Other
Tom Schoonus
Chef
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
Tom Schoonus’s cooking is built on a line of discipline: apprenticeship, progression, and control. The craft was shaped at the Amstel Hotel, where he started as an apprentice and learned the steady rhythm of professional service. That foundation carried through later roles at Noble Gastro House, Noble Kitchen, and Bernardus Café, where each step up the pass added responsibility and sharpened the precision behind his style. Across that climb, Japanese technique and South American influence have become the clearest markers of his cooking, with balance and restraint doing most of the work.
The Climb
The apprenticeship at Amstel Hotel gave Tom Schoonus his first formal ground in the kitchen, and the path that followed shows a chef moving through increasingly demanding rooms. At Noble Gastro House, he took on the sous-chef role and the control required to keep standards fixed across service. The next stage came at Noble Kitchen and Bernardus Café, where he worked as Head Chef from 2019 to 2025, a period that carried his profile forward and clarified the shape of his cooking. That run of years mattered because it joined technique, leadership, and point of view in one stretch of work. By the time he moved on, Tom Schoonus had established a style that does not push for effect so much as hold structure under pressure. Since 2026, that approach has continued at Nami, where the Executive Head Chef role extends the same disciplined momentum into a new kitchen.
Today
Since 2026, Tom Schoonus has led Nami in Cromvoirt, North Brabant as Executive Head Chef, working in Nikkei cuisine. The food there sits at the meeting point of Japanese precision and South American influence, with each plate arranged around balance rather than excess. The result is cooking that relies on clarity of construction: clean joins, measured layers, and flavors that are allowed to answer each other without crowding the plate. Nami gives that method a current setting, but the approach itself has been built over time. Tom Schoonus’s route through apprenticeship, sous-chef work, and Head Chef posts shows a career assembled step by step. At Nami, that progression reads plainly in the kitchen: a steady hand, a clear structure, and a style that keeps its tension under control.
Recognition
Tom Schoonus's honors include Michelin star (2020).
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Tom
What is Tom Schoonus's current role?
As of 2026, Tom Schoonus is Executive Head Chef.
Where did Tom Schoonus work before?
Tom Schoonus's earlier career included Amstel Hotel, Noble Gastro House, and Noble Kitchen and Bernardus Café.
What recognition has Tom Schoonus received?
Michelin star (2020).
