Why Dutch Cuisine?

Because we want to make tasty, healthy and sustainable food more appealing and accessible, and because our rich Dutch food culture deserves a revolution. Dutch Cuisine, as the connecting chain, can accelerate the change in making food consumption more sustainable, and last but not least because it is good for our economy and for the planet.
We have defined the charter below to outline this, which features a number of top chefs and other professionals from the food sector who wish to place Dutch food culture upon the map.

A New Vision

Dutch Cuisine offers a fresh view of our food culture, which generates new economic value, because our Dutch culture and creativity are serious business. Think Dutch Design, Dutch Architecture and Dutch Fashion, which have now become resounding concepts in a global sense. The government, as well as organisations from every sector related to our nutrition, have joined forces in order to attain this purpose. Dutch Cuisine is a movement with a great deal of potential, and can turn around the current image of our Dutch food culture. From a commonplace cuisine to a creative, sustainable and innovative cuisine with a unique signature that everyone is proud of: the chef with his dishes, the grower with his products, the city with its catering industry and the ‘corporate Netherlands’ with its Holland branding. Under the flag of Dutch Cuisine, we can profile and promote ourselves, both nationally and internationally. Dutch Cuisine is the answer to a clear international need for an overarching lifestyle brand for everyone who provides a contribution towards our gastronomic culture in the Netherlands.

The 5 principles

Dutch Cuisine maintains five principles that are based on the Dutch culinary identity: principles that are sustainable for people, animals and the environment, and act as a guide for our daily conduct. These five principles of Dutch Cuisine are based upon the philosophy of SVH Master Chef Albert Kooy and are defined in a charter.

 
1

Culture

The dish reflects where we are and which season we are in
Dutch Cuisine is here to promote the Netherlands’ gastronomic culture. Our culture has always been an adoptive one, open and connected with the world. Something we continue to persevere with. Along with that, in the Netherlands we are able to vary our food with seasonal dishes. We’re pretty unique in that aspect. As a rule, nature determines our menu and the dish on our plate reveals where we are and which season we’re in.

Our aim
80% seasonal produce with as much as possible sourced from the Netherlands / 20% out-of-season produce.

2

Health

Good for us and our world
We cook and eat in a way that’s healthy and varied. We use more fruit and vegetables, and less meat and fish. Eating healthily results in feeling good. It’s good for the body, good for the mind and good for the planet!

Our aim
80% fruit and vegetables / 20% meat and fish

 
3

Nature

Honest, multi-faceted food from what nature offers us
Nature’s biodiversity determines what we have to hand. Honest, multifaceted food from what the land and sea naturally produces through the seasons, without artificial additives. We are creative, in order to use the whole product and not just the parts which are easiest. From head to tail, without waste.

Our aim
Use what nature offers us through the seasons, avoid use of artificial additives, work right through from head to tail and waste nothing.

4

Quality

We purchase, cook and eat with high awareness
We recognise quality and taste. We purchase, cook and eat with high awareness. With respect to the ingredients, the source, the producer and the people we deal with along the way. When buying we therefore don’t just look at the price, but also at the quality. We invest in healthy produce, a healthy way of eating and the knowledge about it.

Our aim
Honest, high-quality produce which is, as far as possible, organic, Fairtrade, kind to animals, pure, fresh, seasonal and regional/local.

 
5

Value

We work towards tomorrow
As a result of the four previously described principles, we create value which is beneficial all-round. We eat and live healthier, we leave the earth in a better state, we waste less, we pay the producer a fair price and we ensure better animal welfare.

Our aim
Dutch Cuisine is the guardian of the Netherlands’ way of eating and works towards tomorrow. Everything the earth has to offer us is a gift from previous generations, which we have a duty to pass on to the generations of the future.

Culture

Dutch cuisine, simply a part of our DNA

Our continuous flow of innovation and amazing creativity can be found in our products, and the proof of it is presented on our Dutch Cuisine chefs’ plates – that is where everything comes together. The dish not only shows the Dutch seasons and regions, but also the innovative capacity and creativity in our cuisine – for this defines our food culture.

We can all invest in technology, but let us also invest in our Dutch Cuisine chefs’ creations and their food inspiration, creating awareness and enabling people do to it themselves. Include them and make them participate, and so actively contribute. It’s all about SEEING, DOING and TASTING. If our culture is a reflection of our identity, it shows in our innovative capacity and creativity. It is part of our character – It’s typically Dutch, with a twist.

It’s the common thread displayed by icons like Dutch Design, Dutch Fashion en Dutch Architecture.

Ambassadors

The chefs of Dutch Cuisine are passionate ambassadors of pure Dutch taste. They inspire us to get more involved with wonderful seasonal Dutch products. Dutch Cuisine ambassadors (including chefs, manufacturers, influencers and innovators), sponsors, partners and friends support us towards realising our goals.

All Ambassadors

Partnerships

Placing the Dutch food culture on the map in a firm and sustainable manner is something that cannot be done alone – it takes collaboration; for instance with chefs and restaurants. But also with other individuals and organisations who influence our eating habits; from manufacturers to wholesale suppliers, and from policymakers to consumers. This diversity is reflected in the composition of the management, and among the ambassadors of Dutch Cuisine, but also in partnerships such as Green Deal, Eten op School (Food at School), and the Green Protein Alliance. It is solely by joining forces and entering into partnerships within all the links of the food chain, that we can genuinely optimise the sustainability of our food consumption.

All Partnerships

Organisation

Dutch Cuisine is a foundation with a management that sets out its policies, and oversees the execution of those policies. We work with an Advisory Board that extends advice to the management unit, and helps to realise our objectives. The implementation takes place through a management team and a secretariat. Programme managers enable the development and execution of the projects in conjunction with specialised parties. You can find more information about the Dutch Cuisine remuneration scheme here.

More about the organisation