John Halvemaan is the only cook in Holland (and probably in the world) who not just named his restaurant after himself, but also had it built in the shape of his last name - Halvemaan means "half moon".

However, the name and the half moon shaped building did not significantly contribute to the special status Halvemaan has among Dutch cuisiniers today. It is Halvemaan's innovative way of creating haute cuisine dishes out of simple traditional Dutch ingredients that distinguishes him from most of his colleagues.

Halvemaan consciously wanted to break with the old-fashioned way of preparing the same dishes the same way, year after year. Halvemaan: