The tastiest vegetables in the Netherlands are served at Restaurant De Nieuwe Winkel
Restaurant De Nieuwe Winkel in Nijmegen has been named the second-best vegetable restaurant in the entire world. The restaurant received the award from We’re Smart World, an initiative that evaluates hundreds of restaurants from around the world. The tastiest vegetables in the world are served in Luxembourg. Vegetable chef Niven Kunz of restaurant Triptique received a special award, the Discovery Award.
Every year, We’re Smart World publishes a list of the one hundred best vegetable restaurants from around the world. To make it onto the list, at least two-thirds of the menu must consist of vegetables. The tasters at We’re Smart World also consider culinary creativity, ecological footprint and social criteria. The rating is expressed in radishes, with the best restaurants able to receive five radishes. The full list is published in the We’re Smart Green Guide.
Botanical gastronomy
The highest-ranking Dutch restaurant on the list is De Nieuwe Winkel, led by chef Emile van der Staak. At the awards ceremony, he couldn’t stop talking about his team. ‘The award is recognition for our hard work and determination; it’s a boost for the entire team.’ He sees the criteria of this new restaurant guide as the new standard: fewer animals on the menu and more plants. He works with Wouter van Eck, who manages Europe’s oldest food forest. More than 400 different edible plants, flowers and herbs grow in this forest, not far from Nijmegen. ‘Botanical gastronomy,’ Emile calls the collaboration.
A tour of the greenhouses
This year’s Discovery Award goes to restaurant Triptique, where chef Niven Kunz puts all kinds of vegetables on the menu. He says he draws inspiration from the vegetables of the Westland region. ‘Every week I make my round of vegetable shopping at the greenhouses; it’s so wonderful to see all the products and meet the growers.’
Off to Luxembourg
The Netherlands is doing well in the guide overall. No fewer than eleven restaurants are listed. Alongside Triptique and De Nieuwe Winkel, these are Flore (formerly Bord’Eau), De Librije, Bolenius, Spectrum, Spectrum, Merlet, Choux, Pollevie, Boompjes and Rijks. For the most delicious vegetables in the entire world, we have to go to Luxembourg, to restaurant La Distillerie, run by chef René Mathieu. He has now won an award for the second time.
Read also:
- Are raw vegetables healthier than cooked vegetables?
- 8 tips for the most delicious vegetables of your life
- Did you know these vegetables grow like this?
Source: Misset Horeca, Image: Restaurant De Nieuwe Winkel
