Chef Nic Vanderbeeken has 16 years of experience working in and establishing restaurants in France, Netherlands, Belgium, Vietnam and now Bali. His experience brings another level of sophistication in technique and flavours to the Viceroy Bali’s award winning restaurant CasCades.

Starting his career at a young age in an entry level position in the kitchen of 1 Michelin Star Chez Bru, Nic learned the fundamentals from world renowned chefs. His passion and creativity catapulted him to sous chef position in several Michelin restaurants such as ‘t Convent, Restaurant Berto and Grand Caberet before owning his own Bistronomy style restaurant Bistro Biggles in Belgium. Immediately preceding his current position at CasCades, Chef Nic setup Evita Bistronomie, a fine dining establishment in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

In the 3 years that Nic has been executive chef at the Viceroy Bali’s CasCades restaurant, he has developed the fine dining menu to make CasCades one of the most recognisable and distinguished European restaurants on the island of Bali. The menu balances Indonesian and Asian flavours with sophisticated European dishes such as Iberico pork and milk-fed Dutch Veal.

Through the years Nic become accustomed to local and international exposure through serving as executive chef for well publicised events such as Belgian restaurant week in Washington DC. This exposure included featuring on several television shows and number of industry magazines such as Bistronomie, Ché, Michelin Guide and Gault-millau.

Starting 2016, chef Nic was invited to cook for Chaine des rotisseurs in the Australian Embassy Jakarta. While soon after that, he was honored to cook for the princes of Belgium in Economic Belgian Royal Mission Gala Event- Jakarta. In the event he also did a cooking demo.

On April 14 – 16, 2016 chef Nic was a guest chef for 3 nights at the very prestigious Pier 6 Restaurant at Pacific Club Hong Kong. During the event he promoted not his signature creations but also showcased traditional Balinese recipes with modern techniques and presentation.

Above all Chef Nic Vanderbeeken enjoys exploration and discovery, both in the kitchen and out

1. What is your philosophy when it comes to food?

That you should put your soul into the food that you cook.

For me what is the most important is that you feel good with what you are cooking then you create the most amazing dishes. They should reflect you/ the chef. It was love at first sight with regards to cooking, i like the new challenges it presents.

2. Name your most Favourite dish on the menu? And why?

It is difficult to choose just one but if i have to i would say the beef rendang using beef cheeks. The technique i used before for my previous favourite European dish – veal cheeks with Belgian beer “Rodenbach” and mushroom risotto few years ago. Now i use the technique and turned it into an Indonesian “Rendang Sapi” with spices of Indonesia and yellow rice.

You should always be adapting your experience to local flavours and choosing the most sustainable and highest quality priducts available. It’s delicious!

3. Main considerations when it comes to choosing your ingredients?

Meet you suppliers and start to know them. Tell them what you want and make them aware what your preferences are. If they understand what you want and you understand what they do, then you can work very well together.

Quality, consistency and flavours of your product is the most important. As there are many chefs now travelling around the world, you can find and meet sometimes the right person to supply you with the best product from overseas if it’s not available in your country.

4. How do you see the growing demands for sustainable produce affecting the food world?

It is nice to see people now becoming more aware of sustainable dining, but since the beginning of my career in Europe, most of the high-end restaurants already used their own organic gardens with herbs, vegetables, chickens. This was to ensure quality and flavour.

Now it is getting more in the spotlight and that’s good but it was for me never different. But locally what is in season, work around what is in season, available and fresh. With more restaurants supporting this i think the quality of food available to everyone (not just fine dining) will be much higher than it was 20 years ago.

5. If you weren’t a chef, or in the food business, what would you be?

Food and cooking has been a passion from a very young age that has grown year by year. My first job on weekends when i was 14 years old was as a dish washer in a restaurant, from that moment when i saw the chefs in the kitchen and the thrill of the job, i knew it was what i wanted to do.

I had a big interest in cars, so one of the ideas was to become a car mechanic, when i started high school i wanted to go to the sports school. But nothing has ever felt as right as being in the kitchen.

6. Do you have a memorable food experience that impacted you as a child or young chef?

I have a few, my mom loves to cook and still for me she makes the best mash potatoes, could eat loads of it served with anything, also when she prepared frog legs with garlic cream…. Just excellent and so simple.

I also distinctly remember my grandma (who was a butcher before i was born). Her black pudding with apple mash was delicious, this together with my first taste of beer “Pied De Boeuf”. Believe me i was under 10 years old. Those days no one worried and it was great!

7. What do you enjoy most about being a chef?

Every day we can learn new and exciting things, for me i cook to make people happy. Food is one of the most important things in life. What kind of a job makes so many people happy? We are lucky to be a contributor to people’s first dates, business deals, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries… which makes our job even more special.

8. Other than creating good food, what are the most important qualities that make a successful chef?

Motivate your team to be creative but never lose the focus and quality and flavour. Share your knowledge with them and let them be free to be creative with it how they feel. Every chef and kitchen is different, you need to have discipline and love for the job. You never know everything, it is a lifetime process of learning and that keeps it interesting. One of the best qualities of a successful chef is to be patient and keep learning, never give up.

9. If you had a choice of anything for your last meal, what would you choose to have?

Frog legs with garlic cream and parsley, with a good white bread roll. Simple and delicious.

10. Do you have any tips for budding chefs or restauranteurs?

Each of us follow our own path, we become chefs from learning from our mums, other chefs, experimenting, farmers, butchers, bakers, pastry chefs…respect each other for what they do. It is hard work in the kitchen.

Never forget your past, i still believe it takes many years to become a chef and even at the top you never stop learning.

There are trends coming and going but at the end, the basics are there, we just improve it or reinvent it. Trendy restaurants nowadays don’t last forever and to reinvent yourself every time can get tiring, you lose your true self. Stay loyal to yourself and cook with your soul.