An Ode to Jan the Pudding Bun Man
During wild parties at Ruigoord and in the morning at the afterparty of an intense techno party: that’s where Jan the Pudding Bun Man would show up with a tray full of white rolls, yellow custard and a thick layer of powdered sugar. Where did he come from? And who was Jan?
Jan the Pudding Bun Man is part of Ruigoord’s rich history, the squatted artists’ village near Amsterdam. His name was Jan Hinke, he had worked as a pastry chef and, after retiring, loved coming to parties in Ruigoord and other places to sell pudding buns to partygoers. The proceeds went to charities supporting cancer research.
Daybreak
He knew exactly when to choose the right moment to sell his buns, Claire van der Hall recounts in Vice: ‘No matter how stoned or drunk I was, or how hoarse my throat was from cigarettes, I could always eat one of those buns; during a marathon rave lasting for hours, it was sometimes the only thing I ate. Where did that guy always come from, and how did he know where he needed to be? Even at the most obscure illegal raves, he would turn up at daybreak with his much-welcomed buns.’
Tray of Buns
Jan had been coming to Ruigoord from the very beginning. At the first Landjuweel parties, in the 1970s, he was already walking around the grounds with a tray of buns. He didn’t forget the people who set up and dismantled such a festival either; they could use a snack too after all that hard work. Wooferland, Robodock, Magneet Festival and illegal raves: Jan went everywhere. He filled the buns in the trunk of his Opel Kadett, and when everything had sold out, he sometimes joined the dance floor himself.
A colorful character who deserves a culinary tribute. Jan died in June 2015 as a result of ALS.
Read also:
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- Partying in Vondelpark? Fun! Hospitality venues open? Far too dangerous.
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Source: Vice, Parool
