De Straten goes Indoor Kitchens with the best chef in Amsterdam: Joris Bijdendijk
In The Streets of Amsterdam AT5 travels into the city in search of special stories from Amsterdammers from all corners of the city. Today we are going Binnenskamers with the best chef in Amsterdam: Joris Bijdendijk.
In 2014 he received his first Michelin star for restaurant Bridges† Two years later, his restaurant also became RIJKS with a star nothing. His fire restaurant Wils also received a star in 2021. And if that’s not enough, he has four cookbooks to his name, made Snerd sexy again and is an ambassador for the school gardens. This is of course about the best chef in Amsterdam: Joris Bijdendijk. How he holds up all these balls: “I certainly don’t do it alone and I have a lot of fun doing it”.
We meet Joris in his work suit at the school gardens of restaurant RIJKS† Vegetable gardens play an important role in his life. As a child I learned about planting, harvesting and preparing products from the garden. “I think this is one of the most important and fun things you can learn in primary school.” He is not bored with vegetable gardens: “For me, this is the basis of my kitchen”. In the school garden there is a kohlrabi that is ready for harvest. We pull it out of the ground to prepare it at his home. “I want to tell city boys what you can do with such a kohlrabi. Nine times out of ten it is in good taste.”
At home, Joris exchanges his work suit for his casual wear: “Leisure wear also includes an apron”. There is a lot of people living in his kitchen and he likes to cook for others. “If you’re going to chat about dishes and habits, it’s a very nice way to get to know each other.” The best chef in Amsterdam also likes to cook with his children at home. He cooks morning lunch for his children which each gives in their lunchbox. He and his French wife do not want them to bring bread to school every day, but a real meal, like in France.
“Amsterdam has become the culinary capital of the Netherlands”
“Amsterdam has become the culinary capital of the Netherlands.” There are not only good star restaurants here, but also very good businesses in the cheaper segment. It’s just a shame that there is such a staff shortage in the hospitality industry right now. The hospitality industry can hire more staff by first developing a stronger food culture. People strengthen getting good to learn raw products and share knowledge with each other. And where better to do that than in markets?
Diversity can always be found in Joris’s kitchen. By traveling, staying curious and creating a safe environment for this diversity. “If you let yourself be inspired by other people and other places on this planet, you will automatically get beautiful new flavors in your kitchen.”
Recipe “Kabbage salad à la Kiki”
Ingredients:
- raw kohlrabi
- roasted kohlrabi
- Apricot
- Fennel tops
- cornflowers
- Smoked sea salt or garlic salt
- Suuring
For the Thai sauce:
- Lime
- Cloves of garlic
- shallot
- Ginger
- chili pepper
- Fish sauce
- Vinegar
Short version:
- “Place this with love on a plate with a little vinaigrette.”
Long version:
- Start eating some of the raw kohlrabi leaves; these will taste like… cabbage
- Peel the raw kohlrabi with the knife that you got as a gift with your first Michelin star and then make wafer-thin kohlrabi slices with a life-threatening mandolin. Place these slices neatly on a plate like carpaccio.
- Cut the apricot into wedges and place on top of the kohlrabi slices. Sprinkle a little smoked sea salt, fennel tops & cornflower petals on top. If you don’t have smoked sea salt, sprinkle garlic salt over it.
- Peel the smoked kohlrabi and cut into slices. Divide these slices evenly among the plates.
Thai sauce:
- Take the juice of one lime.
- Crush a few cloves, the shallot and ginger. Cut the chili pepper into larger slices.
- Add all this to the lime and add some fish sauce and vinegar. Mix this sauce well and divide the juice among the plates.
- Garnish the plates with some sorrel.
Enjoy your dinner!
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