Dimitri de Koninck

The Climb

A kitchen line can teach discipline before it teaches style, and Dimitri de Koninck’s early work as Head Chef at Nebo in Antwerp, Belgium, reads that way: built from repetition, pace, and exact execution. That period established the clean contour of his approach—focused, unfussy, and attentive to detail. As chef and owner of Nebo today, he continues to lead from inside the same house, with a voice that has become part of the restaurant’s working identity.

Today

At Nebo, de Koninck’s method is practical and stripped of display, grounded in the language of service and technique rather than performance. That register comes through clearly in one instruction: “We're going to bake it on the carcass.” The line has the plain authority of a cook speaking from routine and experience, where the process is stated without dressing and the method is the point.

Signature

The signature dishes point to a kitchen built around contrast, structure, and exact placement. PIGEON with SANCHO & KALE sets one element against another with deliberate tension; BEEF & OYSTER brings land and sea into the same frame; 'UNIQUE' CARIMA ENTRECÔTE / Cevenne Onion / Sucrine / Choron reads as a composed arrangement, each part held in clear relation; and Balfégo / Ponzu / Yakiniku / Shiso carries a brisk, layered logic. Taken together, they describe a cook working in clean lines and carefully measured pairings.

In Their Words “This is my sous chef Nitesh Khurana. And together today we're going to make the pigeon from Poitou, the region in France.” The sentence lands like working speech: direct, coordinated, and practical. It frames the kitchen as a place of collaboration and method, where the dish is introduced through the team, the task, and the named source of the pigeon from Poitou, the region in France. Place enters here as a working detail, not decoration.