Brunch fans rejoice! Chef, restaurateur and veteran COOK instructor Joncarl Lachman is opening a new breakfast and lunch spot in Center City. The restaurant will occupy the recently closed More Than Just Ice Cream space at 12th and Locust Streets. As for its name, Joncarl chose Winkel, which means ‘little shop’ in Dutch. Winkel will serve breakfast and lunch to start with the possibility of dinner service in the future. In addition to interesting Dutch-influenced breakfast dishes, Winkel will offer numerous soups as well as fresh, house-baked bread. Talk about comfort food! Joncarl treated sixteen eager COOK guests to a sneak preview of his restaurant with some dishes that will be on the menu at Winkel. Read on to see what the “Darling Dutchman” Joncarl will be cooking up at Winkel!

Joncarl started the night off with a no-brainer breakfast dish that was on the menu at his previous restaurant Neuf – shakshuka. The base to this dish is a spicy tomato sauce, to which Joncarl added mint, fennel and roasted zucchini. Once the tomato base was assembled Joncarl topped each with an egg and popped them into the oven for about 10 minutes, or until he saw they were ready. This would be a great item to order for breakfast to warm yourself up and get all the energy you need to begin your day!

Following the shakshuka, Joncarl prepared a hearty plate of red flannel hash – corned beef, beets, carrots, parsnips and sour cream. The corned beef was so tender it was nearly falling apart! After this filling course, Joncarl doubled down and ensured our guests didn’t leave hungry with his next plate. After he halved and gutted a spaghetti squash, Joncarl then filled each with a combination of molasses, gouda and brown sugar caramelized bacon. Finally the squash bowl came full circle when it was topped with sautéed squash seeds. Joncarl stated that he loves to toast these squash seeds because they “smell like October.” Also, Joncarl noted that he’d love to make this a brunch option by piling it high with scrambled eggs.

If you’re a fan of Joncarl Lachman’s Northern European bistro Noord, then you must know how delicious the bread is there. Well, look forward to more tasty fresh bread at Winkel because Jonnathan Yacashin, the chef who bakes all the bread for Noord, will also oversee Winkel’s leavened loaves. While the warm, baked-in-house bread will be perfect for dipping in the soups at Winkel, it may also find its way into delectable desserts as it did in this class. Chef Lachman transformed a huge loaf of Jonnathan’s raisin bread into his famous bread pudding, finished with vanilla whipped cream and a childhood favorite of his, lingonberries. Trust us: Joncarl’s bread pudding is simply the best; we cross our fingers that he’ll make it each time he returns to COOK.

Has this sneak peek into Winkel peaked your interest? It certainly excited our guests and had them yearning for Lachman’s Winkel to open soon! Thankfully the wait for Winkel to open will not be too long as Joncarl announced that they are hoping for a mid-January debut. Stay tuned for more information on Winkel so that you can be one of the first to enjoy Joncarl’s heart-warming meals. Be sure to tell him COOK sent you!