Howsit, I'm Chef Liam Lijnes,

Everywhere I Cook,
Becomes Home

DISCOVER
MANIFESTO
IN THE BUSINESS OF CELEBRATING JOY

I am not your chef in the other room.
I cook with you, in your home, across the globe, wherever the moment asks.
Quality ingredients, a meaningful space and the company we keep guides us.

A turning point in my cooking happened in a restored Old Cape Dutch farmhouse in Noordhoek, Cape Town.
The kitchen and the dining room were one space. I cooked, they watched, no barriers. And when the final plate went down, they applauded.
Not out of politeness. Out of presence.
That night, I realsied I did not want to cook behind a door.
I want to cook with people, in the moment, in the center of the room.

This isn’t catering.
It’s a private performance woven with story, memory and movement.
All the sourcing, the prep, the orchestration, the technique, the rhythm builds toward a single shared moment.

& Pooof, it's gone!

My cooking is ephemoral but what stays is how it made you feel.
The body feels good, satisfied, nourished, it remembers. Guests show it with a smile, sometimes a hug.
That is when I know it worked, that it is not only about the food, but how it made you feel, long after the last bite.
The kitchen is not a workspace. It is the centre of home.

I create immersive dining experiences, intimate dinners and destination workshops that leave people transformed, not just fed.

Technique is a threshold. Emotion is the journey. Presence is the destination.

If you're here, you’re not just curious. You’re ready to taste something rare.


You're ready to celebrate.
Chef portrait
PERSONAL CHEF
IN THE BUSINESS OF CELEBRATING JOY
Curating gastronomic experiences that transform.
It's theater, ritual, story and connection.

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THE FOOD
I offer my guests seasonal food that speaks of the South African-Dutch connection, reimagined through the lens of my own adventures. A theatre of colour, flavour, fragrance, and texture, each dish part of an unforgettable experience. Each dish is a memory in motion, built to linger, nourish and surprise.

MENU
SPACES
WHERE WE CHOOSE TO COOK

I cook in spaces that hold presence.
In Cape Town, Amsterdam or wherever meaning finds us.
Each one tells a story.
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Recent Moments
Yataghan Lane
Yataghan Lane
Masterclasses
Meringue Masterclass
Private Dining
Private Dining
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LEGACY
SOUTH AFRICAN DUTCH CONNECTION

Born and raised in South Africa, Grand Diplôme at Silwood Kitchens, Rondebosch, Cape Town.

For over two decades, I have led with prestigeous establishments, (Restaurants, Game Farms, Wine Farms, Hotels and Luxury Boats) across multiple longitudes flanking the Prime Meridian.

I moved to the Netherlands as a means to broaden my horizon as well as to reconnect with my dutch roots, Amsterdam is the city where my Grandfather lived and worked. In Cape Town I have the mountains and the oceans, in Amsterdam I have Schiphol, the doorway to the world.

In my cooking, I am able to educate, calm, heal, elevate, lead, innovate, inspire. I think transformation, much like what cooking is, is this greatest movement to witness.

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