KACHEN #28 (Autumn 2021) English Edition

PORTRAIT OF A CHEF
IN THE SCHOOL OF LIFE
BAPTISTE HEUGENS
I
t was a good beginning for Baptiste Heugens. In 2017,
he strengthened the kitchen team in Two6Two – named
for the house number on the Route d’Arlon in Strassen.
Half a year later the young Belgian became Sous Chef,
and, at the end of 2018, he become the successor of the
then Chef Julien Elles. Since then, he has further solidified
the restaurant in the circle of especially good establishments
in Luxembourg. He became Gault&Millau’s “Young
Chef of the Year 2020” with 14.5 points. Today, he is 29
years old and says: “I have never wanted to do anything
else. And I could never do something else.”
“I have never
wanted to do
anything else. And
I could never do
something else.”
After school, Heugens went to the
school of hotel management in Belgium’s
Saint-Ghislain, only a stone’s throw
from the French border. “They were very
picky about the practical training,” says
Heugens. And that helped him get into
the top places from the beginning. After
an internship in Yves Mattagne’s Sea Grill
in Brussels he could return there as Commis. “I was like
a child in a sweet shop there. I recognized the care, the
precision. That immediately took me in.”
He simply enjoys the work of putting things together,
of thinking of original ideas. In Two6Two, Heugens practices
a “modern gastronomy” – and puts “modern” into big
inverted commas. “We are a young team, and we enjoy
developing new techniques and trying out new things.”
But it’s important that this provides pleasure and is delicious.
He wants to surprise but, at the same time, it must
guarantee the “gourmandise” of a plate for his customers.
It’s important for him that meat, fish and vegetables
are equal in the kitchen and on the menu. Thus, a threecourse
menu has three choices. “That allows four people
to eat completely different things at one table. They are
not bound by conventional decisions.” That calls for a
little bit more effort in the kitchen, but it can be arranged,
so Baptiste Heugens.” It doesn’t limit us and is very attractive
for the guests.”
Most important, however, is that vegetables are treated
just as lovingly and with as much care as meat or fish. “We
really work with the vegetables. We give thought to vegetarian
dishes. “Without it becoming something that we
force ourselves to do. And without it becoming something
that is possibly slightly less good than the rest. I want it to
be on the same level as the other dishes on offer.”
The vegetarian options should be “a real choice”: “Every
course is constructed in the same way as the meat or fish
option.” No, the Two6Two is certainly not morphing into a
vegetarian restaurant. It’s really only about providing the
best possible dish for the guest: “There is nothing I don’t
like to work with in the kitchen.”
He wants “a kitchen that everyone can
relate to,” – and that is possibly also the
explanation for the fact that the place is
well-visited at midday as well as in the
evenings. More than 30 to 35 seats are
not available. With four cooks, including
Baptiste Heugens, the team is manageable:
“We want to shine through quality and not
quantity. And to look after our guests.”
How important would a Michelin Star be for him?
“Hopefully one day,” says Baptiste Heugens. “We are
working towards it. We don’t want to keep that a secret.”
But one has to work hard on oneself and on the dish. “If it
does happen one day, then we will certainly be happy. But
the first priority are the clients: those who visit us must
leave satisfied.”
“The kitchen symbolizes humility and the wish to learn
and to progress,” according to Baptiste Heugens. “It’s a
job that has given a huge amount to my private life and
enriched me. For me, the kitchen is the school of life.”
TWO6TWO
262, Route d‘Arlon — L-8010 Strassen
Tel. +352 / 621 213 208
two6two.lu
Dieter Ebeling
Ramunas Astrauskas
105
TEXT
PHOTO
KACHEN No.28 | AUTUMN 21