What is the chef's secret?

Roeland doesn't give it away easily. Like a lot of chefs who were his masters, the preparation of a dish is a secret. In a professional restaurant kitchen, the chef's secret was an oath taken from the first moment you entered the kitchen. You didn't break that oath. Your colleagues were the only ones who knew how a new dish was created. It may be old-fashioned, but Roeland still adheres to it. Can also often not directly name how many grams of this or that should be added to create just that one flavour, that finishing touch, of a dish. It's like a painter picking up his brush and starting to paint with what's in his head (or heart). With the basics in his pocket, he too creates precisely something beautiful from within. Also with Roeland. That is where his real strength lies.

Roeland learned the tricks of the trade in renowned kitchens in the province where he was born, Dutch Limburg. He started as an apprentice in the kitchens of Chateau Neercanne in Kanne (B) near Maastricht and Chateau St. Gerlach in Valkenburg aan de Geul. He quickly worked his way up as a chef from the 'cold kitchen' to the 'hot kitchen', one step closer and closer to the cooker where the chef was in charge. There he had to pay close attention. No pardons, clear language, something was not right, then again. Again and again. Discipline and perseverance were necessary in those days, in kitchens where every cook worked under enormous stress to maintain a high culinary level and not disappoint (returning) guests in the restaurant. No plate went through if the chef did not approve it. After the 'shift', you were not done, as the cooker and kitchen had to be spotlessly clean for the next day. Like all the other apprentices, Roeland was put to that job when he started, but once he acquired his place next to the chef, he learned the true finer points of haute cuisine. The chef of St Gerlach was his greatest teacher, who took Roeland into the world of finesse, pure spices and authenticity in cooking. Mention a spice now and Roeland turns it into a sublime sauce and all the ingredients are pure and of high quality, just like then.

An (old) hand in the business with the professionalism still in his fibres, he now spends (overtime) hours in his own kitchen to pamper guests on the Costa Blanca with his, as we call it here, fine dining. Exquisita Gastronomía.



See you at your home, at your holiday home or at one of the most beautiful event locations on the Costa Blanca where Roeland Fine Food and Wine provides high-quality catering.