This blog is built on a specific set of principles that combine the logic of a strategic advisor with the passion of an Italian gastronome. I do not believe in rules for the sake of rules; I believe in principles backed by empirical evidence and a deep respect for culinary heritage. In a world where culinary noise often overwhelms culinary truth, these 12 principles form the compass that guides every dish I cook and every review I write. They are not dogmas—they are the practical foundation behind how I cook, eat, test, and think about food, built on the four pillars of evidence, experience, efficiency, and enjoyment.

Executive Summary

1. Respect the name — If you change the essence of a classic dish, change the name to protect its identity.
2. Cook the essence — Keep only what clearly contributes flavor; remove noise and unnecessary steps.
3. Let evidence lead — Use techniques only when experiments prove they improve the result.
4. Extract every drop of flavor — Treat shells, bones, fond, and fat as assets, not waste.
5. Be selective from scratch — Make things yourself only when they truly taste better; otherwise buy smart.
6. Invest in high‑impact ingredients — Spend where the palate can taste the difference, and keep the star ingredient in focus.
7. Use precision where it matters — Be exact when small changes affect texture or flavor, flexible when they don’t.
8. Serve flavor, not photographs — Prioritize peak temperature and enjoyment over presentation.
9. Create food‑wine synergy — Taste and adjust to make the dish and wine elevate each other (1+1=3).
10. Choose restaurants for value, not status — I enjoy humble trattorie and top‑tier gastronomy alike, but avoid mid‑tier places where effort and price don’t translate into better flavor.
11. Use tools for performance, not show — Choose equipment for effectiveness, ergonomics, and easy maintenance.
12. Enjoy the full range of food — Without medical restrictions, embrace variety and ignore unfounded food fads.

1. The sanctity of the name (respect for tradition)

The Principle: Respect tradition by naming dishes accurately. If you change the DNA of a classic, change the name.

The Rationale: Culinary identity matters. A dish’s name conveys how it is made within its tradition. If the method changes, the name should follow. Adding mushrooms or soy sauce to a meat sauce may be delicious—but it is not Ragù alla Bolognese. A “paella” with ingredients that don’t belong is simply “Arroz con cosas.” When I cook with influences from other cuisines without strict authenticity, I label it something like “Thai style” or “Mexican style.” Innovation is welcome, but transparency protects tradition.

2. Radical simplicity and the essence

The Principle: Reduce every dish to its most impactful elements; keep only what the palate can clearly perceive.

The Rationale: I chase essence, not ornamentation. Signal beats noise. A good example is simplifying layered foie gras, smoked eel, and green apple—originally a complex three‑star dish by Martin Berasategui—into a home‑cookable version that still captures the essence and yields a good flavor‑for‑effort result. Conversely, I reject steps that do not translate to the plate: peeling the tough fibers off celery stalks before making stock is a waste of time and flavor. Since the stock is filtered and the fibers contribute to the taste, peeling is unnecessary noise. Complexity is not a virtue; deliciousness is.

3. Empirical truth (the kitchen laboratory)

The Principle: Reject theoretical dogma and chef authority; adopt only what side‑by‑side tests prove.

The Rationale: My kitchen is a laboratory. I use the methods that deliver measurable results. A prime example is my experiment with salt and sous-vide: despite the well-known property of salt to extract water through osmosis, my side-by-side tests proved that salting before vacuum sealing actually leads to better juice retention in the meat. Consequently, I always season with salt before cooking. Another myth I tested: washing mushrooms does not cause significant water absorption if you dry them immediately; weighing before and after proved this. Evidence leads; dogma follows.

4. Total flavor extraction: ingredients and techniques

The Principle: Never throw away flavor; treat byproducts as assets.

The Rationale: Depth of flavor often comes from what many cooks discard. Shrimp heads and shells become stock; clam liquor becomes the sauce; every browned bit in the pan is deglazed; and the fat skimmed from a stock is reused because fat carries flavor. Using the full potential of each ingredient creates a dimension of flavor that shortcuts cannot match.

5. Selective from scratch and label intelligence

The Principle: Cook from scratch where it yields superior flavor and remains feasible; when buying, choose products by ingredient concentration and purity.

The Rationale: I am not a purist for the sake of it. I cure pancetta because the homemade version is far better than what I can buy locally. I make pesto alla genovese from scratch because store‑bought versions in the Netherlands rarely contain the proper ingredients—basil, extra‑virgin olive oil, parmigiano reggiano or pecorino, pine nuts, and salt—and are often diluted with spinach, parsley, seed oils, cashews, or generic cheese. But I buy high‑quality canned legumes because the marginal gain of cooking dried is not worth daily effort. I rely on label intelligence: supermarket oyster sauces typically contain ~3% oyster extract; I use one with 45%. I buy salsa and flour tortillas because they match what I’d make myself, but I make corn tortillas from maseca because the alternatives here are poor. Flavor‑for‑effort is the governing logic.

6. High‑impact ingredients: quality, sourcing, and focus

The Principle: Source high‑impact ingredients where quality is tasteable, and keep the main ingredient at the center.

The Rationale: I spend where the palate can detect the difference. Examples: extra‑virgin olive oil used raw (in salads or finishing dishes), freshly shucked scallops, and beef with marbling—because fat equals flavor. Organic chicken is not automatically better; my blind tasting has shown that chickens not raised significantly longer do not justify the price difference. In any dish, there must be a protagonist: in pasta with pumpkin, nothing should compete with or mute the pumpkin’s flavor. Pragmatism matters too: during Dutch winters, greenhouse produce can be better than restricting my diet to seasonal monotony. Use the best available—and keep it in focus.

7. Precision where it matters

The Principle: Be exact when small deviations noticeably affect texture or flavor; be flexible when they don’t.

The Rationale: Some parameters are sensitive: egg yolks develop perfect custard texture at 64°C, but one degree higher or lower changes it. Other processes offer wider tolerance: when cooking meat sous‑vide for 48 or 72 hours, a difference of four hours in either direction usually doesn’t matter. Knowing where precision counts—and where it doesn’t—is part of being an effective cook.

8. Flavor over optics (the serving temperature rule)

The Principle: Presentation must never compromise flavor or serving temperature.

The Rationale: A plate that looks great but tastes lukewarm is a failure. Peak enjoyment comes first; cleanup comes later. I warm plates deliberately: previously by using the oven at 100°C/212°F (with timing based on quantity, sometimes using residual heat), and now with a dedicated plate warmer—60°C for everyday meals, 80°C for dinners where I need more plating time. Heat is part of flavor.

9. Synergy through empirical wine pairing

The Principle: A good pairing complements the dish (1+1=2); a great pairing elevates both (1+1=3).

The Rationale: In classic Italian cooking, many pairings are straightforward—white with seafood, red with meat. In more complex or innovative cooking, dish and wine must be calibrated together. This requires the chef and sommelier to work as a single unit. A wrong pairing can undermine both (1+1=1). Because wines vary significantly even when the grape variety and terroir are the same, theoretical pairings are merely hypotheses. To find a great match, it is often necessary to taste several potential wines against the dish. This often leads to the chef adjusting the food—such as adding lemon juice to a seafood risotto to align it with a wine’s specific acidity. Dessert wines fail when paired with desserts sweeter than the wine, and many red wines suffer when their tannins are aggravated by certain ingredients. Empirical testing and collaboration are the only ways to achieve true harmony.

10. Choose restaurants for value, not status

The Principle: I enjoy simple Italian trattorie and top‑tier gastronomy alike, but avoid mid‑tier restaurants where effort and price do not translate into better flavor.

The Rationale: Many people assume I prefer expensive restaurants—but price and quality are not the same. In the Netherlands, mid‑tier places often chase stars or photographic presentation with techniques that fail Principle 2: elements that are announced on the menu yet cannot be tasted, such as no smokiness in a “smoked” cashew butter or no pancetta in an asparagus‑pancetta soup. These restaurants also tend to rely on high wine margins to compensate for labor‑intensive plating and techniques that adds no extra enjoyment. I find greater value either in Italy’s humble trattorie—where ingredient quality and simplicity shine, like at Antichi Sapori—or in top‑tier Dutch gastronomy such as Librije, Spectrum, and 212, where the team can invest the time, iteration, and precision that surpass even a skilled home kitchen.

11. Tools are instruments, not just for show (functional toolism)

The Principle: Tools should serve performance, ergonomics, and maintainability—not prestige.

The Rationale: I choose tools that work. I own a Kenwood stand mixer instead of a KitchenAid because it is sturdier and handles more dough. I keep multiple blenders for different tasks: a Vitamix for ultra‑smooth purées, a Magimix for situations where easy emptying matters more. Cleanability is essential; dishwasher‑safe tools are worth far more in daily use. I even put wooden spatulas in the dishwasher—they last over ten years anyway, and the time saved is far greater than the cost of replacement. A sharp knife is not only more effective but safer than a dull one.

12. Culinary versatility and the enjoyment of the omnivore

The Principle: Without medical restrictions, the most rewarding way to eat is to embrace everything.

The Rationale: I consider it a privilege to have no allergies or intolerances, because it allows me to explore the full spectrum of flavor. Avoiding gluten without a medical reason has no proven health benefit; unnecessary exclusions reduce both nutritional balance and culinary pleasure. Dishes like foie gras or lobster exemplify the freedom—and enjoyment—of having no forbidden foods. Health, for me, lies in variety, quality, and pleasure.