Peter Goossens

Peter Goossens (born in 1964 in Zottegem), is a Belgian chef, Michelin-starred for his restaurant Hof van Cleve. He is known as the "Godfather of Belgian Gastronomy".

Biography Peter Goossens was born in Zottegem, Flanders, Belgium in 1964. His parents were engaged in trade. He studied at the culinary school of Ter Duinen (nl. Hotelschool Ter Duinen) in Koksijde. Goossens moved to France and did his first internship in the restaurant Le Pré Catelan in Paris. In 1982–1986, he took training at Lenôtre, Pré Catelan, Pavillon d'Elysée, Blanc in Thoissey and at Byblos in Saint-Tropez.

Career In 1987, he became the owner of the restaurant in Kruisem and turned it into a gastronomic restaurant Hof van Cleve in 1992. It specialized in Belgian-French cuisine with Asian flavours. In 1994, the restaurant got a Michelin star. The second Michelin star was given in 1998. In 2005, he became the youngest Belgian chef to get three stars in Michelin. Since 2000, he has been a Member of Mastercooks of Belgium. Since 2004, Hof van Cleve has had 19.5\20 on Gault&Millau. In 2006–2008, he was an advisor for the "Museum Brasserie" in Brussels. Also, since 2008 Goossens has been a culinary advisor “Unilever”.

In 2008, he launched his culinary TV-shows on VTM "Mijn Restaurant" and in 2009 "De Beste Hobbykok van Vlaanderen". Later, he started two more TV-programmes "Meesterlijke Klassiekers" in 2010 and "De keuken van de Meester" in 2011. In 2010, he founded the culinary TV-channel Njam! together with Studio 100.

In 2011-2019 he was the President of the Bocuse d’Or Team Belgium. In 2014, Goossens founded the Flanders Food Academy and became the head of the Flanders Food Faculty. In a press release, he explained that Floris Van Der Veken—the current kitchen chef at Hof van Cleve—will take over the restaurant starting from January 1, 2024. Goossens noted that "he had already been thinking of heading in a new professional direction for years."

Books Peter Goossens published the cookbooks “Koken en Wijn” and “België – Wereldkeuken”. Also, he co-authored several books: MNU and MNU 2 with Sergio Herman and Roger van Damme, “Meesterlijke Klassiekers”, “Passie voor Product” with Njam!, “The Seasons” with ‘Het Laatste Nieuws’. Goossens contributed to “Where Chefs Eat – A Guide to Chefs’ Favourite Restaurants”, “Koken-Het Handboek” (Hotel School ‘Ter Duinen’), “M.E.P.”, “De Essentie” (Unilever), “Chefs van België”, “De Alchemie van Liefde en Lusten” (Bo Coolsaet), “Food & Wine”, “Een Belgisch kookboek”, “Truffels – ‘s werelds zwarte goud”, “Sterrenchefs van bij ons” (Caudelier), “Havanna's – grand cru uit Cuba”, “Kaas en Wijn”.

Interesting facts Goossens favourite dishes are Young pigeon 'Anjou‘ with crispy bacon, potato mousseline and black truffle and Grilled turbot with spinach, lobster béarnaise and bouillabaisse puree.

Awards

2021 — The World's 50 Best Restaurants: Ranking 36th 2021 — Honorary Ambassador of the Belgian and Flemish culinary inheritance 2021 — Grand Prix de l’Art de la Cuisine from the International Academy of Gastronomy 2019-2020 — Hof van Cleve ranks 43rd in The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2018 — top-ranking (#20) at the award show of The Best Chef in Milan 2017 — European Hospitality Foundation Award – HOTREC 2011 — Goossens is also a Knight in the Order of Leopold 2004 — Chef of the Year– Gault&Millau Benelux