1/4 Star chef Soenil Bahadoer and Annu Bacho for their restaurant gem in the castle of Gemert (photo: Collin Beijk).
After months of designing, renovating and dots on the i, star chef Soenil Bahadoer is completely ready for his new culinary adventure. Together with his fiancé Annu Bacho, he officially opened his new restaurant Gem on Wednesday evening in the atmospheric castle of Gemert and he finds that quite exciting. “You leave a very successful company behind with the Lindehof, but I don’t want to stand still and become dusty.”
On the day the new restaurant opens, everyone still works hard to get the last details in order. “Compliments to all construction workers to get it off in such a short time. We were quite under pressure, but good that I am also in the kitchen,” says Bahadoer with a smile.
With Gem the star chef wants to create more experience than in his former two -star restaurant in Nuenen. “Already look at the driveway that our guests come in. Then they get out of the bridge, go over the canal and through the impressive door, while their car is being taken away. Because we have Valet Parking, Just like in the most exclusive hotels. “Who wants to sleep after dinner even in one of the three hotel rooms in the castle garden.
His partner Annu Bacho is responsible for that experience. “I also take our guests into the garden opposite here and tell them about what we grow and how we use it in our dishes.” The sunny weather has ensured in the last days that the courgettes and radishes have grown enormously. “People literally see where their food comes from.”
Two of the chefs literally go into the garden not much later to pick vegetables and herbs for the dishes of that evening. Bahadoer is extremely proud of his gardens. “It is not new that star chefs grow their own products, but on this scale. And we still get breeding cabinets where we can grow things from my own Surinamese-Hindu culture.”
The new restaurant is not overly chic, but warm and has something homey. “At the same time you feel the history here at every step you take. We have also really tried to interweave the modern with the classic of the 14th-century castle,” the chef explains.
The void, with an impressive artwork that hangs in the middle of the dining rooms, immediately catches the eye. There are also two wine rooms, one filled with the most exclusive wines. “It’s about quality, but you can buy a neat car from some bottles indeed.” It is also special that the guests can see how their dishes are prepared for all three kitchens.
Full of passion and enthusiasm, Bahadoer tells about his new workplace, but he doesn’t want to call it his ‘dream kitchen’. “It is certainly a top kitchen, but we try to get better every day and if you call this your dream kitchen, then you stop dreaming to get better. And I will never do that.”
What Bahadoer and Bacho both dream of, is the recapture of their star status. Because they left it in the Lindehof in Nuenen. “It is the same brigade that has proven itself in recent years. So we go for it and see how far we are.”
Due to his performance in the Lindehof, Bahadoer is busy, but his fiancé is confident. “So under pressure, Soenil performs best and he and his team can still cook.”
Who is Soenil Bahadoer?
Soenil Bahadoer is a well-known Dutch chef with Surinamese-Hindustani roots. He was born in Suriname in 1967 and moved to the Netherlands at the age of eight. His love for cooking started in his mother’s kitchen. In 1995 he became the owner of restaurant De Lindehof in Nuenen.
There he combined French cuisine with Surinamese flavors and herbs. His unique cooking style earned him his first Michelin star in 2004, followed by a second in 2015. In 2020 he was named Chef of the Year Gault & Millau.
Bahadoer is known as ‘The Spicy Chef’ by his pronounced flavors. He is also committed to young people with a migration background and sustainable fishing. The chef is considered a great source of inspiration, was in various cooking programs as a jury and wrote several cookbooks.