De Kas

The owner, Gert Jan Hageman, is a real character – a pragmatic idealist who has turned a utopian dream into reality. He has created an immense garden in the middle of a huge city. That is De Kas, a bucolic and beautiful greenhouse in a large park in Amsterdam. With municipal concession of the space at a symbolic price, he has built this restaurant up in an absolutely precious spot where he cultivates both vegetables and nature itself – it is certainly unique in Europe, perhaps even the world over. Here they grow an endless number of vegetables, microvegetables and aromatic herbs in the adjoining space to the dining room – an avant-garde greenhouse whose semblance changes with each passing season. It is part his supply, with another part cared for through a deal he has with 9 agriculturists to whom he gives the plants and who grow them when required. This obviously green attitude is not the blueprint for vegetarian cuisine, however, as chef Ronald Kunis will have you know – a professional who is unerringly convinced of the philosophy here, an enthusiastic promoter of it and meticulous about the instantaneous collection of the ingredients to be used… he proves himself to be rather balanced in his proposal: “when we construct a dish, we do it in function of the vegetables we are planning to use, which will constitute at least 50% of the components, but we also incorporate shellfish, fish and meats to enrich the gastronomic value of the vegetables.” With these criteria, they set about inventing, fifty-two times a year, once a week, sometimes more, a menu using the very best the garden has to offer. In accordance with the seasons and collection schedules, they offer a single tasting menu every day that the guests come here for brimming with enthusiastic complexity. As a result, no one knows what will be served. The only certainty is that of the radiant fields and the freshness of nature surrounding the restaurant, elements that are raised almost as flags to remind you of the pride that is felt by the house for what they do. And for good reason – the vegetables that arrive to the table are of an exceptional, sublime quality.
A succulent slice of toasted bread with melted gorgonzola, pumpkin puree and a dash of herbs and flowers was served first to introduce us to the spirit of the establishment. Another charming hors d’oeuvre: an assortment of carrot, beet, cauliflower… and olives, each one impregnated using a different preparation (marinated, preserved, cooked, confit, etc). On to the dishes: phenomenal for their flavor and complexity, the shoe string potatoes in butter with scallops, Jerusalem artichoke puree, breaded and fried salsifies and a salad served separately to preserve all the pure flavors and intrinsic quality of the ingredients. The salmon covered with potato puree was incredibly juicy, served with lemongrass and pieces of fennel bulb. We finished with a truly artisan coquelet wrapped in smoked bacon that was served with a bold white cabbage preparation, green leaves from the same family, turnips and a vegetable-poultry base.
It was a charming experience, something no doubt its 52,000 clients a year would most definitely confirm.