Merijn van Berlo

The Work Today

At Choux in Amsterdam, Merijn van Berlo works from vegetable-led plates, fermentation, and natural wines, with the kind of control that comes from a kitchen clear on its own line. The food avoids theatrics. Instead, it stays close to the ingredient, shaping it with enough change to make the result feel precise and alive. The effect is measured, but not flat: restraint carries the form, and invention shows up in the details. That setting asks for timing, adaptability, and the ability to keep pace with a live room. Read against Choux, it marks a practical foundation rather than a decorative start: one kitchen teaching timing and pressure, the other extending that into a more defined position on produce and process. As chef and cofounder of Choux, Merijn van Berlo helps shape a restaurant identity built on produce in the foreground, fermentation as a method of extending flavor, and natural wines as part of the dining rhythm. The work holds together through repetition and care. Its authority sits in the consistency of the craft, not in display.

In Their Words “In the restaurant we do a lot with fermentation. For example, from old bread we make our own miso and from leftover vegetables - often also the peel - the tastiest sauce, soup, puree and pickles.” The kitchen logic is plain in that line: use what remains, turn it with technique, and let nothing useful go to waste. Old bread becomes miso; leftover vegetables, often including the peel, are worked into sauce, soup, puree and pickles. It is a practical model of flavor-making, built from reuse rather than excess. Natural wine sits here as part of the house style, not an add-on. The remark also points to a level of familiarity around the bottle list: someone nearby knows the preference, and the room is shaped accordingly. In Merijn van Berlo’s setup, wine and food are aligned as part of one service language.