De Librije, Zwolle, The Netherlands

DE LI BRI J E

Z w o l l e , T h e N e t h e r l a n d s

After having occupied Zwolle’s former monastic library for 25 years, Jonnie and Thérèse Boer announced in September 2014, that they would be relocating their restaurant De Librije to the Librije Hotel, housed in the former city prison (they do know how to give old buildings a new lease of life). The restaurant reopened in January 2015 and is now situated in the hotel’s spacious and bright, covered inner courtyard with a stylish new restaurant design and an open plan kitchen.

Jonnie and Thérèse Boer took over De Librije in the early nineties and under their visionary leadership, both in the kitchen and in front of the house, the restaurant was awarded three Michelin stars in 2004, an accolade the restaurant has held on to since. The couple’s second restaurant, Librije’s Zusje, is located in Amsterdam at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Librije’s Zusje was awarded two Michelin stars in 2014.

The exciting menu at this influential Dutch restaurant is tailored to

suit individual diners’ specific tastes. Guests select four dishes from four sections comprising three seasonal ingredient combinations before further plates are added to create a bespoke five-, six- or seven-course menu for each diner.

Locals Jonnie and Thérèse Boer have helped shape modern Dutch cuisine over a 20-plus-year career, combining fabulous produce plucked and plundered from the surrounding region with cuttingedge techniques and idiosyncratic ideas. They are also ardent campaigners for zero food waste. Gusty yet delicate flavour reigns supreme. Ceviche-like langoustine is marinated in kombucha before being flamed à table, oysters play bedfellow to goat’s cheese and seaweed while the brown crab is paired with chicken liver and veal heart. For a fish course, red mullet is perfectly complemented by brown shrimps and woodruff. Located in an 18th-century former prison, the main dining area is in the courtyard, covered by an impressive glass and steel roof. Elsewhere, expect plenty of modern art, and a number of bedrooms to ensconce yourself in, too. cuisine that husband and wife team - Chef Junghyun and manager Ellia Park, hope to deliver to the world using New York City as their stage. Atomix, a follow-up to their well-loved firstborn Atoboy, is a place where guests can really dive deep into Chef Park’s cuisine through a tasting menu that is inspired by Korean traditions and technique. Dinner here is as close as any meal in recent memory has come to be a poem. Each dish at Manhattan’s Atomix pleases the senses and comes with a menu card articulating its inspiration and how it’s rooted in Korean culinary history.