MaxWandt
Chef from Arnhem, the Netherlands. Cooking over fire and charcoal, with the flavours he learned in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Ask Max for your dinner or eventCurrently head chef at STAN&CO Arnhem.
European champion at Open Fire Festival 2026 with Team Tagwood NL.
Into the kitchen at fourteen, never left
Max started working in hospitality at fourteen. After a few years of side jobs he went to culinary school, and soon knew he wanted to start something of his own one day. After his training he worked in Groningen, where he worked his way up to head chef.
In 2020 he left for Mexico. During the pandemic he worked as a cook in Oaxaca, the region known for its mole, mezcal and corn. There he saw how chefs build deep, complex flavours from a handful of pure ingredients. That was what he wanted to bring home.
Back in Arnhem he opened Colibrí Cocina Mexicana: modern Mexican, everything made in-house from raw ingredients and much of it cooked over fire and charcoal. Not Tex-Mex, but the real cuisine of Oaxaca with modern techniques. Today he runs the kitchen as head chef at STAN&CO on Willemsplein in Arnhem.
- Culinary schoolFriese Poort, Drachten
- Prinsenhof GroningenTrainee chef
- Stadsbar het Mauritshuis, GroningenHead chef
- Oaxaca, MexicoCook, learned Mexican cuisine from the inside
- Colibrí Cocina Mexicana, ArnhemChef and owner
- Open Fire Meat Up, TexasThird place, 2025
- STAN&CO Arnhem and Team Tagwood NLHead chef, and European open fire champion 2026
Team Tagwood NL
Max competes in open fire cooking with Team Tagwood NL. Three hospitality entrepreneurs who joined forces: Chef Max Wandt, Wander Alblas of Lokaal 804 and Maurice van Wijk of De HorecaMan, backed by a crew of fire masters. Max is the driving force, Wander and Maurice handle everything around him. Not a hobby club, but people who work in a kitchen or on a restaurant floor every day.
The name comes from Tagwood BBQ, the grills the team cooks on: Argentine Santa Maria grills in stainless steel, with a grate you raise and lower. That way you control the heat without touching the fire.
Open Fire Festival Germany 2026
Group winner, European champion and Judges Choice Award
The first edition of the festival in Germany, at the Pingelhof in Alt Damerow. Team Tagwood NL won its group and then the final with 50.80 points, four points ahead of the runner-up.
Open Fire Meat Up, Texas 2026
Second in the group
At Quail Crossing Ranch in Hondo, the biggest live fire event in the world. Only the group winner goes through to the final, so it was missed by a hair.
Open Fire Meat Up, Texas 2025
Third place for Max
A year earlier Max already stood among the best pitmasters and content creators from around the world, and took bronze.
2027: going for first place
Next year the team returns to Germany and Texas with one goal. A videographer comes along, so everything gets filmed. So far the team has paid for everything out of its own pocket. Want to join as a sponsor? Get in touch with the team.
- April 2027Zee en Aarde, Zeeland (NL)
- 2 to 4 September 2027Open Fire Festival Germany
- 22 to 24 October 2027Open Fire Meat Up, Texas
Maximum flavour, honest ingredients
Max's cooking is about time and fire. Sauces that simmer for hours, meat cooked slowly over charcoal, salsas and marinades made from scratch. Dishes full of layers: smoky, sour, spicy and sweet at once, but always in balance.
Everything made in-house
From raw ingredient to plate. Nothing ready-made, no shortcuts.
Fire and charcoal
Grilling, roasting and smoking. On a grill, in a kitchen or outdoors on location.
Rooted in Oaxaca
Authentic Mexican flavours, with modern techniques and a twist of his own.
What you can ask Max for
Every menu is made to measure. Prices on request, depending on number of guests, location and wishes.
Private chef
Max cooks at your home or on location. A multi-course menu for a birthday, an anniversary or just an evening you won't forget.
Catering and fire cooking
For company parties, weddings and events. Big cuts of meat, fish and vegetables over open fire, up to a whole pig on the cross. With salsas and sides, all made in-house. For large groups together with De HorecaMan.
Mexican night or workshop
A pop-up dinner or a cooking workshop where Max shows you how to make tortillas, salsas and a real mole.
Menu advice for restaurants
Help setting up or renewing a menu, with recipes and workflows your kitchen team can run on their own afterwards.
Together at the fire
De HorecaMan
Maurice van Wijk is an interim hospitality manager, Tagwood teammate and a regular partner of Max. He gets restaurants back on track, and together they take on larger events and catering. His motto (in Dutch): “Ik breng je zaak weer op smaak.”
dehorecaman.nlLokaal 804
The place of Wander Alblas, Tagwood teammate. In Dorpshuis Schaarsbergen at Kemperbergerweg 804 in Arnhem.
lokaal804.nl
Book Max
Tell us what you have in mind. Date, number of guests and location already help a lot. Max will get back to you personally. Max speaks Dutch and English.