Jacob Jan Boerma

Sunday 25 January 2015

Restaurant De Leest
De Leest, Holland
3 Michelin Star

View Jacob's Menu

Jacob Jan Boerma was enthralled by the idea of cooking delicious food from a very young age. “Cooking is passion; it’s something you do with your heart,” is his motto.

He began his career working at renowned restaurants in Belgium such as De Bokkedoorns (Overveen), Scholteshof (Steevoort) and Het Laurierblad (Berlare). He then crossed the border into the Netherlands where he perfected his skils at De Duinrand (Drunen), Kaatje bij de Sluis (Blokzijl) and finally as Head Chef at De Nederlanden (Vreeland) where he gained a second Michelin star for the restaurant.

In the summer of 2002, Boerma and his partner, hostess and sommelier Kim Veldman, opened their restaurant ‘De Leest’ in a former cobbler’s workshop in the village of Vaassen which is situated between Zwolle and Apeldoorn approximatley 59 miles from Amsterdam.

Within a year and a half after its opening, the restaurant was awarded with one Michelin star, a second star followed a couple of years later in 2006, by which time Boerma had become a member of the culinary collaboration ‘Les Patrons Cuisiniers’. This culinary partnership was established to uphold the standards of craftsmanship and culinary creativity whilst maintaining consistent quality in restaurants throughout the Netherlands.

During October 2013, Boerma passed his Meesterproef SVH Meesterkok (master chef) exam at two Michelin star boutique hotel and restaurant ‘Vila Joya’ in Portugal where Austrianborn Chef Dieter Koschina oversees proceedings.

Towards the end of November 2013, Boerma’s childhood dream finally came true when his restaurant, De Leest received a coveted third Michelin star.

Today, he continues to work at his restaurant and has, in partnership with with Sacha de Boer, published the very successful cookbook ‘Down to Earth’ which features recipes from the SVH Meesterkok exam and Sacha de Boer’s illustrations. It’s sequel, ‘Back to Basics’, was published in October 2014.