Toronto Star

MEDI A COVERAGE 2014 TORONTO STAR

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2014 SECTION T

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> BY DESIGN

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A glance at the ceiling of the Markthal Rotterdam, which is the size of two soccer fields, is enough to make your stomach rumble. The designs serve as markers for what’s on sale below it.

Exceptional food in clever spaces > IF YOU GO

Flowers, fresh produce and bold architecture make markets in Dutch cities mouth-watering places to visit ANNE-MARIE MARAIS SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Food markets in Europe have a long history and have played an important role in every village, town and city. But Amsterdam and Rotterdam are figuring out a way to modernize the market and introduce new ways to enjoy it.

Rotterdam has built the Markthal Rotterdam. Close to a new pedestrian shopping district, transit and the downtown core, the enclosed structure of curved

Bring your appetite Vendors have wonderful fare for you to sample.

glass combines a typical fresh market with restaurants, a grocery store and condominiums. It’s a place where the locals do their daily and weekly shopping. And it’s a great place to visit. In contrast, Amsterdam has taken a neglected centuryold tram depot and turned it into a multiuse space to serve locals and tourists.

DREAMSTIME

MARKETS continued on T2

Vendors cook Dutch waffles in the market in Amsterdam.

> FESTIVE FARE

Australian sets world record for Christmas lights display ROD MCGUIRK THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA—An Australian lawyer has set a

world record by stringing up almost 1.2 million Christmas lights in the centre of the national capital.

Guinness World Records confirmed that the 120 kilometres of multicoloured wire strung in the shape of three interconnected, giant wrapped Christmas gifts in a downtown Canberra mall was the largestever image made of LED lights. Lawyer David Richards assembled the Canberra light show with the help of an army of volunteers and powers it with electricity donated by a local power company.

He set a Guinness World Record a year ago for the most Christmas lights on a residential property by cocooning his Canberra home with 502,165 bulbs.

However, traffic snarls in his neighbourhood created by 75,000 sightseers who visited the display over four weeks made it difficult for his family to get to and

from their home.

“I couldn’t do it again to my neighbours or my family,” Richards said, explaining the move to the city centre.

The latest light show will be open to the public free from Friday until New Year’s Eve. Visitors to the 2013 light show donated 138,000 Australian dollars ($134,000 Canadian) to a local Canberra Sudden Infant Death Syndrome counselling and support service.

Richards said he expects donations to the SIDS and Kids ACT charity will be higher with the bigger and more spacious display.

The 1,194,380 twinkling bulbs arranged beat the previous record, set in Shurtan in southern Uzbekistan, with 181,540 lights.

> IF YOU GO Bring your shades You may need them day and night down under.

ALAN PORRITT/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Australian lawyer David Richards’ Christmas display stretches 120 kilometres and uses more than one million LED lights.

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T2⎮TORONTO STAR THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2014

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>> TRAVEL

MARCEL WANDERS

Function and beauty blend together in Marcel Wanders’ design of KLM’s stir-spoon.

Dutchman’s magnificent design really takes flight ANNE-MARIE MARAIS SPECIAL TO THE STAR

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From the floor to the ceiling, the Markthal Rotterdam, a tremendous construction of curves and glass, is a feast for the eyes.

Share in the tasty treats with locals MARKETS from T1

With a hotel, library, cinema, TV studio and food hall, the tram station, or De Hallen as it’s called now, has preserved its historic architectural design. Tram tracks still lie along the great hall that connects all the services of the regenerated space.

Modern or historic, the markets in Rotterdam and Amsterdam are creating new opportunities for tourism in the growing segment of food-loving travellers and they fill a need for people who live in the city.

The food drew me to the Markthal and the De Foodhallen. But I was pleasantly surprised by their incredible architecture and design.

The Markthal Rotterdam is a tremendous construction of curves and glass. The size of two soccer fields, it’s almost impossible to get all in one photograph. As I approached the entrance, I was drawn in by the bold colours of the ceiling, although I couldn’t make out what they were a part of.

When I walked in, I was mesmerized by images of huge strawberries, fish, bread and flowers that filled the ceiling in an incredible picture that represented the goods on sale in the space it hovered above.

This piece of art, which fills the air above you as you wander through the market, is called The Horn of Plenty, and is designed by Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam.

With the gorgeous art of the ceiling and so many aisles to explore at the Markthal, I decided to cancel the rest of my plans for the day because I knew that I couldn’t rush through this place.

Initially, the bright and happy colours of the variety of flowers Holland is known commanded my attention.

The colours of the gerbera daisies were electric. I could only dream of receiving an arrangement of flowers made from these to brighten my world.

As I pulled myself away from the flowers, I saw fresh varieties of olives, nuts, meats and cheeses. Oh, so many cheeses! Each stall I passed made my mouth water more.

I could just imagine stopping in here for my daily food shopping . . . asking the pleasant, happy ladies at one of the cheese stands for some slices their best Gouda, heading over to where meat hung ready to be sliced up for me so that I could pile it all on a piece of fresh baguette I’d picked up earlier, to enjoy it all while

ANNE-MARIE MARAIS FOR THE TORONTO STAR

Poffertjes, a warm Dutch treat, is much like a pancake ball served with icing sugar and butter.

So much glorious Dutch cheese.

How to choose? Each booth will make your mouth water.

I watched people go by.

The experience would have to include some Dutch sweet treats, such as the piping hot poffertjes, a batter treat, much like a pancake ball served with icing sugar and butter.

I enjoyed these as the butter dripped down my hand and arm. I just couldn’t stop myself long enough to clean up.

Having a Dutch connection in my family, I already knew of the sweet goodness of the stroopwafel, which I had to find and buy to bring home.

Stroopwafels resemble a waffle made from two thin layers of baked dough and have a caramel-like syrup in the middle. I was taught that, to enjoy these, you place one on top of your cup of freshly brewed tea and let the heat and steam warm up the caramel syrup so that it just oozes out as you bite into them.

De Foodhallen in Amsterdam provides visitors with a much more social experience than the Markthal Rotterdam does.

Here, the food is prepared for you to enjoy. Grab a glass of wine or beer with friends and catch up or walk around to taste and enjoy a variety of food, where no two stalls serve the same treats. The owners make sure there is variety and select great fare for the visitors.

It’s as though all the uniqueness of the food served by the best food trucks and the interesting characters

> JUST THE FACTS Accommodation: A great deal is the Casa 400 Amsterdam, hotelcasa400.nl/en/index.html, home to East 57, east57.nl, a coffee shop, a wine-and-specialtyfood shop, a bar and a great restaurant.

In Amsterdam: If you want to be in the heart of it all and want to treat yourself, try the Grand Hotel, sofitel.com/gb/hotel-2783-sofitellegend-the-grand-Amsterdam/ index.shtml, or Hotel De L’Europe, leurope.nl In Rotterdam, Mainpoint Hotel is a fantastic modern hotel with fairly

that run them has been moved indoors for all to enjoy in all weather and tables have been provided for visitors to congregate and beverages offered for them to enjoy.

From the bacon-and-Hawaiianpineapple-chutney Obama pizza at the Pink Flamingo Pizza to the Green Brothers’ fresh local smoothies and grilled veggie sandwiches paired with hummus spread, or a typically Dutch snack of steaming hot bitterballen at DeBallen Bar, this Food Hallen has real energy to it.

All those who have stalls have a passion that I can only compare to those I’ve met in Toronto in the foodtruck business. They are happy, hard-working people thrilled to have this opportunity to share their deli-

reasonable rates and good location, mainporthotel.com/en/ Home.html Must visit: De Hallen, Amsterdam, including De Foodhallen, http:// dehallen-amsterdam.nl/en/tenants/halte-3-2/ You can’t go to Rotterdam without planning to spend some time, or the day, at Markthal Rotterdam, http://markthalrotterdam.nl/en/ Eating out in Rotterdam, you won’t regret stopping in for a meal at Las Palmas, http://restaurantlaspalmas.nl/en/. Make a reservation first!

cious treats with locals and tourists alike.

The two places create interesting extremes: a traditional food market in a modern structure in Rotterdam contrasts with the modern food hall in a historic tram-depot in Amsterdam.

Europeans have a knack for creating public spaces that are work for locals and visitors. And these two Dutch food halls are invitingly smart and useful.

Anne-Marie Marais’ trip was subsidized

by Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions and KLM Airlines. Read more of Marais’ writing: LongLegsTravel.com, and follow her on Twitter at @LongLegsTravels or on Facebook at facebook.com/longlegstravel

World-famous Dutch designer Marcel Wanders has designed for Puma, MAC Cosmetics, Cappellini, Moroso and Target. But it wasn’t for his work with Puma, MAC or Target that had me stopping in at his studio in Amsterdam.

I first encountered his designs flying in KLM’s World Business Class.

Wanders designed all the tableware.

One piece, in particular, caught my attention.

At first glance, it was a simple stir stick for my tea.

But it was not exactly a stick and it was not really a spoon. The perfectly textured piece of metal could have been left flat and it would have been beautiful, but it would not have been as useful.

Marcel Wanders took it to another level.

Recognizing the utensil needed to serve the important purpose of replacing the spoon and seemingly inspired by the design of the blade of an airplane propeller, he put a twist on it.

These days, we simply open a sugar pack to sweeten our tea or coffee, so why do we need a spoon?

Marcel Wanders created a stirspoon, which makes much more sense. And his creation is unique and beautiful.

Interestingly, when you place five or six of these stir spoons in a circle, you can see how each of these blades meet in the centre to compose the picture of a classic airplane propeller.

“With the introduction of this new service, a long-standing wish of mine has been fulfilled,” says Wanders. “As a frequent flyer with KLM, I found it quite easy to get a feel for the assignment and to bring about a metamorphosis of the existing service elements.”

The World Business Class wants its passengers to feel more like a guest than a passenger.

Wanders said the guidelines he was given enabled him to match the standards of quality of top restaurants with his service.

The Marcel Wanders studio building is anchored, on the ground floor,

by Moooi, the design label showroom Marcel Wanders and Casper Vissers operate. Moooi is the Dutch word for beautiful, with an extra ‘o’ to stand for extra value in beauty and uniqueness.

The Moooi portfolio contains work

by Wanders and nationally and internationally recognized designers.

Meeting with Wander at his studio provides me with a sense of his design principles.

He said he works to “create durable objects with durable designs.”

He made a great point about recycling: “People want to make things recyclable,” he said. “Why not just make something to not throw away?”