Q&A with Giel Kaagman

Since opening, Kaagman & Kortekaas has been packed every evening, thanks to namesake chef Giel Kaagman and host Bram Kortekaas. How come? You eat Giel’s astonishing dishes in a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere. It feels just like going out to eat at good friends’ house, where you can forget about time for a while. 

Which food trend should we put an immediate stop to?

I know it’s not really wise to say this, but these days you see a lot of people with trendy allergies, such as gluten and lactose intolerance. If it’s genuine: fine. But nowadays it sometimes seems as though people decide on the evening itself that they don’t want to eat gluten for once. As long as you let us know beforehand, it’s obviously no problem.

But imagine putting together a seven-course dinner and only finding out that evening that someone doesn’t want to eat something. Then you spend the entire evening adjusting everything. People don’t realize how much time that takes. Still, we serve everyone, because you also want to still be full five years from now.

You almost die afterwards, because it’s such a heavy dish. But that doesn’t really matter, because you’re sitting happily in Paris anyway.

Most memorable dining experience?

That was at Benoit, one of the oldest bistros in Paris. The restaurant has been around for about a hundred years and is now owned by Alain Ducasse.

There’s a little pot on the menu containing sweetbreads, cockscombs, rooster testicles, morels, truffle, orecchiette (ear-shaped pasta) and crayfish. That dish provides so much inspiration; it’s my best dining experience ever. You almost die afterwards, because it’s such a heavy dish. But that doesn’t really matter, because you’re sitting happily in Paris anyway.

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Favorite drink?

Wine is actually my favorite, but I drink more beer. Just Gulpener on tap.

Indispensable kitchen gadget?

Besides sharp knives, it’s the sausage stuffer. I make quite a lot of sausage, so I use this machine a few times a week. Sometimes every day, because there’s always something involving sausage on the menu. I only work with whole animals, after all.

Yesterday, for example, I received two whole 50-kilo wild boars, and I turn all the trimmings into sausage. In two hours, I can turn two entire wild boars into food for the pan, roulades and sausages. That’s really my specialty.

What will you never eat again?

Ready-made liquid stock from the supermarket; I think it’s truly the most disgusting thing there is. When I was thirteen, I bought game-stock cubes from the supermarket, and they really made me throw up too.

Which country is your favorite when it comes to food?

France, basically. I’m drawn to that cuisine, and Kaagman & Kortekaas is also based on it. I love all the classics; you can wake me up for tête de veau with croutons and rémoulade sauce.

What should everyone try at least once?

Veal brains. It sounds scary, but it really isn’t. The flavor is approachable and certainly not extreme. I really like the texture of brains. Whether you deep-fry or poach them, they’re always good. They also taste a little like fish—actually a bit like a fish stick—so I often combine them with fish.

I tell everyone: just try them, because I don’t simply put brains on your plate. I incorporate them into an elegant dish that works.

What’s the best supermarket product?

I don’t go to the supermarket very often, because I’m in the kitchen all day. But what do I buy most often anyway? Beer, because it’s simply good.

At home, I often order a pizza or turn on the deep fryer. Then the neighbors, who see me walking to the shed, say: “Hey, isn’t that the great chef who walks to the deep fryer in his bathrobe?”

Read a review of Kaagman & Kortekaas here

What’s still on your food wish list?

Fäviken. I’m very drawn to Magnus Nilsson’s cooking style. He does a great deal with game. All the birds and all the game from the area around his restaurant are on the menu and used from head to tail. And then you eat it in the middle of nowhere with twenty guests who stay there overnight. So yes, if I could choose, that’s where I’d go.

Which cookbook should everyone have on their shelf?

Over the past year I haven’t had time to read any (cook)books, but actually I’ve never read many. I’m more likely to be inspired by the season and by experiences. I also visit suppliers a lot to see what’s available, and then I simply get to work with it. If I were to give someone a book as a gift, it would be De Dikke van Dam. I think it’s a genuinely good and useful book.

What do you like to make at home when you want to eat quickly and well?

Because of how busy things are, I simply don’t cook at home at all these days. I’m just a little cooked out. But when I do make something, it’s something from the Dutch cuisine, such as endive stamppot with meatballs. I really enjoy that.

Which dish leaves you with no self-control?

Sauerkraut with sausage; I can easily serve myself four or five times in a row.

Make this recipe for extreme sauerkraut yourself

Kaagman & Kortekaas
Sint Nicolaasstraat 43
Amsterdam
T: 020 233 6544
Kaagman & Kortekaas website

Image: Bon Bronshoff