“A good kitchen is a calm kitchen”

It's Tuesday morning, his day off, and yet Jonas Verhaert is in his kitchen on the Sint-Pietersvliet. He's filleting a turbot for a photo shoot while talking nineteen to the dozen. Five years after opening, Atelier Zout has become a fixture in Antwerp.

From brigade to team

“I was trained in kitchens where people shouted,” he says. “I thought that came with the job. Until I noticed my best people leaving. Now we work four days, with a fixed crew, and nobody shouts any more. The quality has only gone up.”

Fish nobody knows

Verhaert buys directly from three Zeebrugge fishermen and takes what they catch, not what's on his list. “Gurnard, dab, whiting: beautiful fish, but guests don't know them. It's our job to let them taste it.”

What's his advice for young chefs? He thinks for a moment. “Look after your people first. A rested, happy cook cooks better than any combi oven.”✦