Wim Severein
Wim Severein is the head chef at restaurant Wereldmuseum in Rotterdam
Garam marsala, penja pepper: you´re an absolute star with spices..
‘I like to get my ingredients from far. Therefor i’m a grate-scale consumer of the Japanese line from Rungis. Citrusfruits like yuzu or kafir are always a good idea to give your dish an extra boost. But i also love the local products. Like the pink marbled Karmozijn pear, an old Dutch breed. Marinated raw in sushi vinegar with a slow cooked piece of fish and seaweed, for example.’
How do you invent your dish?
‘First thing i look at is the season and the vegetables. Not the type of fish or meat. Vegetables can really determine the taste of a dish. That’s why we’re so pleased with the assortment from Rungis. At the moment we have an vegetarian main course made out of pulled apart pumpkin. The pumpkin we serve grilled and roasted and made creamy. The pumpkin we serve with: speltbulgur, sea buckthorn, radicchio and macadamias. And we make this dish extra special with some black garlic.’
What are your favorites?
‘At this moment, in this season, the yellow savoy cabbage and the turnips, in all different flavors. We process the Jerusalem artichoke like a cream, roasted or raw and we fry the skin to get that extra crispiness. The tuber is just perfect for autumn, i think. They have a beautiful concentrated taste, tending to horseradish. Pretty intense, but the taste gets more mild when you cook it. We braise the tubers in a poultry gravy with butter and different kinds ofs mustard. Tastes absolutely amazing in combination with braised veal.’
I like to get my ingredients from far. Therefor i'm a grate-scale consumer of the Japanese line from Rungis
Seared langoustine clearly is your signature dish!
(Laughs:)’Just one more time, than i’ll quit for a while. Our guests like everything i make with langoustines, or it’s just me… At the moment we combine them with beetrood, roasted and like a cream, Pierre Robert cheese, hibiscus, herring roe and buckwheat.’
Do you need to adjust, even though you have an star?
‘At most the fact we’re a museum restaurant and we have to look at our exhibitions. Until march 2016 we have ‘The Persians, warriors and poets’. Therefor we have a special dessert with sharon fruit, pomegranate, pistachio parfait, couscous and orange blossom. Although we use ricotta, but that’s okay: the same cheese is also made in those countries.’
