Viki Geunes

GOURMET DÎNER WITH VIKI GEUNES – 30.01.2024 – 31.01.2024
RESERVATION DIRECTLY AT GRAND HOTEL KRONENHOF *****: +41 81 830 30 30

Viki Geunes is the best proof that it is possible to make it to the top in the gastronomy scene even without classical training. The Belgian’s career is the rise of an autodidact. He had already completed training as an acoustics engineer when he discovered his passion for cooking and turned it into his profession. Together with his wife Viviane Plaquet, he opened “'t Zilte” in Mol in 1996 and refined his cooking philosophy (purist use of first-class products, renunciation of enormous quantities of sauces) to such an extent that he received his first Michelin star in 2004.

In 2005, he was named the best up-and-coming chef in his country, followed by a second star in 2008. Only one year later Gault & Millau ennobled him Chef of the Year. His participation in the TV show “Keukenrebellen” (Kitchen rebels) and his bestseller “Just Cooking,” which was crowned best cookbook of the year, brought him nationwide popularity. “I am always working on new things in the field of food, at home and abroad, because this work never ends”,said the then two-star chef.

In 2011, Viki Geunes reopened his restaurant under the name «Zilte» in the old port of Antwerp. The self-taught chef remained true to his motto “cooking begins in the mind,” and he received his third Michelin star in 2019 - as one of only three chefs in Belgium.