Name: Daniel Jongsma
Restaurant/concept: Lutece Chocolat, Kuwait
Title: Executive Chef, Multiple Brands
QUICK FIRE
Breakfast of Champions: Soft poached eggs on toasted sourdough bread with avocado and salmon
Favorite Kitchen gadget: Thermomix
Most underrated ingredient: Vanilla bean
Favorite place to eat: Anywhere food is served with love
The aroma that makes you the happiest: Vanilla beans from Madagascar and Tahiti
Desert Island dish: Jackfruit curry with fresh coconut juice
What fueled your passion to become a chef?
In the beginning, I enjoyed making cookies with my mom and always had the dream to become a pastry chef. When I finally went to school and worked in several pastry shops, it was the chefs around me who motivated me even more to develop my own techniques, recipes and style.
What’s the one great thing about working in a kitchen that people would never imagine?
It is the satisfaction you can bring to the people by your creations. Seeing the reactions of people tasting your dessert or chocolate gives me a smile.
How would you build the perfect dessert?
All taste aspects need to be in perfect balance. Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami. Next to that I always have a balance in textures on a plate with crunchy, airy, creamy and chewy. This will give you the ability to taste all flavors separate as well.
How does your personality differ inside and outside the kitchen?
Not that much. I’m very straight forward and always excited about food. The only difference might be that I need to be tougher at work sometimes to have the perfect results.
If you specialized in a different cuisine or cooking technique what would it be?
Most probably sushi chef in Japan. The Japanese style is so punctual and precise. This is also a style that would suite me since pastry is also a patient and precise job.
Which dish do you most wish you’d created and why?
Something like the Cronut. The Cronut was invented by Dominique Ansel by mixing the donut with a croissant resulting in such a satisfying viennoisserie item. I think it’s amazing to see how such a product becomes a worldwide known item and creation.
In which season do you most like to source local ingredients and why?
That would be summer. I think it’s so appealing to have a pastry display filled with fresh fruit pastries from the season.
What do you think will be the biggest food trend of 2020? and why?
This is a hype that is already evolving. What started as wholesome and organic foods is now going to the vegetarian and vegan lifestyle. In order to prepare vegan pastries/chocolates you’ll see that this isn’t easy yet and is still very costly to do. The ingredients are still very rare and that’s why it is expensive. Next to that, it is also a very interesting process to create vegan dishes since it is completely different than the things I’ve learned and done before.
