Food
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In 1885, Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh painted his masterpiece De Aardappeleters (The Potato Eaters) which depicted peasants gathered around a table eating potatoes, a staple of the diet at
BY TRACEY TAYLOR
the time. Although the average Dutch person still consumes about 65 kilos of potatoes a year, the composition of Dutch cuisine today paints rather a different picture.
With summer behind us, it’s time to start thinking of autumnal foods, and traditional Dutch cuisine certainly offers a myriad of “comfort foods” that are perfect for the colder, darker evenings–think appeltaart (apple tart), ertwensoep (pea soup), stamppot (a potato veggie mash) and the kapsalon (see ‘Did you know’). Delve into the twelve
PHOTO: NASTYA DULHIIER
These traditional dishes aside, the food scene in the Netherlands has grown in stature over the past number of years, and the innovation coming to food and sustainability spotlights Dutch cuisine more and more on the world stage. With a focus on local produce recognised internationally for its quality, the Netherlands has fast become home to many top restaurants and Michelin-starred chefs.
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These gems of culinary magic and invention are not just centred in one city or region but are dotted throughout the country. Additionally, many parts of the Netherlands have wonderful regional dishes and if you look across the twelve provinces of the country, the Dutch have it pretty much covered from A to Z.
