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Top Chefs Curaçao

By Jennifer van der Kwast

Special occasion or everyday indulgence: Meet Curaçao's hot new artists in food

Gourmands who enjoy lingering over a well-mixed drink, world-class meal, and grand dessert should get to know four of today's leading chefs. Emerging from the daily trial by fire that is Curaçao's restaurant scene, these hot new talents skewer tired old assumptions with delightfully fresh takes, from globally sourced tapas to locally caught lobsters to pastries inspired in Paris. One even teaches guests to design their own great dinners.

Michael de Leur. Curaçao cuisine, like the island itself, achieves a rare combination of European finesse and Antillean sizzle. No one strikes this balance better than Michael de Leur, chef at Seasons Restaurant at the Papagayo Beach Resort (Jan Thiel Baai z/n, 599-9-738-3864). On any given day, his menu is likely to feature a gold-label Wagyu ribeye from New Zealand or a tail of local langoustine caught that morning by the sous chef. The fish of the day — maybe bluefin — might be served with a Japanese tonkatsu sauce. The Dover sole could come with a side of traditional Old Amsterdam cheese in an untraditional shot glass of white foam.

Even the setting is at once universally chic and typically tropical. Leave the beach bar restaurants to the barefoot heathens who prefer french fries with pindasaus and pina coladas. The open-air dining room at Seasons is a more sedate affair. Come here for the dramatic dark wood and crisp blue linens, overlooking a night-lit pool fringed with giant palms.

Michael (pronounced and occasionally spelled "Maikel") was born and raised in the Netherlands, where he studied hotel management at Tilburg. In 1992, he came to Curaçao, and was instantly taken with the laid-back Antillean appreciation for lingering indulgence. Four years later, he opened Le Maitre restaurant at Landhuis Chobolobo.

When the Papagayo Beach Resort opened a restaurant on site in 2002, Michael transferred his culinary operation there. It instantly became the place to celebrate special occasions. But this is no place to pinch pennies. The six-course tasting menu, Michael's "pride and joy," goes for $80 per person — $97 for top-shelf fixings like the bluefin or Wagyu (think Kobe), when available. It's a splurge by island standards, but a steal among gourmands in the know. The meal includes an amuse-bouche, three seasonally inspired appetizers, a palette-cleansing spoon of sorbet, two main courses, and what Michael dubs "a small grand dessert."

As its name implies, the menu at Seasons relies heavily on fresh ingredients. That being that case, expect no less than 15 special additions to the standard menu.

Raymond "Ray" Chaar. Although born in Suriname, chef Raymond "Ray" Chaar comes classically-trained by way of the Netherlands. After completing his formal education at Utrecht, he came to Curaçao in 2000 and got a crash course in beach-bar-restaurant cuisine, with stints at Mambo Beach and Zanzibar. In 2004, he scored the head chef position at Tu Tu Tango, a popular, off-the-beaten-path tapas restaurant tucked behind the movie theater in Punda. Because the term tapas was used loosely to refer to small plates of any global origin, it gave Ray the opportunity to play with his wide-ranging influences — Surinamese, Dutch, Antillean, among others. The menu was a dizzying mouth-watering read.

When Tu Tu Tango closed, his team opened Omundo Restaurant and Wine Bar at the Zuikertuintje Mall (Zuikertuintjeweg z/n, 599-9-738-8477), Curaçao's unofficial town hall, which received a major face-lift in 2007. Any concern that the swanky new Omundo would have trouble establishing itself among the stalwart, local-favorite restaurants that remained on the premises were immediately banished. The restaurant has been jam-packed on a nightly basis since it opened.

Omundo's clientelle is what Ray calls "older" (read: more discerning) than his former Tu Tu Tango crowd, which allows him to refine his talents. Even though the global menu is still all-encompassing, Ray can focus on the dishes he loves best: fish specials like the grilled snapper topped with tropical salsa and the seared tuna served on a bed of crisp greens.

Angelique Schoop. Part chef, part instructor, part social coordinator, Angelique Schoop has created a one-of-kind setting for guests to experience the tastes of Curaçao. In 2000, she opened Angelica's Kitchen in a restored historic home at Otrabanda (Hoogstraat 49, 599-9-562-3699), where guests come for a cooking class and leave after indulging in a four-hour sit-down dinner of their own design.

As someone who always loved to cook, Angelique decided to master her skills by attending the Peter Kump cooking school in New York, followed by a master course at La Varenne in France. She also travels yearly to attend cooking seminars in such exotic far-flung places as Turkey. Her menu — lesson plans — can include creative takes on ethnic favorites like plantain soup and salt cod stew (bakijow stoba). Angelique insists the emphasis in her kitchen is not on the food, but on the communal joy of cooking. The restaurant is only open by appointment, for groups of 10 or more.

Angelique discovered her true passion after attending a 2007 pastry course in Paris, which inspired her to open Angelica's Delights (Hoogstraat 32, 599-9-562-3699), a Caribbean tea room, down the street from the original Angelica's Kitchen. With the fruit market just across the bridge in Punda, Angelique can take advantage of fresh mango, coconut, and pineapple for tart fillings. She also makes a homemade marmalade from laraha, the signature orange of Curaçao liqueur.

Don't expect any run-of-the-mill desserts. Having been wowed by afternoon tea at the Four Seasons Hotel, Angelique decided to model her emporium after the New York original, where variety is key. "That's the fun part for me," says Angelique, who looks forward to challenging herself continually to come up with modern takes on classic cakes.

Misherella "Ella" Rooi. Grab a stool at the Avila Beach Hotel Pool Bar (Pennstraat 130) and watch Misherella "Ella" Rooi, an up-and-coming talent, whip up lunch at the open seaside kitchen. Fresh salt air adds an extra kick to the quesadillas, vegetables stir-fried in a wok, and pesto-seasoned tuna seared on the outdoor grill.

In 2008, a banner year for the 28-year-old Curaçao native, not only did she land the breezy job of grilling outdoors in the sunny Caribbean. Rooi was also selected for the 2008 Curaçao Culinary Team to compete at Taste of the Caribbean, in Jamaica. Expect more good things to come from this rising local star.

For more delicious dining options, use our Dining & Nightlife Guide.

Curaçao Cuisine

By Jennifer van der Kwast

Creole fare: heavy on light stews, fruity soups, spiked desserts

Antillean creole (krioyo) is characterized by light spicy stoba (stew) and sopi (soup). Cool off with refreshing fruit-based soups like sopi di pampuna (pumpkin soup), sopi di banana (banana soup), and sopito or koko piska (coconut and fish soup).

Curaçao red snapper is a signature dish. Keshi yena (stuffed cheese) is another traditional favorite, whose original recipe called for baking chicken, olives, and raisins in the leftover shell of a Gouda cheese wheel. Sides include funchi, moist cornmeal, and tutu, a mash of cornmeal, butter, and beans. To keep cakes from melting, cognac and rum are added to bolo pretu and cashupete.

Don't leave Curaçao without sampling delicious pastechis, puff pastries filled with cheese or meat. Worst case, grab one at the airport before you leave.

Read unbiased opinions about Curaçao hotels and Curaçao vacations at TripAdvisor.