The restaurant's first owner and head chef was Jaap Klosse, who made full use of the location on the edge of the Royal Game Reserve Het Loo.[4][5] Considered a "delightful restaurant"[6] and one of the "best restaurants"[7] in the Netherlands, it was named after an "echoing well" where people traveling by obtained water for their horses. The building has the appearance of a hunting lodge and the restaurant specializes in seasonal game dishes, such as venison, boar and fowl.[7]Theus de Kok has led the kitchen since 1974, first as head chef, later as executive chef-maitre.[8][9][10] In June 2010, Leendert Scholtus took over the kitchen from Chiel Dohmen.[11] In February 2014, Scholtus announced that he would leave De Echoput to start his own restaurant.[12] His successor will be Peter Paul van den Breemen, former owner and head chef of Het Jachthuis Hoog Soeren, who starts at 1 April.[13]
The original restaurant was closed and demolished in 2004. Peter Klosse, son of the founder and owner of the complex since 1985, replaced it with a hotel and restaurant. They celebrated the reopening by winning the International Restaurant Awards category Best New Restaurant of the Year/Luxury Restaurant.[14][15]
According to several sources, the restaurant was already awarded a Michelin star from 1967. The Michelin Guide does not give any evidence of this.[3][24]
^Jansen, Will (2007). Culinaire grootmeesters. Het heilige vuur van twaalf topkoks (in Dutch). Utrecht: Uitgeverij Het Spectrum. pp. 99–104. ISBN9789027455314.
^Kok, Richard (3 May 2010). "Nieuwe chef-kok voor De Echoput" [New head chef for De Echoput]. Misset Horeca (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 March 2014. (subscription required)
^Roemaat, Bianca (10 February 2014). "Chef Echoput* vertrekt en begint voor zichzelf" [Head chef Echoput* leaves and starts own restaurant]. Misset Horeca (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 March 2014. (subscription required)