A special bond often develops between chefs and their students, in which they become intertwined. Take Grant Achatz of Alinea restaurant in Chicago. He was trained in the kitchen of Thomas Keller’s famous restaurant The French Laundry. There he came up with a variation on Keller’s classic ‘oysters and pearls’. After Achatz made waves as a chef with his own restaurant, he invented the edible balloon, but it was his employee Mike Bagale who actually made the balloon, apple-flavored and filled with helium.
In the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, ideas are constantly being introduced and exchanged and it is not always clear to the outside world who came up with what. It is not surprising that young chefs – no matter how good the relationship is – regularly spread their wings and open their own culinary kingdom and chart their own course.
Gijs Hoevenaars worked with Soenil Bahadoer in two-star restaurant De Lindehof for eighteen years. He started as an apprentice and rose to become kitchen chef and valued right-hand man. Until he decided to start his own business in 2024, taking over restaurant Muggels in Uden and renaming it Muggels by Gijs.
To get there you have to drive past an industrial estate, and just when you think there is nothing left and you will have to turn around, you appear to be there. Muggels by Gijs marks the beginning of a green park and is located in a beautiful converted farmhouse. Spacious and attractive with original details and a beautiful terrace for sunny days.
The restaurant works with à la carte, various set menus, and on Thursdays and Sundays there is an all-in four-course menu including drinks for 85 euros per person.
Innocent peas
Hoevenaars himself brings the appetizers to the table: a crispy of green herbs with asparagus cream is like a sun-drenched spring day captured in a snack. Another tomato crisp with roasted tomato cremeux and barbecued peas doesn’t seem very impressive, but it is cleverly conceived: you don’t immediately associate the smokiness of the barbecue with peas, but it turns out to work well and gives the innocent peas an exciting edge.
The ultra-soft Japanese fish hamachi is often served raw, but here it is lightly roasted with a mousse of eel, lacquered eel, fresh fennel and a light yuzu vinaigrette. It is a delicate dish. My table companion thinks it’s a bit too subtle, I appreciate it balancing act correct: they are soft flavors that complement and balance each other, the whole forms a unity. Even the eel, which normally quickly dominates, keeps quiet.
Even the eel, which normally quickly dominates, keeps quiet
This first dish proves to be exemplary of Hoevenaars’ style: modest, I would almost say conservative. Such as the fried ray wing with mousseline of potato and wild garlic, tomato and a beurre blanc with savora mustard, which is a mustard made with spices such as cloves and nutmeg.
My excellently fried dry-aged cod with miso is served with crispy sushi rice with kimchi and an aromatic sereh-based sauce. These are small, exciting accents in the dishes, but there are no excesses.
Or maybe one: my dining companion’s tasty lamb is enriched with masala spices, but it is the gravy based on that lamb and a pepper blend with rose petals that he is delighted with. At the end he sops all the bread into the jug with gravy, he likes it that much – much to the amusement of sommelier Iete Braeken, who we also know from her years at De Lindehof.
Braeken is a wonderful hostess and a fantastic sommelier with a nose for unexpected discoveries. She is a favorite of my dining companion, who is always impressed with her wine choices, and once again she delights him with special drinks. For example, she serves a 100% viognier from the Basque Country, a sake and a grappa with the cheese. Even the dessert wine is a success, although he does not like sweet wines.
The accompanying dessert is a fine white chocolate orange half filled with caramelized almond, rhubarb compote and blood orange. A dessert that forms one whole, that you conquer instead of sweeping together. With a glass of rhubarb compote, yoghurt ice cream and timut pepper. Fresh, not too sweet, pleasant.
Everything is tasty, technically everything is correct and there is really nothing to criticize about the dishes. The cheese board we share comes with a fine selection of home-made compotes, of which pineapple and pepper stand out. And when I later see the tempting friandises at the other tables (including nougat with amarena cherries), I regret that we declined coffee and tea.
Hoevenaars is a pleasant, good chef and what I appreciate is that he has chosen his own style. This is not a continuation of the colorful, bold, expressive and richly spiced flavors of De Lindehof.
The style of Muggels by Gijs matches the chef’s modest character and calm temperament. I always say that I like chefs who know how to translate their personality into their dishes, so I can’t complain, but I would hope for a little more courage, because I know he can navigate wonderfully between different styles and influences. He has the talent and experience for it and could certainly assert himself more. I just want to say: that fourth ball is up for grabs.
