Robin van de Bunt

The Climb

Training at Hotelschur in Hasseld and then staging at De Librije in Zwolle is the kind of progression that builds a cook by repetition as much as by instruction. Robin van de Bunt moved through those rooms in steps that suggest accumulation rather than spectacle: one kitchen setting rhythm, another tightening precision, each stage adding to the practical muscle that service demands. From there, the path narrowed toward a role already named. Since 2017, Robin van de Bunt has been chef of Restaurant De Leuf. In trade terms, it is a clear handoff from preparation to responsibility: the same line of work, now with the authority that comes from having said the destination out loud and then reaching it.

Today

The present tense of Robin van de Bunt’s cooking is marked by certainty of placement. There is little excess in that kind of kitchen language. What it suggests instead is direction: a chef working with a defined remit, where the point is not display but control of the work. The route from training to leadership remains legible in that steadiness.

Signature

Robin van de Bunt’s signature dishes include Steak tartare, Like father, like son, Scents of the sea, and Codfish. Read together, they point to a kitchen interested in texture, memory and directness of flavor. Steak tartare asks for precision; Like father, like son carries inheritance in its title; Scents of the sea opens toward briny atmosphere; and Codfish keeps to a spare, plainspoken register. The set feels considered rather than ornamental.

In Their Words “I have always said: I will become chef of De Leuf.” “At that moment I lost not only my father, but also the future as we had mapped it out together.” The first is a declaration of purpose, plain and uncompromising. The second places that purpose against loss. Between them sits the shape of Robin van de Bunt’s work at Restaurant De Leuf: a role spoken of in advance, then carried into reality, with the past still present in the telling.