Guest chef Sergio Herman at Restaurant Ikarus

September 2010 at Restaurant Ikarus: Sergio Herman

Three stars over Oud Sluis

"Oud Sluis," Sluis, Netherlands

When fast food becomes slow food, top chef Sergio Herman's barbecue staple will surely be up there with the best. His oyster burger is not fast food, but one of the carefully put-together creations which have helped him cook his way in the rarefied circle of three star chefs. His kitchen is one big culinary experiment, with an unmistakeable signature: spontaneity, speed, passion, honesty and high expectations of himself and his employees. Long before the Dutchman received his clutch of three stars, he had a question to answer – what does a young man without any specific career plans do? The answer – follow in the footsteps of his father, who owned a restaurant. He attended catering college in Bruges, Belgium in order to do so in a fitting manner.

After a year's practical experience with Cas Spykers at De Swaen, in Oisterwijk near Eindhoven the budding top chef returned to his homeland, to his father's kitchen at the Oud Sluis restaurant. Unlike other young chefs, he didn't bother with celebrity teachers and taught himself haute cuisine in short order. Sergio embarked on his self-taught cookery course in 1990 – and it's far from over, absolutely in keeping with his philosophy that one never stops developing one's cooking skills. Sergio's creations are culinary expeditions; they start regionally, adhere to the season and end impressively at Oud Sluis.

One of his first recipes was to use a dash of haute cuisine to transform his father's business from modest eaterie into a gourmet temple, for which the award-winning chef needed invaluable and at once exquisite equipment – talent, molecular expertise and great commitment. He combines these three components to create a culinary adventure such as his line-caught bass with stuffed razor clams, couscous pearls with fresh sprouts and shoots, fish, garlic and lemon broth and an emulsion of Moroccan vegetables or slow-cooked hamachi, Zealand lobster, fresh cucumber, fennel and celery salad, dashi vinaigrette. The first Michelin star in 1995 and the second and third in 1999 and 2005 respectively are proof that it's difficult to keep an adventure like this secret. The exceptional chef has been awarded first place three times by Dutch restaurant guide Lekker and Gault Millau made him chef of the year in 2007 and 2008.

On 26 October the culinary world stood still for a few seconds as no lesser a person than top chef Herman was awarded Gault Millau’s highest number of points. He is the first chef outside France to be awarded this honour. 20 points to Sergio Herman! Only Frenchman Marc Veyrat had previously received this coveted number of points. If you're on the lookout for a record of Sergio's gourmet adventures, you'll find the right literary fare in Smaken uit Sluis (Flavours from Sluis) and in Sergio. The latter is far more than a cookery book; the contents consist of three volumes and include a portrait of Sergio, an illustrated book, a seductive photo album with recipes, and a manual with a collection of exclusive recipes. The Dutchman is one of the few chefs to hold three stars. He only has one, very special teacher to thank for it – himself.

His compositions are created for gourmets searching for a never-ending adventure. This culinary frisson can be found at Bestenmarkt 2 in the sleepy little town of Sluis. Eet smakelijk!