Michel van der Kroft

Coming Up

At LTS, Michel van der Kroft started with a practical education that fed directly into kitchen work. The next step was De Kersentuin in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where the trade taught itself through service rhythm, repetition, and the daily grind of turning technique into habit. He stayed until 2006, building a base in the work rather than in the story around it. In a role measured over years, Michel van der Kroft has come to represent a style built on control, calm, and clear judgement: the ability to know what belongs on the plate and what does not. The kitchen and the chef have developed together through that continuity.

Where They Are Now

The line he gives for his cooking points straight to the plate: “The love for my wife and her native country has become my signature on the plate.” With Michel van der Kroft, the personal is not decoration; it is structure. The work reads as something rooted in home, shaped by memory and rendered through precision rather than ornament. That approach is clearest in the dish most tied to his kitchen language: Terrine of foie gras and smoked eel with beetroot preparations and 25-year-old aceto balsamico vinegar. The construction depends on balance—richness against smoke, beetroot against acidity—with the parts kept in line by exact handling. When he says, “I make this dish now for 15 years,” the point is not novelty. It is the discipline of keeping a composition alive long enough for it to earn its place. The record of his work is a long stewardship rather than a series of interruptions. Michel van der Kroft’s current role, held since 2006, links the identity of 't Nonnetje, the restaurant’s reputation, and his own voice in one sustained line. That kind of tenure says less about reinvention than about depth: the ability to return to the same standards, the same room, and the same plate without losing focus.

Signature

Michel's signature dishes include Terrine of foie gras and smoked eel and Tournedos Rossini.

In Their Words “The love for my wife and her native country has become my signature on the plate.”

Honors

Michel van der Kroft has received Michelin Guide — second star (2015). Michel's honors include Second Michelin star for 't Nonnetje (2015), Michelin star for 't Nonnetje (2008), Chef van het Jaar (2016), and SVH Meesterkok.