Hotspot The Green House in Utrecht is a restaurant, urban terrace and Urban Farm all in one
Contributing to a greener society: that is what The Green House in Utrecht is all about. The restaurant recently opened its own insect city and, to celebrate, is serving a delicious 5-course menu entirely dedicated to one special ingredient: honey.
Restaurant The Green House is located in the heart of Utrecht. The restaurant was built entirely according to circular and sustainable principles. From furniture to rainwater, as much material as possible is reused. In addition to being sustainably built, the kitchen also cooks exclusively with fair and local products.
Bee-Ville insect hotel
And recently, the restaurant added an insect hotel: Bee-Ville. A place for Utrecht’s tiniest residents, who are so important to biodiversity and the ecosystem. It is not an ordinary insect hotel, though. The accommodation where various insects will now spend the night and hibernate consists of the five most iconic buildings in Utrecht: the Dom Tower, De Inktpot, the City Hall, the City Office and the Rabo Tower.
And sympathetically, the iconic Bee-Ville buildings were developed by Stichting Bouwloods, which trains, guides and offers a workplace to people who are distanced from the labour market.
Honey in the leading role
Entirely dedicated to the opening of the insect city, the restaurant is serving a special ‘Bee-Ville’ menu. Chef Peter Scholte developed the menu, full of vegetables, herbs and edible flowers, with liquid gold in the leading role. ‘Insects ensure that we can offer our guests a varied menu. After all, they help us with fertile soil where many of our ingredients grow. Without insects, our menu would really be much duller,’ says the chef.
So delicious!
The menu includes, among other things, a ceviche with honey- and soy-glazed kingfish and sweet-and-sour vegetables. This is followed by roasted Dutch Peking duck with a layer of honey. Normally, after being plucked here, these ducks are sent to China to end up as Peking duck because this breed looks rather similar to the one there. What a waste! The homegrown duck with lentil-and-vegetable ragout and honey-thyme sauce is so delicious!
The menu ends with Dutch blue Bokkesprong cheese with honeycomb and chicory, followed by a dessert of poached apricots with an almond-praline parfait. And especially with that last course, you are guaranteed to lick the plate clean!
You can enjoy the Bee-Ville menu at The Green House throughout the month of July. The 5-course menu costs 35 euros, excluding drinks. While you’re there, be sure to take a look at the Urban Farm, the restaurant’s own greenhouse on the 1st floor of the building, where various herbs and vegetables are grown. Chef Peter Scholte and his team source many of their ingredients from this Urban Farm. And of course, don’t forget Bee-Ville!
Read also:
- Do you love honey? Then you should definitely try Bee & Flow Manuka honey
- The truth about honey: this is how it really is
- How to: store honey
Image: marcoscheurink.nl
