“Ever since I was little, I dreamed of becoming a chef. When I was about nine, I even had a small cooking club at the community center, where we made fish sticks and pancakes. I really enjoyed that, even though you couldn't call it a culinary masterpiece. I was 12 when I started at the Vocational School for Bakery and Hospitality Staff. So, my love for the hospitality industry didn't stay behind during my childhood.”

I am making my childhood dream come true here. I enjoy cooking the most. NY Basement is a fine dining restaurant. We work with beautiful ingredients, we devote a lot of time and attention to our dishes, and we can let our creativity run wild. This allows us to create something truly amazing that not only tastes good but also looks beautiful. It is also very pleasant working with my colleagues. We are a small team that has been working at NY Basement for a while, so we feel almost like family.

I am at my best when dinner starts: ensuring that all the dishes look good and that people have a wonderful evening. When it is nicely full of guests and we are busy in the kitchen, we work together to ensure that everything runs smoothly behind the scenes. That is when we are a real team.

I enjoy going out to eat myself. As soon as I see or taste a dish, my mind immediately starts working: how would this fit at NY Basement? I follow chefs from all over the world on social media. That way, you see unique flavor combinations or ingredients you might not have thought of yourself. I would never copy anything, but it does broaden your horizons. It provides new insights that I take into the kitchen.

For instance, I recently saw a video of an American BBQ. Big, robust, distinctive. That is precisely when I enjoy thinking: how do I make this small and refined? How do I translate something like this to fine dining? That is the challenge for me.

I also follow an American man who challenged himself to visit a thousand Michelin restaurants during a single trip. The dishes, the presentation, the details—I draw a huge amount of inspiration from them. Ultimately, I put my own stamp on everything. Sometimes, the small addition of just one ingredient can make a world of difference and lift a dish just to a higher level.”

I always try to lead by example. 'Leading by example' is really my motto on an evening like this. We work hard together, but a joke in between should be allowed too. I don't want to be a chef who stands in the kitchen like a bogeyman. We do it together.

Especially when it’s busy, the atmosphere is everything. I don’t want to put anyone under unnecessary pressure and I always try to communicate clearly. The kitchen is small and we work close together, so the energy has to be right. We can’t avoid each other anyway, so you might as well make the best of it together.

Do you want to taste Rob's dishes yourself or experience the Sinatra lunch? Reserve a table via nybasement.nl