Star chef Tim Golsteijn: 'He really is the Johan Cruijff of star chefs'.

On Dam Square in the heart of Amsterdam is luxury boutique hotel TwentySeven containing the Michelin-starred restaurant Bougainville. Tim Golsteijn*, chef of the first hour and born and raised in Amsterdam, together with kitchen manager Dorus Floris and restaurant manager - wine director Lendl Mijnhijmer forms "the triptych" of Bougainville. Golsteijn is responsible for all food and beverage in the hotel and also provides high-level breakfast, lunch and room service for hotel guests. Royals and celebrities often stay at the six-star resort and so does Tim. The chef largely put himself on the "menu," but who gave him the appetizer? Who was his wheelbarrow?Text: Mical Joseph
Image: Bougainville Restaurant

What was your very first job?

"I was making money at a young age. Around the age of ten I was camping just outside Amsterdam in the Gooi region with a slightly older friend. He had a cargo bike that we used to pick up garbage bags for 50 cents, in guilders, per bag. Through that same friend I ended up at a restaurant in Weesp as a dishwasher. That part-time job made me want to become a chef. The ins and outs of the kitchen appealed to me so much."

What appealed to you?

"Cuisines in restaurants always have a certain vibe, and as a young kid I wanted to be among the men of the kitchen. I can best describe this vibe by quoting Anthony Bourdain: 'We're kind of a subculture. Actually, we're all a little 'crazy'". Cooks naturally work twelve to sixteen hours in a day and see each other more than their own family and friends. We are always striving for the highest."

How did you end up in your current job?

"As a teenager, I decided to do chef training at the Hubertus & Berkhoff in Amsterdam. After a few years, in 2008, I was asked by my mentor from the training to come and work at La Rive at the Amstel Hotel. This was of course a golden opportunity for me, because this became the first Michelin-starred restaurant where I came to work. At that time there were about thirty to forty chefs in one kitchen with the real classic division. You don't see that nowadays in the Netherlands, the teams have become much smaller. I was the restaurant's pastry chef. After La Rive, I cooked in Vinkeles' kitchen at Hotel The Dylan, restaurant Chef's Table, The College Hotel and Rosarium. As sous chef, I always danced between the patisserie and the kitchen and at one point became chef at Rosarium.

At a lunch provided by my old sous chef at Lute Maarten Hoogeveen, I met star chef Pascal Jalhay. To me, Pascal had always been the "Johan Cruijff of star chefs. As it turned out; he secretly ate at the Rosarium several times to observe me, Pascal was in fact forming the team for Restaurant Bougainville... And that's how I ended up at Bougainville as a chef."

Restaurant Bougainville has been open for three years now with one Michelin star. You dragged in this star the first year. Tell us about it!

"Of course, I had had a wonderful apprenticeship ten years before that, but who was I? I had never been a star chef and didn't have my own restaurant. Our team consisted of driven, young chefs and wine director Lendl, but no one knew us in the Netherlands. And then suddenly at the end of 2018 one Michelin star. That was unreal."

Who was your wheelbarrow?

"Throughout my career, my mentors have been all the chefs I worked for. In fact, each chef taught me something different from the profession. At the Rosarium, I taught myself certain facets outside of cooking, such as organization, leadership and developing my own vision."

What is your signature dish?

"From the time Restaurant Bougainville has been open we have had pork belly as our signature dish. This dish is no longer on the menu, but is always in the house. We cook the pork belly with vadouvan spices to which we all add textures of pumpkin, mustard seeds and green apple. The vinaigrette consists of pumpkin seeds and pomegranate. The Thai red curry with a raw papaya salad and the Indian Butterchicken as a side dish are also signature. As you read, I am really into international cuisine. We don't have French classic cuisine or Dutch Cuisine, like you have at many Michelin restaurants. You have the fusion cuisine, we have the 'confusion' cuisine: no boundaries and crazy, exciting combinations."

What are Restaurant Bougainville's further ambitions?

"As a team, we want to go ahead with the restaurant. The reservations are going extremely well and are full every day. Now that we have one Michelin star, we secretly want to go for a second star. For us it is a goal, but not the drive."

So what is your greatest drive in your profession?

"I get up every day for the guests and to make the most delicious and beautiful creations. When I walk around the restaurant at the end of the evening and the guests comment that they had a wonderful evening, that's what I do it for."

What has been the biggest turning point in your career?

"So far, receiving the Michelin star has been a big moment in my career. After all, it was so unexpected, but obviously SO welcome. It's a cherry on top and gave me the title of 'star chef.' A confirmation that I am actually pretty good at what I do and that we have already achieved a lot as a team."

What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?

"I would give young Tim the advice that there is more to life than work. Over the last 15 years, I've been tremendously absorbed in my work, which has ended certain relationships. My inner circle is quite small and the focus is just very much based on the kitchen. Social life and other hobbies I might have picked up more consciously."

Have you been a wheelbarrow for anyone?

"My right-hand man Dorus Floris and I are training a guy I worked with at The College Hotel. He has been working with us for two years now and has become a good protégé. In him I see a potential sous chef, after which he probably wants to start his own business. I hope to be a good wheelbarrow for him."

Restaurant M* - MASTERS EXPO

Tim Golsteijn swings the culinary scepter at MASTERS EXPO's star restaurant M* on Saturday, Nov. 20, along with Michelin chefs Dennis Kuipers*, Chris Naylor* and Onno Kokmeijer & Arjan Speelman**. There is still limited availability. Will you join us for dinner? Click soon for options and to make reservations.