Wilco Berends DE NEDERLANDEN

A spectacular start to the evening

“If you love oysters, you’ve come to the right place. We have a wonderful tasting plate with six different toppings: it’s a spectacular start to a festive evening. I love oysters; they’re such a great, versatile product. The taster includes everything from soya to duck liver and from crab to citrus, but the oyster flavour remains prominent. That’s the charm of the dish.”

Totally traditional

“I cook seasonally, preferably with Dutch products, and I think traditional craftsmanship is the most important thing. I don’t work with fillets: our rabbits, venison and lamb all arrive whole. I want the kitchen team to master these techniques, and craftsmanship is also about passion and preparation. We always start from the basics: the natural product. That’s also the case with fish; if you order turbot, you won’t get ointment of turbot. Guests taste what they see: wonderful products with pure, recognisable flavours.”

Stichting Vakbekwaamheid Horeca Master Chef Wilco Berends trained in the Michelin-starred restaurants Merlet, in Schoorl, De Hoefslag, in Bosch en Duin, and elsewhere. He then returned to Merlet, where he kept the Michelin star as a sous-chef and later as chef. He developed his skills with internships at the two-star Schalteshof in Belgium and the one-star L’Escargot in England. In 2006, he joined De Nederlanden in Vreeland aan de Vecht as chef, and six years later he became patron cuisinier.