Q&A with Snackspert
Eke Bosman, or as most people know him, Snackspert, is 26 years old and 26 years ago he ate a frikandel for the first time. Since then, by his own admission, ‘things have gotten a little out of hand’. A Q&A with the biggest snack lover in the Netherlands.
You told Chapter Friday that you think you were born with two frikandellen in your hands. How did your love of snacks begin?
My mother loves snacks too, so when we went shopping somewhere in the past, we would simply have lunch at McDonald’s. Because McDonald’s is amazing and simply super tasty. It’s not as though we ate snacks every day; each time was a special occasion for us. In secondary school, I naturally had more freedom and was allowed to choose what I would have for lunch. So in the cafeteria I would also go for a bread roll with mayonnaise and a frikandel. It’s deep in my veins. There’s more mayonnaise in my body than blood.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHu62CvB7b8/?taken-by=snackspert
Who would you still like to share a burger with?
Oof. Joris Bijdendijk is one of my heroes, although not a snack hero. I would like to have a burger made by him himself. I’m curious whether he prefers soft or firm buns for a burger.
I would also really like to eat a frikandel with Rafael van der Vaart. Two years ago he was naturally under fire because Maxim Hartman said he ate too many frikandellen. That’s precisely why I want to eat one with him. He’s my childhood hero, so I would kill two birds with one stone.
Check out this video to see how to make dumplings yourself.
Which do you prefer, deep-frying or barbecuing?
Deep-frying. I hate barbecuing. I simply find the idea of a barbecue very irritating. Everyone stands around a fire like that, you can’t sit anywhere, and you’re holding a plastic plate that completely collapses as soon as you put a burger on it.
If you could only eat one sauce for the rest of your life, which would it be?
Zaanse Mayonnaise or McDonald’s American fries sauce.
What do we put that sauce on?
I usually have Zaanse Mayonnaise with a good piece of meat. A really good piece. Even though Zaanse mayo is inexpensive, to me it’s the most luxurious mayonnaise you can get at the supermarket. I don’t tend to eat it with a frikandel, because it’s too fatty for that. I prefer fries sauce then. That way I taste more frikandel in my mouth than mayonnaise. Yes, I’ve thought it through carefully.
Is there such a thing as too much sauce?
A lot of people think I eat too much sauce, like with the bread roll with mayonnaise and frikandel. I don’t think so. Let’s leave it at that. When it comes to snacking and fries, the motto is: the more sauce, the better.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfd1z4dBRpB/?taken-by=snackspert
What is your snack pet peeve?
I still don’t understand why vlammetjes are included among the standard party snacks. I know some people will get angry when they read or hear this, but to me the vlammetje is really just like the Dutch national football team at the moment: it shouldn’t be allowed to play. When you take a bite, it’s so grainy; the texture is simply wrong. I would rather have the bamischijf, whose texture is right. Not that it’s particularly tasty. It’s the fifth wheel of the snack world. But vlammetjes are completely beyond the pale.
What do you eat when you’re not snacking?
I have a very sweet girlfriend who can cook really well. When I have friends over to watch football, I cook myself. Since we’re also going to drink beer, we shouldn’t snack too much. Fortunately, I have a few dependable pasta dishes and the like. Or I make something by Ottolenghi or Jamie Oliver. They have fantastic cookbooks. I don’t like spending three hours in the kitchen, but I quite enjoy cooking from a cookbook.
What is your favorite cookbook?
Jamie’s Comfort Food is my absolute favorite. It has recipes for pies. My girlfriend is half British, so I picked that up from her a little. And his moussaka is fantastic too. It really is comfort food. You make something for eight people and eat it all week. Yes, that’s definitely my favorite.
What would you make for your mother-in-law to make a good impression?
Ha, I would have said ‘chicken tonight with courgette and bell pepper’ in the past, but fortunately I’ve moved past that. Aubergine with pomegranate, I think. When it comes to vegetables, I genuinely think aubergine is the tastiest. Especially with lots of olive oil. Deliciously juicy. I once ate at Nopi, and it was fantastic. Ottolenghi is a genius, and thanks to him I know how delicious vegetables and healthy food can be. That’s why I’m not morbidly obese yet. Or dead.
People think I eat nothing but snacks every day, but the fact that I occasionally post a snack online obviously doesn’t mean that that’s all I eat. For example, I have very light breakfasts and lunches. And when I go play football, I just eat a meal salad. I say this very often, but a lot of media outlets never pick up on it. Funny. Just act normally and listen to your body.
