"It's a pretty picture that greets you when you step into two-Michelin-starred Bord’Eau Restaurant Gastronomique in luxury hotel De L’Europe. Here, ceiling-to-floor glass windows offer sparkling views of the charming city of Amsterdam. Helming the restaurant is executive chef Richard van Oostenbrugge. The Dutchman's love for cooking started when he realised his day job as a dishwasher in the kitchen was more interesting than studying economics at night. He started his career in Gstaad in southwestern Switzerland, where he worked alongside several top chefs honing the exacting French techniques that he is known for today. Van Oostenbrugge arrived in Amsterdam in 2008, where he became executive chef of De L'Europe two years later, overseeing the hotel's restaurants and bars. He led Bord'Eau to its first Michelin star just two years after. Today, van Oostenbrugge continues to execute dishes with precision and beautiful plating. A dessert simply called Apple, for instance, is presented in the form of a crisp sugary granny smith apple tart with a core of apple sorbet encased in a fragile blown sugar bubble." - Meryl Koh
