Green Vanilla & Luc Kusters

Fifteen years ago, Luc Kusters, owner of Bolenius in Amsterdam, decided to completely change course in the kitchen and took on the challenge of cooking as much as possible 'Dutch'. “At the time, I kept asking myself why products were bought from abroad, especially from France, when it makes perfect sense to work locally. French cuisine has taught us a lot and we appreciate it, but at a certain point you have to speak your own language, and I didn't understand why chefs didn't cook Dutch food.” Luc was an exception and sometimes encountered resistance from guests and disapproval from the guides. When he started up his restaurant Bolenius, he wanted to make his own foodprint clear. “You start from scratch. Not everyone wanted to listen to my story. I immersed myself in local products. At a certain point, I decided to stop buying citrus fruit. This makes you look for other products, such as unprocessed gooseberries and rosehips, which have fantastic acids. Or the malic acid of fermented Dutch Granny Smith apples. I think it makes perfect sense that we work no waste. It encourages us to think further and ensures that we have to come into direct contact with the smaller local producers.” Despite the fact that at certain times of the year it is not possible to purchase 100% of our products from our own soil, he wants to be a billboard for the Netherlands. “When there is a shortage of Dutch walnuts or hazelnuts, I work with nuts from Piedmont. It's about raising awareness. We also get some vegetables from the same region in February and March.”

A while ago, Luc got his hands on some fresh green vanilla beans from Koppert Cress. “At first I was quite critical, vanilla is not exactly the advertisement for Dutch Cuisine. When you think of vanilla, you tend to think of Madagascar, but you also think of the innovative Westland. We are the largest vegetable producing country, and we should be proud of that. Once you taste the vanilla, you will be sold. I have wanted to make a vanilla sorbet for a long time, but the problem was that the beans were not fresh. Now that I suddenly have fresh beans, the result is a direct hit. We serve the vanilla sorbet with sustainable Dutch chocolate from Amsterdam, combined with Shiso vinegar from Koppert Cress. It is a new way of tasting vanilla, it is about the flavor that was not there before. At a certain point you learn to appreciate the pure flavor, I feel very privileged to be the one tasting it. The guests remark that they have never tasted it like this before. In the future I want to create something else with vanilla, for example Eastern Scheldt lobster with vanilla.” Dutch cuisine is a fusion of acquired knowledge and innovation, which is why it has earned its place in the kitchen. There are now plenty of courses that teach Dutch Cuisine. “Things are really moving. The younger generation already understands the logic of what needs to be done in terms of sustainability, transportation and foodprint. They are really working on it. The sustainable character of Bolenius is that we have a great team that consciously chooses our way of working and way of thinking. You choose the path of least resistance, but you want to stay true to yourself. That's where you get more pleasure from.”

Chef: Luc Kusters - Bolenius Restaurant Amsterdam

Source: Culinaire Saisonnier