What better place to learn new cooking techniques and recipes than a 3 Michelin stars restaurant? Hi Librije! I was so excited when my firm decided to do a cooking workshop at Librije Atelier for team building day. And even better, they choose the Vegetarian workshop! 🙂 So, is the workshop also worth 3 Michelin stars?
At a glanceÂ
- Location: ZwolleÂ
- Price: 120 euro per person for 3 course meal vegetarian workshop
- Rating: 9/10
Librije Atelier
The Librije Atelier is the cooking workshop hub of the Librije Restaurant. Founded in 1980, Librije Restaurant has been cooking at a high level for many years.
Under the leadership of power couple Jonnie Boer (chef) and his wife Thérèse Boer (hostess and somelier), Librije obtained its first Michelin star in 2004. Now, Librije has 3 Michelin stars. There are only 2 restaurants in the Netherlands that are awarded with 3 Michelin stars.
The Librije is a bit further than the Randstad, hello Zwolle! But is definitely a unique location (a previous women’s prison). It also has a hotel (if you’ve had too much wine during dinner ;)) and a delicatesse store.
The Vegetarian workshop
We were greeted by 2 friendly chefs (our guides for the workshop) that led us to the kitchen of the Librije Atelier. Instantly I felt like chef, just by walking through that big professional kitchen. So cool. Channeling that inner chef energy.
The chefs walked us through the dishes we would make and explained some cooking techniques. They gave us clear instructions with a touch of humor, not a formal vibe at all.
After that, we were divided in 3 groups. Every group was responsible for 1 course. Let’s get cooking!
Course 1 – Avocado, corn and piment
I was responsible for the first course with 2 colleagues. Luckily there were printed instructions on our cooking station to execute this dish to perfection. The title of the dish made me curious as I would never have thought to combine avocado, corn and piment in my own home kitchen.
We divided the tasks; I was chef Avocado and Piment Mayo! The cooking technique for the avocado was new to me, I mean pan frying an avocado, whut? Until then I only have enjoyed avocado in its ‘raw’ state, but ok, now I’m convinced that avocado can def also be pan fried! It took the utmost precision to divide the avocado flesh from its ‘coat’ without cutting into the flesh, the spoon was my best friend. Then, I heated up some oil and pan fried the avocado shortly on both sides with Yuzu (Japanese citrus soy sauce).
The piment mayo was easy to make. It always fascinates me when you combine the ingredients for mayo and seeing the kitchen mixer gradually transforms it into this lovely sauce.
My colleagues were in charge of charring the sweet corn and making the turnip puree. When all the ingredients for the dish were ready, I started to plate:
Course 2 – Fennel risotto with chervil and kataifi
Group 2 made this flavorful fennel risotto with chervil and kataifi topped with an egg yolk. This dish was really unique, it with different textures (crunchiness of the fried kaitafi) and the flavors were so full. I have learned that kataifi is a super thin string dough and is mostly used in the Greek dessert kitchen. It reminded me of rice vermicelli.
Course 3 – Parsnip cake with tonka bean ice cream and green apple
Group 3 made this parsnip cake with tonka bean ice cream and green apple. This was also delicious and unique. The ‘hat’ of the dish definitely added to the show element.
After all the hard work we sat together and enjoyed all 3 courses together. Each course came with a glass of wine that ties the symphony of flavours of that particular dish. It felt really rewarding to have created something new and to sit down and enjoy it with a glass of wine and good conversation.
Goodies!
After the meal, we had a nice surprise, Librije Atelier gifted us an apron and a recipe book with the recipes we made that day, that was such a cool final moment of the workshop! A great souvenir!
The staff
The guiding chefs and staff were very friendly. They are really knowledgeable and you can see and feel the passion that they have for food. The instructions were clear and they were there to help when you have any questions.
Final verdictÂ
9/10. One of my fav team building days I had. It was so fun to learn cooking new dishes and techniques together. The food and wine itself were top notch and unique. The staff were friendly and clear in their instructions. I think the price/quality is good, especially getting the Librije Atelier apron and recipe book as a goodie! The only downside is it was far (for me), but totally worth it and will do it again.
If you want to book a workshop, act fast, because unfortunately the Librije Atelier will be transformed to the Librije Lab (test creative kitchen for chefs) per January 2023. After that, no more workshops!
Information
Address: Spinhuisplein 1, Zwolle (The Netherlands)
Website: https://www.librije.com
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