought Juliana was already the highest level, but here everything was even a level higher. There were twenty-one of us in the kitchen alone!" In turn, Spijkers was also impressed by Margo: in 1987 she was appointed as the new sous chef of De Swaen. At the time, Jonnie Boer had an internship there; Sergio Herman still worked there. "Three young dogs together, all equally crazy. From Cas I learned, among other things, how to deal with things as a human being. When I had to give an interview because I had won a cooking competition, he called me into his office and said, 'There will be more interviews, so think carefully about what you want to say.' During my internships and early work experiences, I learned a lot and filled folders. From some you learn this, from others you learn that - and that together shaped me into who I am today." In 1990, Margo became Holland's first female Master Chef. "When I first heard of the existence of the title, I thought it would be absolutely crazy if I were ever to be among the first five female Master Chefs

would hear. I did everything I could for that: in between working I was just learning. That I became the very first female Master Chef is, of course, unprecedented. At twenty-four, I was already at the top of the pyramid. What was happening: interviews, on television, this and that... Not normal! But it wasn't my ultimate degree, I wanted even more." In the same year, she made the move to the new restaurant Toine Hermsen Cuisinier in Maastricht. Meanwhile, she was already with Petro. "I had met him on the first day at Juliana. Together we made a lot of breakfasts for guests."

Bunch of flowers

Petro's grandfather used to have a small hotel-guesthouse in Berg en Terblijt, near Valkenburg. "A lot of Dutch people came there," Petro recalls. "Grandpa would receive them, grandma would cook for them, and the day after, grandpa would put them on the bus to Trier or Monschau or go hiking with them on the heath, then have a drink with them in the evening. I think I took something from his hospitality. From the age of twelve I worked in tourism, doing some jobs on terraces and in hotels and took courses in Bread & Pastry and Cooking & Serving. Like my grandfather, I wanted to start my own business someday. Whenever we went to visit my grandparents, we would drive past Juliana: an iconic company, it had something. I fought to get in there.

From the old Stevens (Funs Stevens; ed.) I learned the craft of hosting." He remembers well the day he started there, in June 1984. "I walked down a long hallway, past the old kitchen, to register. There I met Margo, who was training there like me. We were always together early in the morning with breakfast or late at night. I thought Margo was a very neat girl. We sometimes went for a beer in Valkenburg, in café 't Hoekje. I had a crush on her, but she didn't have a crush on me. At one point she said: 'I'm going my way, you go yours. If we're meant for each other, we'll meet again.' I first went to De Bokkedoorns for a year, then I worked at the WTC in Rotterdam. At one point Margo called me because she had received an invitation to a party in Eindhoven from someone who had worked in Juliana. Whether I was also invited. 'Shall we go together?' I picked up Margo at home, with a big bunch of flowers. The whole evening we danced together, that's where the spark happened. From the end of 1988 we had a relationship. When Margo was asked by Toine Hermsen to start Maastricht, she asked if I wanted to become maître there. From then on we started living together."

Photo: Esther Quelle

Golden tray

After working for two years as sous chef at Toine Hermsen Cuisinier and then another year at Der Bloasbalg in Wahlwiller, Margo got the chance to start for herself in 1993. "The architects of this building asked if we wanted to come for an interview. They were located in the upper part; the lower part housed grand café Da Vinci. We knew each other from before and they had been watching me. Whether we wanted to take over the operation of the grand café. Petro and I looked at each other: this was a golden tray. We grabbed it with both hands. The ten years I was away from Maasbracht, I was always homesick. At first we wanted to change the name. I abandoned that idea when I was talking to an old skipper here on the quay. He said, "Margo, if you change a boat's name, it brings bad luck. So it stayed Da Vinci. On September 16, 1993, we opened. Petro and I had tightly divided the tasks: me the kitchen, him the service, me this, him that. We knew exactly what we wanted. First make money to pay the rent and meet the obligations." Petro: "We had decided to take three to five years. If we didn't make our own living by then, we would go back to being salaried. That didn't happen." Margo: "By cooking good food and being good to guests, we tried to attract people. That's what my parents always say when they come to eat here: 'Be good to everyone, huh!' Look, as soon as we opened the doors at Toine Hermsen's in Maastricht, it immediately filled up - madness what happened there! But then you start in Maasbracht ... That was a bit of a kick-off." And yet things started to take off pretty quickly: in 1996 Margo was named Lady Chef of the Year and Da Vinci was asked for membership in the Alliance Gastronomique Néerlandaise (membership is a seal of quality, a guarantee of a dining experience of the highest quality; ed.). Da Vinci is not only her dream, her business, Petro and she also live above the restaurant these days. "Things are always happening and then you have to pay attention. Over a cup of coffee, things are sometimes said. When my father used to deal in cattle, he didn't like to go out alone. Often I went with him. He was always on the lookout for beautiful cows, calves, big animals. Then I would sometimes shout: 'Wow, that one is beautiful!' He taught me to keep my mouth shut and to listen carefully. Those are lessons I still benefit from today."

Small tear

She used to learn the tricks of the trade from Toine Hermsen and Cas Spijkers, and she still hasn't finished learning. "My cooking style keeps evolving, I'm never done. There are still dishes on the menu today from twenty years ago, but they are different, more beautiful. Like Tartare Pietjes veld. Pietjesveld is just outside Maasbracht, where my parents always had their beef cattle farm. When I started here, I had Dad's meat on the menu: carpaccio, tartare, steak... There was no better meat. For Tartare Pietjesveld, I use the best cuts of beef - entrecote one time, tenderloin the next. Another signature dish is Sea Bass Eel: gently cooked sea bass with a cream of yogurt, a julienne of leeks and shallot soy sauce. And so we have many classics from the past 28 years." Margo's dishes are accompanied by the finest wines, selected by Petro. This knowledge did not come to him by chance. "My older brother sometimes came home with a bottle of wine. And wine was always served at holidays as well, usually from the Mosel.

The supermarket shelves were my reference, until I entered Juliana as a seventeen-year-old. There were 80,000 bottles there! When Funs Stevens went into the cellar to pick out a bottle, I really wanted to be there. I gained my knowledge by listening, reading, learning, traveling and tasting. In the end, I became a real wine freak. In Da Vinci, we have 12,000 bottles of wine. We have an assortment ranging from very good entry-level to wines that have been here for a while and have become even more beautiful. Of course I also have extreme wines, but that's not my market, that's my hobby. Wine never stops." Through Relais & Châteaux, of which Da Vinci is a member, Margo and Petro have been to great places for inspiration. "It's a piece of our own fun, but membership serves mainly to get our product across the border," Petro said. "With our VOC genes, we do know where all the top chefs in the world are, but not the other way around. We still have to explain that we have a very strong culinary field in the Netherlands." They we have seen a lot of the world, met many inter- national chefs. Margo: "A year ago, visiting my sister in Switzerland, we had dinner at three-star restaurant Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl, which was fantastic! Everything was perfect. Then a fighting spirit bubbled up in me: come eat with me, and I'll show you something too! I will never copy anyone. I do what I want, that's why I started for myself. Sometimes I walk past a table here and I see someone shed a small tear of happiness, the ultimate moment when everything is right, that whole chain of details - that you feel welcome, the wine list is fantastic, the whole puzzle is complete. Super when you can trigger that in someone, isn't it? I have the pleasure of making that puzzle together with my husband. We don't go for a hundred, we go for a thousand percent."

Photo: Esther Quelle

Honorary Citizen

In 1999, Da Vinci received its first star. "I was ready for that," Margo said. "I was expecting him a year earlier. Then I was tipped off that we would get it, that rumor was doing the rounds. Yet we were not in the 1998 Michelin Guide. Okay, then so be it. But I was a little disappointed. I tried harder and in 1999 we did get it. I was all over it, like a pimple ripe to be squeezed out. Paf!" Petro: "It's like winning a gold medal. Only don't forget that as long as we've been in the business, we've been working at star level every day. This star was a confirmation of what we had been doing all along." Margo: "Suddenly Maasbracht was on the culinary map. The village was known for Mark van Bommel who comes from here and for yacht builder Linssen Yachts. And now a Michelin restaurant was added. I have received so much appreciation from the village! Even before Mark van Bommel, I became the first honorary citizen of Maasgouw. And that for an ordinary Maasbrachts girl. Because of that star, we were full almost immediately with lunch and dinner." It was hard work. And not just in the kitchen and service: in 2003 they published their own cookbook, Proeven van Bekwaamheid, and in 2005 they did a complete new building. Margo: "We wanted more luxury, more space, more height. So there was an aperitif room that could seat forty people, a walkway and a larger kitchen with natural light." The second star followed in 2009. "That's a level higher, huh. With the first we put Maasbracht on the map, with the second the Netherlands. We are very well located here Euregionally: half an hour from Aachen and Düsseldorf and ten minutes from Belgium. Two-star restaurant De Slagmolen in Opglabbeek is only twenty minutes away. That's super, isn't it? If you're in Limburg you have to think bigger and not let yourself be limited by national borders."

Our Lady

Life was not all hosanna. In 2014, Margo was diagnosed with breast cancer. "I felt very tired. I thought: I must have worked too hard, take it easy for a while. But the fatigue remained. Then I went to the doctor. At the time I got the results, I was sitting here on Friday with lunch, full house. My God! It was not good. I knew that myself. Then I went back to cooking, which is the best I can do then. The following week I had a photo shoot in Paris for Relais & Châteaux, with great French chefs. On the way there, on the express train, I got another call from the doctor: it was really not good. In the afternoon I smiled for the camera and then quickly returned. It was a tough journey, I had to undergo the whole series of treatments." Petro: "The world falls away then, there is only one thing: survival." Margo: "I wanted to fight, especially for myself. In that respect, I am tough as nails. For me, in everything I went through, the kitchen was very important every time. Because it went on. I had to brush my teeth and dress myself to go see the boys for a while. Sometimes I was only in for a minute, that's all I could do; other times I lasted a little longer. What else do you want to hear? Whether I am religious... Yes. We have a very beautiful church in Maasbracht with a little chapel next to it. If you have had to go through the deepest and are lucky enough to be allowed to come out of it, you can give thanks afterwards. I have lit candles at Our Lady often enough. I have come out of it strong. I don't enjoy life even more, I did then. But I do it differently. And if something doesn't suit me, I don't do it."

Photo: Esther Quelle

Woman of the year

Another big blow: in 2017, maître John Lammers, who was employed by Margo and Petro for 23 years, died in a car accident. "On a Friday evening, he was driving home. On the way, he apparently had to swerve from something. When we got that phone call, that was very cruel. John was with us from day one, he was our right hand man. I still regularly light a candle for him, too. And not just for him, because he leaves behind a wife and four children." After that deep sadness, a glimpse of joy still follows: in the same year, Margo is awarded the title Woman of the Year by Relais & Chateaux. "Of all the great female chefs worldwide, I was called forward during the congress in Tokyo. We weren't supposed to go, but we got the call. I knew I was nominated, but not for what. The congress was opened early in the morning by a member of the Imperial House. There were six hundred people in the hall. And yes, then I was called to the stage. Woman of the Year.... Pfff, that's so big. That night at the big gala party I danced a lot. I can't speak Italian, but then suddenly I did, haha. I was carried on my hands by all the great chefs, that was something. Pierre Gagnaire came to congratulate me, you name it. I said to Petro, 'Pay attention, because I do want to go back to the hotel with you, huh.'"

Leeuwin

After such an accolade you think: what can happen to me? All the greater was the blow that Michelin took back a star the following year. "We really didn't see that coming," Petro believes. "That was a huge blow. Had that happened in 2015, during the period when Margo could not always be in the kitchen due to her illness, I could have understood. But the years 2016 and 2017 were fantastic. With ten to twelve thousand guests a year. In a village! The guests are always happy. Per year we get at most a few comments, for example that the steak was red instead of medium." The media reported that superintendent Werner Loens saw no evolution: he missed new dishes, new techniques. Margo: "There was a lot of shouting in the media at one point, but that's really not the case. We are

We went to Michelin in Brussels and they didn't tell us. They can't just say that: it's our life, we do everything for this. I don't think any chef would have reacted as nicely as we did." Petro: "We gave it a place, but we were furious about it. And financially it's a hefty drain. To give you an indication: it cost us 250,000 to 300,000 euros a year in revenue." Margo: "You know, you get crowns from Michelin, but one can be taken away. We experienced that. We will have been unlucky that it wasn't the thing of the Michelin inspector who passed through here or that maybe something went wrong anyway. Either way, it will not have been to our liking. I am now even more combative, the lioness comes out in me: get going! Here I am. Every day again I do my thing, I give my best, I go for the highest. Even in corona time, when the place settings are served in cardboard boxes. And should the second star fall again, I won't give it back again."

Photo: Esther Quelle