Who’s who in the culinary world?

Last Monday, 19 November, marked the third edition of the FavorFlav Food Top 100. We could now give you an extensive report of the evening, but Madeleen Driessen has already done that very well for our editorial neighbour Franska.nl. Here it is.

Who’s who in the culinary world? Everyone knows some names: Jonnie and Thérèse Boer, Alain Caron, Sergio Herman… They cook so deliciously that they have become household names in the Netherlands. But who else are the tastemakers in the Dutch culinary world? Who determines what and where we eat and drink, and why?

While enjoying the most delicious dishes, FavorFlav presented the 2018 Food Top 100 on Monday evening. Together with Jan Jaap van der Wal, FavorFlav founder Marcus Polman took us on a kind of culinary roller coaster; he presented top chefs, start-ups, journalists, brand builders, producers, cookbook makers and professional food lovers.

Two hundred guests

While the more than two hundred guests at pop-up restaurant BAUT feasted on sprouts with airy mustard and puffed buckwheat by chef (and Michelin-star holder) Luc Kusters (18th on the list), the first names were revealed on stage. At number 100: Anouk Snelders. In August, she opened the first healthy vending wall in the Netherlands. Instead of greasy snacks, you can get fresh salads and vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free meals from her Health Food Wall. Via Marieke Graat, who created the Too Good To Go app to combat food waste (93), and food blogger Jonneke de Zeeuw (92), to food innovator and MasterChef finalist Naresh Ramdjas at number 81. According to Jan Jaap, the latter had at least won first prize for the best pun with his Nareschtaurant.

Best carrot ever

At the table, we continued feasting on roasted woodland carrots and heritage carrots with cumin, feta, pistachio and buttermilk, a dish by Michiel van der Eerde (10). One of my table companions said she had never eaten carrots this delicious. Meanwhile, we applauded another table companion, a marketer for Tabasco and number 65 on the list. The (literal) tastemaker is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year and is (figuratively) hotter than ever.

Do you ever watch FoodTube? An idea by Ronald Hoeben (61). Jigal Krant, winner of the 2018 Golden Cookbook, is at 59, and at 56 we find Jeroen Thijssen, historian, journalist and biographer of Johannes van Dam. As an intermediate course, we were served tofu foie gras with brioche and Fuji apple by Schilo van Coevorden (chef at the Conservatorium Hotel, 12), and applauded Isabel Boerdam (The Trendy Vegetarian, 52), Maurits and Jessica Tepper, who campaign to preserve the Groningen Blaarkop cattle (48), and Samuel Levie (Amsterdam’s Taste Mayor, 44).

Black pudding with chicken liver

And just when we thought, ‘this evening is very vegetarian and virtuous’, we were served black pudding with chicken liver, port and sorrel. To make the transition less drastic, Alain Caron (6) had disguised the black pudding as a spring roll. And delicious it was!

Oh, some more attention for Marcus and Jan Jaap on stage. Do we think we decide for ourselves what we eat at Christmas? Yes? No, we don’t. Most people cook what Allerhande prescribes, making content manager Jasmijn Beerthuis, number 42 on the list, one of the most influential ‘foodies’ in the Netherlands. At 31 we find Ronald Giphart, who also applies his literary talent to the culinary world. He travelled to South Africa for De Wit Rosé and Roodtrip, and I switched to 24Kitchen for it.

Vjeze Fur and Shane Kluivert

Also high on the list are Dutch champion beer sommelier Pepijn van der Waa (28), BBQ king Jord Althuizen (25), and rapper and Instagram star Vjeze Fur (22). The most controversial influencer on the list is undoubtedly Shane Kluivert (19). The eleven-year-old ‘son of’ has thousands of followers on YouTube and Instagram and has a children’s cookbook to his name, but the opinions of the guests at BAUT varied considerably on Monday evening. Shane had recorded a genuine video message especially for the occasion, which at least melted the female half of the audience.

For the main course, we were supposedly getting caged pigeon with curry popcorn, risotto and tonka jus, and everyone wondered what caged pigeon was and whether keeping pigeons in cages was still allowed. No, it wasn’t. A joke by hospitality entrepreneurs Guillaume de Beer and Freek van Noortwijk (4); we got a hamburger. The dessert, by Master Pastry Chef Hidde de Brabander (9), contrasted beautifully with it. The éclair with duck liver, Islay whisky and chocolate was even decorated with gold.
It was high time to reveal the winners of the Food Top 100 on stage.

Top 3

Chief Chocolate Officer Henk Jan Beltman of Tony’s Chocolonely accepted third prize for the Dutch brand that best combines marketing and idealism. At number two, André van Duin, who made a name for himself as the presenter of Heel Holland Bakt and De Nieuwe Lekkerbek. And at number one in the Food Top 100 this year are Jonnie and Thérèse Boer, who celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2018. According to the jury, this culinary duo is a major source of inspiration for a whole new generation of chefs, and thanks to their latest cookbook Thuis, we can now cook like the Boer family enjoys cooking at home. So we’re not entirely dependent on number 42 on the list for our Christmas dinner after all…