The de Wolf Brothers Make Everything from Wild Goose
Martijn van de Reep and Tom Zinger
have been making all kinds of products from wild goose without artificial additives since 2014. This way, good goose meat is not wasted, but processed into beautiful rillettes and sausages. They work in the shared kitchen of Kitchen Republic (read more about this unique kitchen). FavorFlav spoke to Martijn about it.
How did you start Charcuterie Gebroeders de Wolf?
Tom and I used to hunt a lot of geese in our free time, but almost all the game that was shot ended up in the trash. What a waste, so we decided that something had to be done with these geese and went into the kitchen in 2014 to see what we could make with them.
Eventually, we came up with an assortment, rented a market stall at the craft day and sold out within half a day. Almost immediately afterwards, I quit my job as a freelance film producer to devote myself to this.
Ultimately, we want every goose that is shot to end up on a plate instead of in the trash.
What is more important: money or a good idea?
For us, the story is very important, rather than money or the idea itself. Ultimately, we want every goose that is shot to end up on a plate instead of in the trash. That message needs to reach the consumer. If we had wanted to make a lot of money, we would have been better off selling pork sausages. You make much more money from those.
What is your biggest challenge as a food entrepreneur?
There are only two of us, so we have to do everything ourselves. From marketing and sales to hunting and cooking. Tom is very good in the kitchen.
Scaling up production is also difficult for us. For example, everything you make at home can be sold directly to consumers at a market. But when an intermediary is involved (supermarkets, wholesalers, etc.), the regulations become more complicated. You then have to operate from a premises that is EEC-approved, so we have to rent one, and then we use these machines for our sausages.
Read more here about Sarah’s granola business and Peter’s cake business.
What is your best advice for people who want to start a food business?
If you are only doing something because you think you will make money from it, it will never work out very well. You won’t convey that you believe in the product you are making, and believing in something is the most important thing of all.
Curious about goose delicacies?
When will you consider yourself a successful entrepreneur?
I would like us to succeed in getting goose on menus everywhere and seeing it in every delicatessen shop. And, of course, being able to make some money from it, but we are not there yet.
Read more here about Kitchen Republic, the shared kitchen where Martijn makes his products.
Text and photography: Nora van den Heuvel
