Dutch fine dining sounds the alarm: our life’s work is under threat
Dutch fine-dining restaurants united in the G4 are stunned by the cabinet’s decision to close the hospitality industry at 8:00 p.m. for three weeks. “We do take our guests’ health seriously, but we’re taking the hardest hits.”
To put it mildly, it is incomprehensible: figures from Koninklijke Horeca Nederland show that infections in the hospitality industry (from the corner pub, fast-service restaurant, and café-restaurant to the bistro and Michelin-starred restaurants) are very low: 2.9% — and now the hospitality industry is being closed again? They say for three weeks, but many people have no confidence in that whatsoever. Haven’t we experienced this before, where a ‘soft lockdown’ of a few weeks turns into a prolonged hard lockdown? I’m holding my breath… (and then there is also the false sense of security provided by a QR code, especially in a 2G society).
Impossible to justify
And I’m not alone in this; it is a widely shared fear. Including among the G4, which also rightly points out that only a fraction of that 2.9% takes place in gastronomic restaurants — establishments where you can spend an entire evening safely and where the dining experience only really begins at around 8:00 p.m. But that means you have to look elsewhere for your evening. Utterly absurd and impossible to justify, says the G4*.
The teacher’s pet
Patrick van Zuiden, owner of hotel-restaurant Savarin in Rijswijk and chairman of G4: “With the current disproportionate measures, our life’s work and our national gastronomic heritage are once again under threat. We are stunned. Once again, it appears that politicians in The Hague have no idea what is going on in our fine dining restaurants. We, the Netherlands’ top restaurants, are deeply affected. Throughout the pandemic, we have continually adapted to new rules. We were closed for a long time, complied with adjusted opening hours, the maximum number of guests, and the six-foot distance requirement. We checked every guest’s coronavirus pass. We have always been the teacher’s pet, but apparently that isn’t enough and we too must close our restaurants at 8:00 p.m. It is completely disproportionate and so unfair.”
Early dinner is not the solution
“Of course, from now on we will open earlier for an early dinner,” Patrick continues. “But what will guests do when they have to leave us at 8:00 p.m.? Go to the cinema? The theater? To friends? Or family? Instead of spending an entire evening safely with us — we do take our guests’ health seriously — the risk of infection is now actually increasing. The cabinet aims to limit the number of movements. The opposite is happening: first going out for dinner and then heading out again.
We understand that something needs to be done to relieve pressure on healthcare. We also understand that everyone has to do their part. That is why we advocate a balanced package of measures and solutions. We are happy to contribute to that, but this really goes too far for us! Our life’s work and our national gastronomic heritage are once again under threat from measures that, in our view, completely lack nuance.”
I can only agree. Simply reopen the hospitality industry and let the government focus on where the problem really lies: systematically cutting healthcare funding.
*Stichting Samenwerking Gastronomische 4 represents the following four gastronomic associations in the Netherlands (80 percent of the Michelin-starred restaurants in the Netherlands): Alliance Gastronomique, Fine Eastern Restaurants, JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs and Les Patrons Cuisiniers. In addition, G4 organizes the competition for the Hennessy Gastvrijheidsprijs for young hospitality talent.
