Sidney Schutte

Sidney Schutte is a Dutch chef. He is the head chef at the Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam and its fine dining restaurant Spectrum (formerly known as Librije's Zusje Amsterdam). Within seven months of opening, Schutte improved Librije's Zusje Amsterdam's cuisine and received two Michelin stars and a score of 18 Gault&Millau points. As of 2018, Spectrum was ranked sixth in the Dutch Lekker magazine.

His second restaurant Goldfinch Brasserie opened in February 2015 and Sidney leads both kitchens with a strong personal signature.

Since December 2016, Schutte has led another kitchen at Cocina de Autor, a restaurant at the Grand Velas Los Cabos Hotel in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. His passion for traveling is one of the aspects that shaped his culinary style. At Cocina de Autor, Schutte aims to create a journey of flavours in his dishes through the palette of European, Asian and South American. In 2017, the restaurant was named one of "The Best New Restaurants" by the CNN.

Earlier life and career

Sidney Schutte was born in Middelburg, The Netherlands in 1976. He discovered his passion for food and the art of cooking at a young age. He left his hometown at the age of 18, driven by his ambition to become a chef. His training was extensive; he gained experience from prestigious chefs in restaurants such as Restaurant Der Bloasbalg (1 Michelin star) under the guidance of Jan Waghemans, Restaurant Scholteshof (2 Michelin stars) of Roger Souvereyns and De Librije (3 Michelin stars) headed by Jonnie Boer. Meanwhile, Sidney was acknowledged as “SVH Meesterkok”, which is the highest recognition that a chef can achieve in The Netherlands.

In 2010, Schutte started in the position of Executive Sous Chef at Restaurant Amber (2015 nr 4 San Pellegrino Asia’s 50 Best restaurants) in Hong Kong under the guidance of Richard Ekkebus. And in 2012 he was appointed as Executive Chef of The Landmark Mandarin Hotel Hong Kong. In 2014, Sidney decided to return to the Netherlands to fulfil the position of Executive Chef in the then soon-to open Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam. He received several impressive achievements throughout his career as an Executive Chef. As he managed the kitchen of Librije's Zusje Amsterdam, he was recognised as Chef of the Year in 2017 by Gault&Millau and was also ranked in number 65 on the list of "The Best Chef Award 2017", which applies for chefs from around the world. In addition, Sidney Schutte recently had the honour to serve his signature dishes for one month at the Ikarus restaurant in HANGAR 7, Salzburg, Austria.

Cooking style

Schutte's strong personal signature is recognized by distinct flavors and that is transformed into a unique cuisine, which is mostly influenced by Asian flavors. Additionally, he presents a traditional dish in a contemporary way. Where the produce is obtained from both local and international suppliers. For the majority of his dishes at the restaurant, he uses mainly seafood.