UNTOLD CRACKS THE CHEF’S CODE PART II
Posted by Stephen
Reading time: 5 minutes
In an earlier entry, we gave you a pretty good idea of who our good friend Axel is as a chef. But like mentioned earlier, there is plenty of other stuff that makes him who he is. And just like with his cooking, there is a recurring theme. Besides the passion, that is. Because outside the kitchen, chef Axel is a blend of influences and inspirations too. A whirling mix of interests and fascinations. The fusion just keeps going on.
When he is not cooking or conjuring up new and exciting recipes, Axel devours books about design and art history. The old masters and modern art alike. He sucks up all these influences. Because it fascinates him. And because timeless beauty inspires him to take his dishes to the next level. As a result, his plates don’t only taste heavenly, they are pretty like a painting too. Every time. No exceptions, no excuses. He once visited us in Belgium while we were making our book ‘A Tate of Tanzania’ and of course he cooked for us. One of the side dishes was a ‘simple’ salad. Well, it took ages until it met Axel’s demands. Visually. While we were sitting there, salivating in sheer anticipation of finally eating, Axel was meticulously positioning halves of tomato and other tiny pieces of lettuce. Freak.
Axel is also mad about the spectacular nature and wildlife in his new home country Tanzania. And whenever he gets the chance, he takes off into the wild. Combined with another passion of his photography, he explores the national parks and gets baffled time after time. Yes, even after almost 15 years. To him, these safaris are the perfect combination of the welcoming serenity of these vast lands and the constant thrill of spotting animals. And, he doesn’t only focus on the big animals like lions or elephants. Axel is fascinated by birds too. A keen observer of the mind-boggling numbers of colorful creatures that flutter and twitter in the skies. Axel knows so much about Tanzania’s wildlife that he could easily guide people around. Which is precisely what he did for us. He was our knowledgeable guide on our meandering ways through beautiful Tanzania.
To sum up, a couple of other elements that define the multicultural melting pot that is Chef Axel Janssens. His home situation, for starters, is also international. Mrs. Janssens, his wife, née Brittany Douglas, is from the USA. ‘Murica! Hell yeah. So, even at home, there is a fascinating mixture of new world and old world. And interesting discussions about kilometers per hour or freedom eagles per Budweiser. Ok, easy, easy, you know us Europeans like to tease Americans. Brittany is absolutely fabulous. And even though Mrs. and Mr. Janssens grew up on entirely different continents, there is way more that unites them than that separates them.
Last but not least, the final element that is thrown into the mix when it comes to chef Axel is his colorful and exotic language. Ask anyone who ever met him what immediately springs to mind, and they will all say the same. His endearing way of mixing up terms and vocabulary from various languages. Adding on top of that, a deliciously thick Flemish sauce. You see, whether Axel speaks English, French or Swahili (yup, he does speak it!), it is always with a Ghent accent, his Belgian hometown. If you take his wild gesticulations and hand gestures into account, you might actually add a dash of Italian into the mix. All this, of course, stems from this same passion that oozes from everything Axel does or says. When he talks passionately about his dishes or anything for that matter, he has no time to evaluate syntaxis or vocabulary. He doesn’t even have time to choose one language to communicate in. It just comes out in big blurts of gusto. And all jokes aside, this is absolutely endearing and very charming. Just ask Mrs. Brittany Janssens.