Contemporary cooking: honest, ethical and aware 

“For me, cooking ethically means focusing on the future. Preserving our environment for generations to come. Ironically, this involves working in the way we used to in the past. Instead of ordering ingredients from all over the world to create the dishes, I work with local products available at that particular moment. Not flying in a steak from South America or shipping beans from Kenya - I believe we have wonderful products in this region too.”  

“That is why at Les Salons, we work with what nature gives us. The results are fresh and flavourful, for example, harvesting a beetroot from our estate garden, WIJland, in the morning and serving it at dinner that same day. This approach requires some flexibility too. For instance, due to weather conditions, the carrots we planted last spring were sadly lost. That meant I had to rethink recipes. Growing vegetables is not maths, we always have to anticipate when and which products are available at any given time.”  

“To me, these homegrown vegetables are a perfect product. Flavour wise, there’s a world of difference between a parsnip from our kitchen garden versus one bought from a wholesaler. Our vegetables are so pure and powerful, they hardly need anything added. Supermarkets have taught us to believe that tomatoes are all perfectly identical in colour, shape and size. But that’s not how tomatoes naturally grow. Shouldn’t a vegetable be considered perfect for its flavour alone, despite possible dents or marks?”