Peter Lute

How convenient: a herbs factory

‘Yes, herbs have a special place with us. We also have our own greenhouse in which we grow our own herbcress at the moment. Herbs, but also spices, make the difference in a dish. They provide a memory of a trip or a special moment.’

Can you describe an own experience?

‘The umami trip i was able to make to Japan was memorable. There i found the inspiration for our dish with sea bass, roasted on pine needles. The pine needles contain a lot of resin, what doesn’t taste good. But it does when you give the fish at the very last moment a shot of the smoldering pine needles. Therefor we use a Japanese pan which we bring from our kitchen into the restaurant. The smell hanging around the table is soo good.’

Do you have another example?

‘About 30 years ago, at Dikker & Thijs i’ve learned the art of preparing sole meunière. To poach sole in its entirety, to cut off the fillets and to build the dish with a duxelle of cave mushrooms as a filling. Our sole meunière 2.0 has other structures. For the maillard-effect we bake the back fillets with thinly rolled, a kind of toasted bread; you cut through the tongue and mushrooms. We don’t use the lemon to quench, but to serve in little pieces. The fried butter is replaced with beurre noisette. And we deep fry the parsley. It’s an awesome dish, innovative with a nod to the past. Trends are often based in classics.’

Why did you started a ‘factory’?

‘After 14 years of Restaurant Lute it was time for something new. You can choose to stand behind the stove till the very end or you can use to follow your heart. Tim Buis was sous chef for four years; now he is the head chef.
I like to develop dishes and tell the stories behind them at this special place, named after the gunpowder factory which once stood on this grounds. You can import instant meat from Australia, but then you’ll miss the craft of boning. The farm we work with has dairy cows which are pampered for a year so they will become beef cows. As for the many exotic species of fish that are available, i’d rather stay close to home.’

And the vegetables on the plate?

‘Rungis is my eyes and ears. They know exactly what fits our vision: the purity of a product which we can make something beautiful with. Very appealing is their variety of special suppliers. They bring inspiration boxes into the kitchen, we really like that.
The time of going tot he market in the morning myself, is beautiful, but sometimes you have to let go of the romance. I have a couple of companies to run. The fourth one is under construction: this year we’ll also start a restaurant in Amsterdam. With the same value for money and dishes without fumbling on the plate, but however we will be able to push the boundaries more in Amsterdam. There you have the opportunity to be more international.’

What’s on the menu?

‘In February the choice is much less, but the herbs that are available, are fantastic. We do a lot of tubers and cabbage; those vegetables have such a great structure. On the menu we have cabbage from the barbecue with clams, miso and kaffirlime. Toasting or puffing cabbage in the right way almost give flavorful meaty experience. Spring also makes me wild, it’s such a happy season on the plate, but for now we seek depth, just like the vegetables. Such as green asparagus with buckwheat blinis and VOC-spices. During the winter we use warm spices: star anise, cinnamon, cloves and pepper. And during summer we use fresh Nepal-peppers; you’ll get a whole different effect. The asparagus we bake on the cutting edge. The blinibatter we spray over the dish and then put it under the salamander grill. It looks gorgeous: the structure of the cut asparagus with the batter as a connection. Especially in combination with winter spices like mustard, yellow- and red beet and bean curd cress, as much as possible from our own greenhouse. It’s a dish that’s straightforward. Just delicious. You can find it in my new cookbook, the power of herbs, which comes in April.’