Niven Kunz, in the Netherlands founder of the 80/20 vision, got his first Michelin star at 24. Almost two decades later, his restaurant bears Triptyque proudly awarded a Green Michelin star - the recognition for chefs with a sustainable vision: "Vegetables play the leading role in my kitchen." GW spoke to him and tasted his famous carrot tartare
Text: Karine Bloem
Who is Niven Kunz?
I was born in Gorinchem and grew up in Schelluinen and Hoek van Holland. As a young boy, I was always busy with sports, especially tennis. As a result, sometimes a little less with school. After secondary school, I wanted to become a chef and went to study cooking. I did my traineeships, with great pleasure, at the Librije and the Bokkedoorns. At the age of 24, I started my first restaurant, 't Raethuys, and cooked my first Michelin star there.
A few years later, in 2009, I started restaurant Niven, where I received another Michelin star. In the very beginning of that, I also met my wife Virginie and we soon started working together as a team. But not according to the classic division of chef and hostess; Virginie is also a full-time doctor, which makes it all the more fun for us to work together. Unfortunately, we had to close the doors of restaurant Niven in 2020, but were fortunately able to open the doors of Triptyque not much later. Virginie and I are now happily married and since 2021, my surname is officially van Bronckhorst-Kunz.
What drives me as chief is our sustainable vision, our 80/20 philosophy, the vegetables. I think telling our story is the best thing there is. Showing our guests and other food-lovers -and especially tasting- how beautiful it is to cook with vegetables. There are so many beautiful things available in the Netherlands that you really don't always need meat, fish or poultry to make a good dish. I've been working on this since I was young; it's great to see that more and more people are embracing this vision and starting to use it themselves. At the same time, it remains my ambition to enthuse even more people with our 80/20 philosophy. And of course I always want to keep improving and innovating myself.
If I had not become a chef, I would probably have continued studying and gone to work in economics. Economics is a subject that interests me and which I enjoy following and learning about.
Inspiration
Triptyque is my third restaurant. Virginie and I were thinking about an appropriate name and came up with Triptyque. A triptyque. In our case, a triptych of restaurants.
Ideas for dishes can come at any time. Sometimes from a product I see, sometimes from inspiration I find during holidays or trips with Virginie. The hospitality in London or New York can inspire me, but so can the food culture in Asia and southern Europe. Especially the love and attention to food people have there. French chef Michel Bras also inspired me a lot as a young chef. He was way ahead of his time and cooked so much with vegetables back then, insane!
The creative process, I think, goes as it does for many; you start with an idea, make the dish as you came up with it, taste it, adjust it if necessary. That's how the dish grows into what it should be. Sometimes it takes several days before I think it is good and can go on the menu. If an idea occurs to me when I am not in the restaurant, I make a note of it and think about it quietly. In any case, my ideas for dishes always start with vegetables, never with meat or fish.
I think what makes my cooking style special is that I was one of the first in the Netherlands to put vegetables on the menu, continued with it and expanded it. Thinking from vegetables, 80/20, vegetables in the lead. That is the best description of my cooking style and why it can possibly be considered unique.
Teachers
There are a number of people I have learned a lot from in this profession. Obviously, on a culinary level at the Librije, I learned a lot from Jonnie Boer and Sidney Schutte (then the sous chef -red.). Even then, that was an innovative kitchen of an enormously high level. Lucas Rive taught me the more classic cuisine; he was very good at it.
But a restaurant of course involves more than just cooking, namely entrepreneurship. I learnt this at a young age from John Beeren, then owner of de Bokkedoorns. I watched closely what he did and said, although he probably didn't experience it that way at the time, haha. Also, my pawn owner and friend Lawrence Kohlinger taught me a lot about business and finance at a young age. Later, when I had my own restaurant Niven, I learned a lot from my then business partner Mark van der Kallen. A man of great knowledge and understanding with enlightening insights. I still apply much of this on a daily basis in our current restaurant.
Flavours
I enjoy preparing the carrot tartare. Guests may not see this from it, but it takes five days to make. There is a lot of depth in both the dish and the preparation and it has become a real signature dish.
One of my favourite ingredients to work with is beetroot. You can go either way with it and can apply many preparations. In every menu, I find something to do with beetroot.
I am always open to feedback. Both positive and critical. In my opinion, you always learn something from feedback, provided it is well-founded, of course. Of course, I don't adjust my dishes just like that if someone thinks something about them, but I always try to look for learning points and opportunities to improve. I think many people see feedback as criticism; I experience it as an opportunity to improve, to learn.
Sustainability and innovation
Innovation is a broad term, but I always try to seek and apply improvement and efficiency. Sustainability is in our restaurant's DNA. It starts with our 80/20 philosophy, of course, but goes much further than that. For example, we choose dried flowers instead of fresh flowers, we choose Dutch artwork, we very carefully select our suppliers and products for sustainability.
Not just the vegetables, but also, for example, only hand-dived scallops, organic Dutch farm duck and so on. We turn off the lights, oven and extractor when we are not using them, we use paper made from tomato pulp for our menus, we don't print out receipts but do so digitally, eat a lot of vegetarian food as a team and make sure to use as little waste. We collect many vegetables ourselves in Westland, so there is no need for large trucks to come our way for delivery.
Another beautiful and sustainable product is, for example, our house champagne: Telmont. A champagne house led by Ludovic Plessis, which is hugely committed to sustainability. An example for many. They are not only working on sustainability in the production of the champagne, but also in their distribution, transport and packaging materials.
Clothes make the man
I love classic clothes like suits, jackets, shirts. At the same time, I also love my leather jacket, trainers, good jeans and nice jumpers. A changing style of classic and modern.
If I am not wearing my chef's jacket, one day I will wear a nice shirt, blazer and trousers with smart shoes, the next day my leather jacket, then a suit, or a thick jumper with good jeans and trainers. Here too, I like to choose brands that show their commitment to sustainability, such as Filippa K. I like to wear trainers from Filling Pieces.
Corporate identity
Virginie took care of Triptyque's interior design and is concerned with the restaurant's style. I completely find myself in her style, we are really on the same page.
The kitchen is what I am all about and the ultimate kitchen item for me remains a stove. That's the central item that, as a chef, you always need and work with a lot: the heart of the kitchen.
What we are also immensely proud and happy about are the technically advanced wine climate cabinets from Atag. These are one of a kind. They are very spacious, fully adjustable in terms of humidity and temperature and have multiple zones in a cabinet. Moreover, they are very nicely designed and an asset to the interior. Also nice to know: if you are not a sommelier or don't have one around: you can scan the bottles with a special camera built into the cabinet. This connects to the Vivino app and instantly tells you all kinds of information about the wine. We think the cabinets are insane and they just complete the look.
Favourites
The best wine for me is a white Burgundy. I prefer that above everything else and, in my experience, it can also go with everything, haha! But if I really have to choose something, I like to eat some nice Dutch cheeses with it, or a risotto of pearl barley with goat cheese and mushrooms.
I would love to cook for The Rolling Stones one day! Why? Because they are THE Rolling Stones. They are legendary men who changed music. Apart from the fact that I love listening to their music, it inspires me that they have been doing what they enjoy and are good at for so long. Even now, at their age, they still seem to have a youthful spirit. Isn't that great! And I would also like to cook for Roger Federer one day. As far as I am concerned, the best tennis player, a true gentleman and very stylish.
We have already been lucky enough to cook for U2, though. That was one of the best things we got to experience with our restaurant. Great to meet them in person!
Time
The watch I am wearing is from Frederique Constant, given to me by my in-laws and very dear to me. Time is something not to waste, something you neither get back nor can buy. Time is something to be economised on and, above all, enjoyed.
My biggest life lesson is: enjoy every possible moment in life, don't dwell too long on setbacks that you can solve. Life can suddenly change or be over. Cliché perhaps, but true. Virginie always says:" A problem is not a real problem as long as you can solve it". In other words, don't spend too long worrying about things you can turn around.
This lesson stems from the far too early death of my mother-in-law. She was like a mother to me, we had a unique bond. A loss and pain that always stays with you.
We have an incredibly sweet family and many dear friends. Something I consider myself lucky to have. I therefore prefer to spend my free time with Virginie, family and friends. We often go out for dinner together or we cook for each other and we are lucky that we all cook well and love to cook. For example, we have friends who cook top dishes on the BBQ and others who cook Iranian and South American, so nice and diverse. I can also really enjoy my father-in-law's food. Again, he can cook Indian very well, just like my mother-in-law always could.
Virginie and I also enjoy going to museums; we enjoy walking through the Rijksmuseum or going to museum Voorlinden. As true music lovers, we regularly visit concerts. At the last Rolling Stones concert, we were even right at the front, just as we have been at the front of Prince and Lenny Kravitz concerts. We also enjoy listening to artists like U2, David Bowie, Prince, AC/DC, Harry Styles, Lenny Kravitz, Depeche Mode, Elton John, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Red Bone and many others. In terms of music, I broadened my horizons through my in-laws and Virginie. They always loved going to concerts and listen a lot. My last song played is Come and Get Your Love From Red Bone.
Netflix or book? Then I say Netflix! I like watching documentaries, true stories. On Disney+, I watch Marvel. Virginie too by the way, that's really our thing together.
TRAVEL
Discovering new cultures, tasting new flavours but most of all, I love being in another world for a while. So yes, I like to travel. But with sustainability in mind, we don't take the plane for everything. London, New York, Paris and Barcelona are favourite destinations. Those cities are vibrant and energising; you never tire of them. And Japan is still on the bucket list! The cities, the nature, not to mention the food culture. It seems amazing to me. So unique and individual, I don't think you'll find that anywhere else in the world.
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