Taste
Nelson Tanate receives highest recognition: three knives at The Best Chef Awards 2025
Alongside securing three Michelin stars for De Librije in Zwolle, chef Nelson Tanate has now earned another accolade.
Besides securing three Michelin stars for De Librije in Zwolle, chef Nelson Tanate has also secured another award. In Milan, the Michelin-starred chef was awarded the maximum prize of three knives at The Best Chef Awards 2025, a personal distinction reserved only for the absolute top of the world's gastronomy.
The Best Chef Awards is an international platform that awards chefs with knives as personal distinctions. These knives symbolize creativity, craftsmanship, and innovation, and represent global recognition within the world of gastronomy. To even be considered for such an award, a chef must consistently deliver top performance—a slight dip is enough to eliminate them from the selection.
The recognition of three knives is exceptional and reserved only for the very best chefs in the world. Tanate is only the second Dutchman to join this culinary elite. Last year, the late Jonnie Boer, Michelin-starred chef and mentor to Tanate, was the first Dutchman to receive the recognition of three knives. This year, the honor went to his apprentice and successor. Boer and Tanate cooked together for many years at the three-Michelin-star restaurant De Librije in Zwolle.
While Michelin stars are awarded to restaurants—with three stars being the highest achievable, a title held only by De Librije in the Netherlands—The Best Chef Award is a personal distinction for the chef. With the maximum score of three knives, Nelson Tanate can undoubtedly be considered among the best chefs in the world.
