Janny van der Heijden wins FavorFlav Food Top 100
Who are the true tastemakers in the world of food and drink? That is the question we ask ourselves every year when compiling the FavorFlav Food Top 100, our annual celebration at which we honor the hundred most influential people in the food scene. The top spot? This year it goes to Janny van der Heijden, the grande dame of culinary journalism.
For the fourth year in a row, we compiled our tribute to the movers and shakers of Dutch gastronomy. For months, we worked on answering the questions: Who matters in the Dutch culinary scene? Who determines what we eat and drink? What do we eat and where do we order it? Who shines? Who fails? Who scores? And above all: who does so this year?
Hall of Fame
We received countless suggestions from FavorFlav readers (many thanks!) and – for the first time – from our Hall of Fame, made up of previous winners and gastronomes with an exceptional track record: Joris Bijdendijk (Rijks, Wils), Jonnie and Thérèse Boer (De Librije), Robert Kranenborg and Jacob Jan Boerma (De Leest, The White Room).
The top 3
The result was a mouthwatering list of 100 nominees: a colorful mix of (star) chefs, food producers, restaurateurs, startups, culinary journalists, cocktail shakers, brand builders and other important players in the culinary scene. All of them have made a proven contribution to enriching food culture and food awareness in the Netherlands. And, like the FavorFlav editorial team, they all have a beating heart for better food and drink. We proudly present the winners, along with the accompanying jury report.
Number 1: Janny van der Heijden
Culinary journalist and TV personality and cookbook author
Janny turned sixty-five this year (shh… don’t tell anyone). And this became a success year like never before for this grande dame of culinary journalism. Together with her dining companion André van Duin, she is smashing one viewing-record milestone after another. As a tireless ambassador, she brings better food to the attention of a broad audience. Through numerous TV appearances such as Tijd voor Max and her many cookbooks. In her newest book, La Douce Paris, she takes readers on a journey to Paris’s tastiest bakers, pâtissiers and chocolatiers. And then there is her own tableware line at De Bijenkorf, which apparently cannot be kept in stock. Where does this woman find the time, we wonder.
That she can do much more than sample food playfully on Heel Holland Bakt (with that characteristic hand over her mouth while she eats) is demonstrated by her receiving the Mes van Johannes, a prestigious award she recently received from the Stichting Gastronomische Bibliotheek. It recognizes her complete body of work as a culinary journalist and author. Janny is currently working on a monumental book due to be published next year: Smaakpalet van de Lage Landen – vier eeuwen eetcultuur in beeld. In this book, she uses paintings, prints and photography to show that the Netherlands does indeed have a very rich food culture. Hats off to Janny!
Number 2: Miljuschka Witzenhausen
Presenter and cookbook author
Miljuschka is the Dutch Nigella: just as voluptuous, just as fond of food that is technically off-limits, and with just as distinctive a first name that needs no surname. She has no culinary background. ‘I used to always eat potatoes, vegetables and meat. The most exciting variation was chicken with Boursin. Or Dutch macaroni. So at some point I just started cooking myself.’ And how. She has written several cookbooks (Lekker Miljuschka, Miljuschka’s Street Food Vietnam) and is doing very well on TV. She can be seen on 24Kitchen, as a nutrition expert on RTL Boulevard and on the same channel on Topchef Academy. And with equal ease, she presents off-screen too, such as TheFork Restaurants Awards recently. More than enough reason for second place on our list. Extra bonus points: her Insta (almost 300,000 followers!), where she proudly shows off her curves. Love handles? They are cherished! Because ‘Creamcheese + Sugar = Happy Rolls’, she wrote beneath her Insta love-handle photo. More than 62,000 likes, bam!
Number 3: Freddy Tratlehner
Rapper, singer, presenter, cookbook author
Whether he is rapping or cooking, everything Vjèze Fur does, he does well. And (too) crazily. And completely over the top. He makes absurdist cooking videos in his own tiny kitchen and posts them on Instagram (a straight-up hit, with tens of thousands of views each time); his book Lekker Fred has just been released – and hello: queues of fans outside the cookbook shop on Monday evening (!) when he launched his book, a third printing within one week – and as we type, he is doing a three-day pop-up at Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum. He can be seen on VPRO, and everyone wants to cook with Freddy. ‘The Mexicolan cuisine with a sprinkle of coriander.’ It makes absolutely no sense, and yet… Today’s cook simply gets away with it.
Six-course dinner
FavorFlav Food Top 100 #4 was announced on Monday, November 18, 2019, at restaurant BAUT during the annual FavorFlav Food Top 100 dinner, presented by FavorFlav’s founding editor Marcus Polman and Jörgen Raymann. Top chefs Syrco Bakker (Pure C**), Schilo van Coevorden (Taiko, Conservatorium Hotel), Maik Kuijpers (Carstens), Armando Kampe (BAUT), Pepijn Schmeink (Jack Bean) and Jurgen Koens (Pastry Club) prepared the six-course dinner. Curious about their dishes, the awards ceremony and the evening as a whole? You can see it all in our aftermovie and in our Instastories @favor_flav
Curious who else was nominated? You can read about them in the FavorFlav Food Top 100 Magazine.
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