Erik van Loo PARKHEUVEL

Quality you see and taste

“What you see is what you get. It’s a cliché, but that’s what our kitchen is all about: you see it with your eyes and taste it with your tastebuds, and it’s all about product quality. Our cooking is modern French, with Australian influences that my son and chef de cuisine, Juliën, picked up when he worked there. It has an eye for the latest gastronomic trends, combining classic and modern.”

No magic tricks

“Our menu changes with the seasons, but there are also signature dishes that come back year after year, so we don’t disappoint our guests. One of our classics is ravioli of poulet de Bresse with baked langoustine, which has been on the menu for twenty-five years. It tastes so good, and that’s all that matters: only the presentation has changed a little here and there. But we don’t do magic tricks on the plate. We give you two-Michelin-star food, not the Penn and Teller show.”

Erik van Loo (b. 1964 ) grew up as the son of a butcher in the South Limburg village of Mechelen. He trained in hospitality at Pastoor Jacobs School in Sittard, and went to work at Henk Savelberg’s Vreugd en Rust restaurant. Van Loo earned his first Michelin star as chef and owner of the Duurstede restaurant in Wijk bij Duurstede. His Delft restaurant De Zwethheul gained its second star in 2005. Since 2006, he has been patron cuisinier of the two-starred Parkheuvel in Rotterdam.