Margo Reuten

Apprenticeship is the backbone of this profile: the work at Prinses Juliana, then chef de partie at De Swaen, then sous chef at Toine Hermsen and Der Bloasbalg. In Margo Reuten’s case, those posts mark a progression through the hierarchy of the kitchen, where repetition builds control and each station demands a cleaner command of timing, discipline, and standards. Since 1993, that progression has settled into a long tenure at Restaurant Da Vinci in Maasbracht, where Reuten has held the head chef role.

The position is less a capstone than a sustained practice of management and taste, shaped by years of working inside one kitchen and keeping its level constant.

Running Restaurant Da Vinci since 1993 places Margo Reuten in a rare category: a chef whose authority comes from duration, not noise. The restaurant has remained under her direction for decades, and that continuity is central to how the work is read. Her own line — “Ik probeer overal een female touch aan toe te voegen.” — signals a deliberate approach to finish and balance, one that points to nuance as a working principle rather than a slogan.

A kitchen led by the same hand for that long develops its own internal language. In Reuten’s case, the head chef role is tied to stewardship: maintaining standards, shaping the room’s rhythm, and letting the restaurant register the imprint of one consistent point of view.

Reuten’s signature dishes, beef tartare from her family farm and sea bass with eel, show two registers of the same kitchen logic. One draws on provenance and directness, the other on a pairing built from contrast and control. Read together, they point to a style that keeps the plate clear while still giving it depth.

The recognition around Margo Reuten tracks with sustained output at a high level. Michelin star, Restaurant Da Vinci (2 stars), Michelin star, Restaurant Da Vinci, GaultMillau Chef of the Year, Relais & Chateaux Grand Chef, Freeman of Maasgouw, and SVH Meesterkok (Master chef) together map a career that has been repeatedly measured against strong external standards. The list is notable not for a single peak, but for the way the honors accumulate across time and reinforce the standing of Restaurant Da Vinci under her direction.