"Guest expectations are high, but we exceed them," claim Jonnie and Thérèse Boer confidently about their five-star hotel and three-star restaurant De Librije in Zwolle. Bold, creative, authentic and pure - the two of them create unique and unparalleled culinary delights that stimulate all their guests' senses: taste, touch, sight and smell. The restaurant is a world where recipes feel like secrets and ingredients like miracles.
Even the restaurant premises, which they purchased at the beginning of the 1990s, are extraordinary. The Librije was originally located in a cloister complex, before it moved to "Het Spinhuis”, the first women's prison in the Netherlands, in 2015. The top chef and wine connoisseur have created a very special universe of flavours, in which dishes and drinks, both literally and figuratively speaking, are "from another planet." Jonnie, who became the youngest two-star Dutch chef ever in 1999, got the third Michelin star for his outstanding culinary skills in De Librije in 2004. The restaurant takes top ranking in the Netherlands and according to a renowned British magazine, is ranked 29th in the list of the world's best restaurants. The Michelin-Gault-Millau restaurant guide has awarded it a score of 19.5, with 20 being the highest.
Nature is a huge source of inspiration for Jonnie and Thérèse Boer. Both of them grew up in the Zwolle region, fishing for zander, picking water mint and looking for porcini mushrooms and chanterelles. Regional products aren't specialities to them. "If you cook and serve your guests with your heart and soul, you just feel that everything is special," is how they put it. Not only do they attach important to regional and organically grown produce, but also sustainability. One of many reasons why they use MKN professional cooking equipment. Besides being particularly durable, it's also resource efficient, saving on electricity and water.
FlexiChef, FlexiCombi, SpaceCombi as well as modular appliances from the Optima range are in use at De Librije. High quality stainless steel appliances cater for first class comfort in the kitchen. They are easy to use and clean and provide optimum support of processes in the three-star kitchen, leaving more time for creativity and putting final touches to exceptional dishes. So, if you're planning a trip to the historical yet trendy Hanseatic city of Zwolle, why not stay in one of De Librije's 19 beautiful hotel rooms and get enchanted by the culinary delights Jonnie and Thérèse are rediscovering again and again. Enjoy your stay!
