Chef’s favorites with Freddy: ‘I’d love to try cheese with maggots’
Good for you, Jamie and Yotam. But we have Fred. And not only does he cook at least as well, he sells better too. Ha! Bestseller, fourth edition—in short: Lekker Fred is doing well. But what does Fred himself actually like best?
Always in the fridge
“ A tin of chipotle peppers. I’m crazy about them. In fact, I’m getting some as we speak. Tonight they’re for a Mexican feast, but I also use them in pasta sauces, tomato sauces, even apple pie.”
Favorite family recipe
“Marillenknödel, which comes from Austria. It’s a quark dumpling filled with apricots and lots of powdered sugar, then baked in breadcrumbs in butter.”
Favorite place to eat
“Recently I was at Vinkeles in hotel The Dylan. What Dennis cooks there is really delicious. Everything is just right. Delicious unusual things too—it was simply perfect.”
Disappointed in myself
“I find pastry things difficult. Recently I went baking at home with someone—a female vlogger, but I can’t say who. It was incredibly hot, the dough started behaving strangely and at one point we reached that stage where you’re making something and think, ‘Forget it. It’s all pointless now anyway.’”
Favorite hangover food
“Pho, with all those things from the Zeedijk. With beef stomach in it too. That.”
Guilty pleasure
“Butter, lots of butter. But I actually have quite a lot of guilty pleasures. If I feel like something, I eat it. I go through phases when I eat very healthily. Or only ice cream and sandwiches, or currant buns with lots of butter and sometimes peanut butter too. If something is put in front of me, I just have to finish it.”
I hate
“When people start making cakes out of candy or biscuits, things that already exist.”
Favorite dish from my book
“The bouillabaisse. I simply love crustaceans and shellfish.”
Favorite (budget) kitchen tool
“One of those mini blowtorches. I used it for the chili this morning. You can also use it to blacken your corn a little; it’s much more convenient than firing up a whole charcoal barbecue. What a hassle.”
Favorite cooking music
“None, it distracts me.”
What is the best product from the supermarket?
“Well, I actually never buy it because I find it too delicious. But recently I went to Ekoplaza to eat healthily for a few days, and I got a goodie bag. With chocolate spread. Then I made 10 pancakes and finished the jar. Luckily my wife and son helped me.”
Strangest dish I’ve ever eaten
“Two weeks ago I was in Iceland, where I ate Hákarl: fermented shark. It tastes very strongly of ammonia. I wouldn’t rush to eat it again. I’ve also eaten Horumonyaki: raw pork uterus with raw onion, raw egg and a kind of vinegar dressing. It was a sort of Roald Dahl experience. It was actually okay—less disgusting than I expected, anyway.”
Never again
“I don’t have one. Things that aren’t prepared properly? Nothing is really too crazy for me. I’d also like to try casu marzu sometime. It’s a cheese eaten in northern Italy… with live maggots in it. It’s now banned under European regulations, but people probably still make it at home.”
The best cooking tip I’ve ever received
“Patience! Be patient. That’s the advice I’ve received from all the good cooks.”
If you could choose, what would your last meal be?
“A very large, elaborate Mexican dinner, with absolutely everything. Tacos too.”
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