One of the Netherlands’ three Michelin three-star restaurants is closing its doors later this year after the owners decided to pursue new challenges.

Jacob Jan Boerma and Kim Veldman said De Leest in Vaassen would shut by the end of the year after 17 years, after considering what to do for a year. ‘It’s not something that happened overnight and they consulted Michelin on our decision to stop, because Michelin have obviously made them great too,’ a spokesman for the owners told Omroep Gelderland.

De Leest opened in 2002 and gained its first Michelin star just five months later. A second followed in 2007 and the coveted third star was first awarded in 2013. It is only the fourth establishment in the Netherlands ever to achieve a similar accolade.

Boerma said it had been his childhood dream to own an exclusive restaurant. ‘It began on the back seat of my parents’ car. Now the dream has more than come true. In 2020 I’ll have been in this business for 30 years. It’s time for a nice change.’