Guus, why did you go with the “living room” vibe for Café Binnenvisser?
It’s the energy that I want other people to get through my food, and it’s what we try to do with the wines – the environment should reflect that also. It embraces the people who come and tells them they can have a great time. I want people to feel that.
And how would you describe the food at Binnenvisser?
The food at Binnenvisser is quite simple, actually. We don’t try to do too much to the products that we get. We try to keep it pure, but with strong flavors to compliment the vegetables that lead our dishes..
Speaking about those vegetables, where do you source them?
We source them from a few places, but mainly from Wim Bijma. He’s a farmer located some 20 mins by car from Amsterdam, in Halfweg, a quiet spot just before Haarlem. Wim grows amazing vegetables. He has great knowledge about growing from doing it his entire life. It’s really an honor to work with him and the stuff he gives us.
So you’ve got the ingredients, how do you approach the dishes themselves?
I always try to keep one piece of produce as the star of the dish. I don’t want to complicate the food too much. By structuring a few elements around that centerpiece, I can bring it out even more, without messing with the integrity of the main vegetable.
What’s your ‘vegetable knife’? Do you have one?
A Chinese cleaver must be my go to knife
Can you recommend one restaurant, aside from Binnenvisser for an experience you will take with you for a long time?
I would recommend Entrepôt in Amsterdam. I don’t go out to eat a lot. But there I always have a memorable meal. Arvid Schmidt does amazing things with vegetables.
And a natural wine that blew you away?
That must have been a bottle of Prieure Roch Pinot Noir!
For some, plant-based food can feel mindblowing after a life of meat-forward dishes. What do you wish people knew about plant-based/sustainably-sourced food today?
People always try to replace animal protein, with vegan chicken bits and all that stuff. I hope people can start to understand the beauty of vegetables, that you do that without processed alternatives. Plants just need the right preparation.
Is there a magic ingredient?
Love and kindness is one of the most important things, because, in the end, that’s what people notice, even though they don’t think about it. If you put a lot of love and kindness into the food, into the service and into all the work stuff you do as a team, and as a cook, then people will feel that. That’s really important for me, that they feel it and taste it, and that they experience it.
Does that make you a hippie?
I don’t think love and kindness makes you into a hippie. It’s really important for everybody to have love and kindness, whether it’s in day-to-day life or in food or in your doing what you do in every aspect of life or profession. It brings a lot of appreciation towards other people, and that means people give back. That’s just plain common sense, isn’t it?
