I've worked at Plein Café for many years, and before that, I worked at various restaurants, including Gouverneur, Hanchi Snoa, Carlito, WI Compagnie, and Mambo. I know many hospitality professionals and owners on the island and get along well with them. I've moved often in my life, and you constantly have to adapt to new surroundings and meet new people. As a child of Curaçao, I moved to the Netherlands at 13 and lived in various places. That's why I'm good with people. After 15 years in the Netherlands, I returned to my native island.

I was 36 when I started working at Plein Café in 2001. Back then, the chefs worked two shifts, and I did absolutely everything: cooking, washing dishes, setting plates and place settings—everything that came with it. It was hard work; we had a small kitchen, and the refrigerators were upstairs on the first floor. I spent a lot of time running up and down the stairs. Thankfully, that's all over now, and we've tripled the size of the kitchen downstairs. We even have a walk-in refrigerator and freezer now. Things are running very smoothly and professionally in the kitchen now.

In the 22 years I've been a chef at Plein Café, so much has changed both here and in Punda. Being a chef and running the kitchen here is my life; it's more than just my job; it's my second home. I feel good here! I love my job and have earned a free rein here. I have a great relationship with my colleagues. I have 14 colleagues in the kitchen, and some have been working here for over 10 years. Sometimes former colleagues stop by to say hello and chat. We're a real family!

I create and adapt the menu together with the owners. The daily specials are also very popular, and I create those myself. It's important to know what guests like and don't like. For example, the Dutch don't particularly like meat on the bone, even though it's very popular in Curaçao. Guests also want a good price. For the daily special, I like to make something extra, like real roti. People come specifically for the daily specials, on Mondays for the stew, and on Tuesdays for the Indonesian dish, which is nice! I hear from the staff that the guests enjoy it.

I purchase all the ingredients for the kitchen and negotiate prices, as the menu items have a fixed price. If any equipment needs servicing, I take care of that too. I manage the daily schedule and coordinate all the kitchen work.

Punda has changed a lot, but I think there's still a lot more to be done. I think there should be more organized events in the city. This always brings a lot of fun, and people enjoy it. You can see that on Thursdays during Punda Vibes.

The best day of the year for me is King's Day, too. As a chef, this day means French Fries Day. We have a French fry stand on the patio with four chefs who are constantly frying fries. I always make sure we have enough fries in stock; last year, we went through 500kg of fries on this day alone.

On June 1st, Kirsten's story will be published on this page!