Leon Mazairac leaves Karel 5 to take over De Hoefslag

Leon Mazairac is leaving Karel 5, the Michelin-starred restaurant inside Utrecht’s Grand Hotel Karel V, to take over De Hoefslag in Bosch en Duin with his partner Zara Kooke. The takeover becomes official on 1 January 2027, Dutch trade titles Hospitality Management and De RestaurantKrant reported on 15 September.

Mazairac announced the move on Instagram, writing that he would be “building a new dream” from 1 November. The couple will run the restaurant day to day from that date, two months before ownership formally changes hands. Mazairac becomes chef and co-owner; Kooke takes charge of hospitality and the commercial side of the business.

What Leon Mazairac plans for De Hoefslag

A hotel dining room with a star swapped for a house that once held two.

The plan splits the house in two: a brasserie and a gastronomic restaurant under one roof. Brothers Horeca Groep (BHG), the Bunnik-based group that currently operates De Hoefslag, stays on as a partner, according to the same reports.

Mazairac described the restaurant as “an institution, a house with history and a soul” and said he wants to make it a special place again, built on good food and personal service. The word “again” carries weight. De Hoefslag opened in 1920 as a coaching stop in the woods near Zeist, held two Michelin stars from 1981 to 1986 and kept one for most of the following three decades. It has been without a star since 2019.

For a Dutch kitchen story running the other way, from a big name to a young cook, see how Brasserie De Hofsmid in Buren handed its kitchen to a 22-year-old.

A star left behind at Karel 5

Mazairac, born in Utrecht in 1978, became head chef of Karel 5 in October 2020. The restaurant earned a Michelin star under him in 2023, one of two stars that ended a decade without a starred restaurant in the city, according to regional broadcaster RTV Utrecht.

His exit follows that of sous chef Jent van Capelle, who had already left the kitchen, according to Hospitality Management and De RestaurantKrant. No successor has been named, and both titles describe the future of the star as uncertain.

The timing is tight. The Michelin Guide ceremony for the Netherlands takes place on Monday 5 October at MECC Maastricht, less than a month before Mazairac starts in Bosch en Duin. The guide has already added eight new Dutch restaurants to its selection this year, but stars are only handed out on the day. Whatever Karel 5 keeps in Maastricht, the next verdict on Mazairac’s cooking will be delivered in a brasserie in the woods.