Farm to table has become a buzz over the past decade, but Amsterdam's de Kas has embraced that sensitivity since opening in 2001. Located in a working greenhouse in Park Frankendael, de Kas, embodies sustainable local produce with a sincere lifestyle. This morning, white strawberries may be picked on your plate at dinner, a way to promote chef Savannah Hagendijk's dining.
“When you start working here, you never want to go back to a kitchen where you import all of these things from far away, they have no flavor.” She speaks from a breathable private restaurant in de Kas on a sunny day in May. “You want to cook in the season. See things growing, see the seasons, and learn more about the ingredients.”
Although she was experienced before coming to Kas, being part of a growing process deepened her appreciation for the ingredients. “You can see it with your own eyes,” Hagendijk said. “You'll see that cauliflower takes five to six months to grow. You feel so much respect for all the vegetables you work with. This is what I teach everyone in the kitchen: Be respectful of all products.”
Hagendijk joined De Kas four years ago after spending his early career in restaurants in the Netherlands and Singapore. She has a job everywhere from a small cafe to a Michelin-starred premium dining restaurant and has co-owned a catering company with her sister in Rotterdam for several years. She met current chef and co-founders of De Kas 10 years ago in the kitchen of Rijks's famous restaurant Rijks. They invited her as head chef in 2021, although they all continued to prepare and cook with Hagendijk and his team. “They are still nearby to help us,” she said. “Today, we have 60 lobsters coming in and they helped us clean them. It's always a group effort.”
Although Hagendijk insists that De Kas is not a single vision, she helped guide the restaurant to several recent honors. It was awarded the Michelin Green Star in 2022 and received a traditional Michelin Star in 2023, which is rare for a restaurant that covers 300 restaurants a day for lunch and dinner. However, Hagendijk considers himself a small part of De Kas's lifespan.
“This place is so special, but it's because everyone has been working here for years,” she said. “One of the gardeners worked here for 15 years. One of the dishwashers. There's so much character and soul, it's about the vegetables grown here. I could change something or try to be more sustainable, but the main idea is still the same. But, that's why working here is so beautiful. It's not a person.
When Dutch chef Gert-Jan Hageman first obtained the greenhouse in 2001, it was abandoned and in disrepair. Built in 1927, the greenhouse was originally used as an exotic plant and tree nursery, which is why it has unusually high ceilings. Hageman transformed it into a restaurant and a work greenhouse and established De Kas, becoming a place for Hyper-Local Cuisine. In 2018, De Beer and Jos Timmer took over and continued that spirit. Today, De Kas has grown some produce in the restaurant’s greenhouse, and the rest employs five farmers in the larger space in Beemster, north of Amsterdam. Hagendijk estimates that the restaurant is about 80% self-sufficient when it comes to vegetables.
“We grow our own strawberries, but a lot of the fruit comes from farms that specialize in cherries, apples and pears,” she said. “We try to work with farms near Beemster. Almost everything comes from the Netherlands. Sometimes we get lemons or Radicchio from Italy because they are not growing well here. But even if you are not completely self-sufficient, you have to understand growth and ecosystems.”
Although Decas emphasizes vegetables, it is not a vegetarian restaurant. Hagendick said that this is a common misconception, although chefs can certainly accommodate plant-based diners. This is the setting menu for lunch, and it is also a different set menu for dinner, always keeping vegetables at the forefront. Every three changes every three weeks. For example, when I dine, the main dish highlights the white asparagus, its meaty texture strengthened by rich ducks. One of the earlier dishes was goat kebabs wrapped in lettuce, although Hagendijk pointed out that this was an unusual entry on the menu. “We won't make big proteins,” she said. “It's there, but not the focus. The stars are vegetables.”
This also continues it into the dessert. My strawberries and ice cream were accompanied by pickled cucumbers and goat cheesecake topped with pepper arugula. Hagendijk prefers overly sweet dishes, but she also wants to show what you can do with vegetables. She admits that restaurants avoid using vegetables to “do crazy things” and prefer simple preparations that highlight the natural flavor of the ingredient. This may involve light, grilling, pickling, and even serving raw vegetables.
“If you already know the components, we can put them together like a puzzle,” she said. “It needs to be delicious and delicious. For example, we always have a beur blue, but we change its ingredients. Sometimes it's rosemary in the garden. Now it's lavender. Maybe we'll use bay leaves because it pairs well with green asparagus. We always start with an effective basis.”
Although some dishes reappear, Hagendijk and her team will respond to the microscopic seasons when they come. If a particular vegetable is in its best condition, place it on the menu. During my visit, these peak ingredients included asparagus, strawberries, peas and mung beans – a perfect package for late spring harvest. In winter, there are fewer fresh options, which is more challenging. “You don’t want to offer a course with six root vegetables,” Hagendijk said. “Sometimes we use fish more often in the winter. Many leafy greens, such as Radicchio and Endive. Still doable, but you don't have all these amazing spring vegetables.”
Many other ingredients, such as meat and dairy, are also from the Netherlands. But Hagendijk does not define De Kas' food as Dutch. The most accurate term for chefs is the seasonal European season, a broad definition that emphasizes the chef’s global inspiration: French biscuit, Indian butter sauce, spiced lamb. The kitchen uses spices from around the world, some of which are grown in de kas, and Hagendijk is not afraid of punching holes. Open my meals gazebo with a noticeable kick. “We want to make it fun,” she said. “I like a little spice, a little sour. We keep it very acidic in dishes. Although we like to prepare vegetables, you don't want it to become boring either. Sometimes you need to challenge yourself with different spices.”
Hagendijk doesn't consider herself the face of De Kas, a team effort, she reiterated the concept many times, but she knows she is a well-known female chef who helps aspiring young women.
“There aren't a lot of female chefs in the Netherlands,” she said. “If anything, their preference for Jos and Wim is not very obvious because they always try to get me to come up with. It's nice to set an example for other female chefs. And there are a lot of kitchens with men. At De Kas, at De Kas, we have more than half of the team in the kitchen that is female and more than half of the women are female. It's cool, and I'm very proud of it.” I'm proud of it. ”
It was a surprise to win a Michelin star two years ago. De Kas was attacked to cater to the Michelin of the year held at the Amsterdam Theatre Delamar that year. However, being invited on stage was totally unexpected.
“We were already having dining there and suddenly we won,” Hagendick recalls. “It was a very special moment. In the Michelin scene, we were a little weird because we were a big restaurant and we were not stiff. We served honest food. We weren't crazy about it. We didn't have a lot of fermentation projects going on. In many ways, we were very rural.”
One day, Hagendijk imagines owning his own restaurant. But for the moment, Decas is her home. Her own ideas fit so well with the restaurant’s ideas that it makes sense to stay and continue to develop her appreciation for seasonal ingredients. “I made a menu by looking at what vegetables are being grown here and what vegetables we can use now, which makes a lot of sense to me,” she said. “I’m guiding the overall perspective, but it’s my vision too. I’m part of this bigger story about making delicious food and using all the vegetables in the peak season.”
