dutch masters & master pieces
in search of excellence is the 2nd eat’inspiration of our project ‘dutch icons revisited‘. on the image: no fingerprints.
no fingerprints is a tribute to a the dutch master burglar Aage Meinesz (aage m.), well known in the 70ties for his well prepared bank robberies using a thermal lance. at the end he was caught, but managed to escape. and… to this day the world is figuring out how he managed to do this.
the eat’inspiration ‘in search of excellence’ is the 2nd eat’inspiration of our project ‘dutch icons revisited‘.
exploring ‘how flat is the netherlands’
the eat’inspiratie anything but flat? has its focus on the question “how is flat is the netherlands?”. so we have selected randomly five iconic dutch landscapes of which we created edible impressions:
- wadden sea area. in this area water, salt, sand, air and foam come together. for us the opportunity to showcase all kinds of dutch sea vegetables.
- heathland (drenthe area). in this dish we merge the beautiful heath landscape with the peasant life as depicted in the early paintings by van gogh, bartje’s famous words “i do not pray for brown beans’ in a well known dutch book for children, and the era of the dolmens.
- arable landscape. the netherlands is a country of growers and farmers. so in our opinion an arable landscape can not be missed out, so we created a landscape on which dutch root vegetables flourish.
- the hilly landscape of limburg. this eat’impression is guided by a combination of elements, both present and past: coal mining, viniculture, beer and loess (limburg clay with a typical yellow-red color).
- urban landscape. in the netherlands the amount of nature is decreasing and cities are claiming more and more space. in large cities one can spot significant changes in the street view. one of these changes has inspired us to a dish, a dish with a wink.
the question ‘how flat is the netherlands’ has yielded many interesting discussions. the 5 eat’impressions turned out to be a helpful approach to create a more nuanced view of dutch landscapes.
now we are in the process of visualising the result of the central question ‘how flat is the netherlands’ for the exhibition “dutch icons revisited.
sept-oct + nov 14-15, 2014: eat’inspiration anything but flat?
prolongued: last possibility november 14 & 15, 2014
for the kick-off of the project dutch icons revisited we randomly have selected 5 dutch landscapes. in the eat’inspiration anything but flat? we make typical dutch landscapes starring.
during this project we will be exploring in 5 dishes whether the netherlands is or is not ‘flat’. we start with some classics and we make you experience the wadden sea area, discover the hidden treasures of limburg or taste the urbanisation of the netherlands. during october we will introduce regularly “new” dutch landscapes.
in the context of the overall project dutch icons revisited we will create 2 types of interpretations: abstract and eating experiences.
an eat’inspiration.
- an eat’inspiration is a theme based journey in 5 courses: 3 times savourish and 2 times sweetish.
the practical details + the menu.
- the menu. click on the following link for the menu of the eat’inspirations anything but flat? in pdf-format;
- the cocktail. country boys – the aperitif. rose garden (non alcoholic);
- period. sept 19-20-26-27, oct 3-4-10-11-17-18-25, 2014. last opportunity on november 14 and 15, 2014;
- opening.hours. fridays & saturdays, 18.30-22.30 hrs. outside opening hours only open by appointment for groups of at least 15 persons;
- reservations required. to avoid disappointments (limited seatings), by e-mail info@deculinairewerkplaats.nl or by phone +31 (0)6 54 64 65 76;
- the price tag. you decide afterwards what a fair price is for the eating experience at de culinaire werkplaats.
food problems/wishes
we invite you to share any allergies, dietary restrictions or wishes when you book your eat’in experience. so it is possible for us to tailor our menu. it is a challenge for us to prepare something very special and inspirational for you.
choice of ingredients
besides taste and inspirational concept at least 2 of the following criteria also provide for our choice of ingredients, products, and suppliers: animal welfare, small-scale or organic farming, fair trade, direct trade, season, distance, and personal health.
wake up: the versatility of the exotic coffee bean – a 1st exploration.
all around the world coffee bars are popping up, even in countries where people traditionally drink tea. and… the phenomenon coffee to go did change street life forever.
the challenge. coffee seems so popular, that it is quite interesting to find out what you can do more with it besides brewing and drinking coffee. so we selected 5 coffee beans, all single origins, coming from 5 different countries: brazil, ethiopia, sumatra, guatamala and costa rica. the most popular ingredients available in those countries inspired us to 5 different dishes. in each dish we used coffee in at least one or two different ways. click on this link for the menu of the eat’inspiration wake up.
the result. the eat’inspiration wake up was much to our surprise an unexpectedly huge success. some people were really fascinated by the tomatoes marinated in coffee. furthermore wake up resulted 4 new products: wake up pearls, a marinade ‘the kick inside’, coffee paper, and last but not least we added a new flavour (sumatra coffee) to our collection the breakables.
what did we learn. allthough coffee seems to be extremely popular all around the world we discovered that
- a lot of people do not like coffee for various reasons. we received a lot of e-mails from people suffering from some kind of caffeine anxiety or problem. for those people we created a decaf version.
- and we discovered that many people do not like the taste of coffee, and especially refer to the bitterness. but … the most open minded came to experience this eat’inspiration and they all explained afterwards that they enjoyed the taste of the various culinary applications of coffee, very much to their own surprise. so …. we think we can conclude that drinking coffee and using coffee in all kinds of other ways reveals different taste sensations.
portfolio: orange … the new black?
what. during 2014 fifa world cup brazil we decided to create an unpredictable eat’inspiration with a focus on the results of our national football team -just like before in june 2010-. the result of every match played by the dutch national team determined the colour(s) of a dish: orange, orange-black, or black.
the results.
- 1st dish (above + below) inspired by the 1st match and our dutch roots: cold, spicy carrot soup, a carrot foam topping and marinated carrot ‘balls’.
- 2nd dish (below): spicy sweet potato, orange lentils and dried mango.
- 3rd dish (below): spiced bell pepper and flowers.
- 4th dish (below): marinated skin of melon, melon ‘balls’, foam with fresh mint and orange powder
- 5th dish (below): marinated blackberries, black venere rice, sweet black beans and balsamico vinegar
- 6th dish (below): roasted apricots, orange juice pearls and zest of tangerine.
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- spicy carrot soup, carrot foam
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- sweet potato, orange lentils and dried mango
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- bell pepper, flowers
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- marinated melon, minty foam
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- blackberries, black venere rice, black beans and balsamico vinegar
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- sweet roasted apricots, pearls of orange and powder of tangerine.
july 4 – aug 30, 2014: wake up
due to success prolongued until august 30, 2014. on august 9, 16, 23 and 30, 2014 we offer you the last chance to experience the 2nd limited edition of this eat’inspiration (limited seatings). 
each july our eating experiences are inspired by our motto food = fashion and the summer edition of fashion week amsterdam. this year you can expect from us an outlook on fashion, or rather on haute couture, on coffee haute couture!
the contemporary way of producing, selecting, roasting, brewing and drinking coffee has the same allure as fashion. the renewed attention to the exotic coffee bean closely follows the current trend of fashion & interior: a penchant for the past and for foreign countries is reflected in all kinds of exotic designs and accessories. the revival of coffee has also led to the trendy coffee bars and the new profession of coffee sommelier.
wake-up, the eat’inspiration.
- inspirational source: the coffee bean;
- consists of five dishes: 3x savourish and 2x sweetish;
- the 5 dishes of wake-up are inspired by our selection of 5 coffee producing countries, namely: costa rica, ethiopia, guatemala, brazil and sumatra;
- in addition, we explore in wake-up 5 different single-origin coffee beans and you can experience at least 5 times a new perspective on coffee.
- all our selected coffees consist of 100% arabica beans contain 70% less caffeine than robusta coffee beans.
- please note: if you are not into coffee – please book the decaffeinated version.
wake-up, the limited edition.
- products in our shop. the “breakables”, coffee flowers, dust, pearls, etc.
- where + when. from mid-august-september 2014 in our studio.
the practical details
- the menu. click on the following link for the menu of the eat’inspiration wake-up in pdf-format;
- the cocktail. shot – the aperitif. sleeping beauty (non alcoholic);
- period. july 4 – august 2, 2014. due to success prolonged: last chance on august 9 – 16 – 23 or 30, 2014
- opening.hours. fridays & saturdays, 18.30-23.00 hrs. outside opening hours only open by appointment for groups of at least 15 persons;
- reservations required. to avoid disappointments (limited seatings), by phone +31 (0)6 54 64 65 76 of by e-mail info@deculinairewerkplaats.nl;
- the pricetag. decide afterwards what a fair price is for the eating experience at de culinaire werkplaats. for the time being this will be the last eat’inspiration without a price tag.
food problems/wishes
- we invite you to share any allergies, dietary restrictions or wishes when you book your eat’in experience. so it is possible for us to tailor our menu. it is a challenge for us to prepare something very special and inspirational for you.
choice of ingredients
- besides taste and inspirational concept at least 2 of the following criteria also provide for our choice of ingredients, products, and suppliers: animal welfare, small-scale or organic farming, fair trade, direct trade, season, distance, and personal health.
eat’inspiration in progress: orange, the new black????
we (marjolein & eric) have to confess that we are not so fond of watching football, but … we do like to play games.
so just like in june 2010 we will be creating an unpredictable eat’inspiration with a focus on the results of the dutch football team (or is it soccer team?). work in progress, so to speak.
after every match of the dutch team the result determines the colour(s) of a dish: orange, orange-black, or black.
see here the 1st dish inspired by the 1st match and our dutch roots: cold, spicy carrot soup, a carrot foam topping and marinated carrot ‘balls’.
we are curious what the colours of the next dishes will be.
may – june 2014: eat’in architecture
amsterdam is a city of many faces. one way to experience the rich history, present and future of amsterdam is by it’s architecture.
in may and june 2014 we are exploring the philosophy and timeframe of various iconic buildings of amsterdam and some new initiatives that change the look & feel of the city.
in may you can have a bite of the magnificent roof of the maritime museum, eat the story behind the golden facade of byzantium, taste the lightness of the open air school, have a slice of tradition offered by the royal palace at dam square, and work out some creative spaces yourself.
in june there will be some changes. in this period you will find new types of city green and an example of contemporary architecture on your plate as well.
this eat’inspiration is only available for groups. we are in the process of changing the way we would like to share and exchange our food & eating experiences with the world.
in the 2nd half of june we will communicate what our next steps will be and when you all can visit us again. we apologize for the inconvenience in the meantime.
an eat’inspiration
- consists of 5 theme based dishes: 3 times savourish and 2 times sweetish. every eat’inspiration is preceded by a sneak preview: flatbread with a topping that reveals something of the eat’inspiration.
the practical details
- the menu. click on the following link for an example of the eat’inspiration eat’in architecture (in pdf-format)
- period. may – june 2014
- opening hours. in may and june 2014 only open by appointment for groups of at least 15 persons.
- reservations required. by phone +31 (0)6 54 64 65 76 of by e-mail info@deculinairewerkplaats.nl;
- the pricetag. if you are interested please contact us. pricetag depends on number of persons, type of eat experience: dinner, lunch, breakfast, bites, and whether you are interested in the theme of the month or prefer a tailor made eat’inspiration.
food problems/wishes
- we invite you to share any allergies, dietary restrictions or wishes when you book your eat’in experience. so it is possible for us to tailor our menu. it is a challenge for us to prepare something very special and inspirational for you.
choice of ingredients
- besides taste and inspirational concept at least 2 of the following criteria also provide for our choice of ingredients, products, and suppliers: animal welfare, small-scale or organic farming, fair trade, direct trade, season, distance, and personal health.
portfolio: eat’inspiration amsterdamned?
in march and april 2014 we explored our love-hate relationship with amsterdam, part of our amsterdam 2014 project. we expressed with the following dishes our “highlights” of amsterdam:
- museum square,
- gay parade,
- zeedijk (see image),
- tuschinski (movie theatre),
- amsterdam’s coffeeshops.
on the image you’ll see one of the impressions we created of the zeedijk. this dish is inspired by the rich history of the zeedijk, the main street of amsterdam’s china town, and part of the maritime district. so the choice of ingredients, the colours, the taste and textures, the shape are triggered by both china and the see, the meaning of the zeedijk (sea dike), and the fact this street is situated next to the red light district.
april 2014: fotografie.
kega commissioned us to create an eat’inspiration for canon. the inspirational theme for this eating experience is photography.
the eat’inspiration consisted of the following 5 dishes : black & white, macro, focus, japan, and innovation.