The sweet brain of City Boys: Jesper on patisserie, seasons and experimentation.
04/03/2026
At Stadsjochies, it's all about cooking with what nature gives us. This applies not only to the savoury dishes from the kitchen, but certainly also to the desserts. Behind these sweet creations is our pastry chef Jesper. He explains how his desserts are created, why summer is actually the preparation for winter and why structure is so important in a good dessert.
Who is Jesper?
Jesper is responsible for all desserts at Stadsjochies. As pastry chef, he invents and creates the sweet endings of the menu. He doesn't do this all by himself: together with chef Pieter, he spars over ideas and flavours until a dish emerges that excites everyone.
Jesper studied pastry and did several internships before joining Stadsjochies. Here, he now translates his knowledge and creativity into desserts that fit our way of cooking: seasonal, surprising and using home-grown products as much as possible.
What does a pastry chef's week look like at Stadsjochies?
Jesper's week starts with planning. At the beginning of the week, he checks how many guests are expected so that he can determine how much needs to be prepared.
Based on this, he plans the mise-en-place: which elements need to be made when. Some elements, such as mousse, for instance, need time to stiffen. So those are often prepared first.
That planning is not always easy. The number of guests can still fluctuate and reservations are regularly added on the day itself. In summer, therefore, it is sometimes easier: then we are full by default and you can just count on it.
Desserts for everyone
At Stadsjochies, we think it's important that everyone can enjoy dessert. That's why we make standard:
- a normal dessert
- a vegan dessert (automatically also lactose-free)
- a gluten-free dessert
These variations are often based on the same basic dessert, but modified so that everyone can enjoy the sweet ending.
Home-grown products
While not every dessert is entirely from our own harvest, Jesper tries to use as many ingredients from our own garden and projects as possible.
One particular example is our own absinthe, which is currently starring in a dessert (see left). For Jesper, a homegrown cress is also an indispensable element that can give that extra fresh touch and can be found in every dessert.
Winter actually begins in summer
What makes winter at Stadsjochies so special is that we can then work with everything we prepared earlier in the year.
In fact, the summer is already in full swing:
- fermenting
- pickling
- dry
- freeze
That way, we can also use as much homegrown produce as possible in winter. Without such preparations, we would have to buy many more ingredients. Thinking ahead keeps the connection with our own harvest even in the colder months.
Experimenting in the lab
Besides making desserts, Jesper also keeps himself busy with projects in the “lab”. Currently, he is fully experimenting with making his own vinegar.
And not by taking a neutral vinegar and adding flavour to it, but by really making vinegar from scratch. There are currently large buckets of, for instance, pumpkin vinegar fermenting. A process that takes time, but can eventually create very unique flavours.
Summer work, winter dessert
Today's desserts also feature ingredients that have been hard at work over the summer.
A great example is toasted flower ice cream. In summer, flowers from the garden are dried and roasted. Those flavours are then drawn into milk and cream, which are eventually made into ice cream.
We also use sugared cedrate lemons. These fat lemons are first candied and then stored so that they can be used in desserts months later. This way, you actually still taste a bit of summer in winter.
The perfect dessert according to Jesper
For Jesper, a good dessert is mainly about balance in texture. A dessert with only soft elements quickly feels like “porridge”. That is why a counterpart is important: something crunchy or with bite. That combination of soft, creamy, fresh and crunchy makes for an interesting experience in every bite.
And another element that almost always comes back at Stadsjochies: ice cream. Because we can incorporate so much produce from our own garden into ice cream, it's a perfect way to reflect our harvest in desserts.