Dinner is Served – In the Greenhouse

Many restaurants focus on using only seasonal local produce, but grower/restaurateur Gert-Jan Hageman took things one step further. He created De Kas, a unique restaurant in a former municipal greenhouse on the outskirts of Amsterdam.

De Kas, which means "Greenhouse", is an 8-metre-high renovated 1926 greenhouse which now houses a unique restaurant. It looks out across the extensive nursery where most of the herbs, fruits and vegetables are grown. All the ingredients are cooked the same day they are harvested, and the beauty of using only seasonal crops means that the menu is rarely the same twice. That's just one of the secrets to the success of this innovative restaurant, which serves up to 1000 diners every week.

From May to October visitors are welcome to tour the nursery garden and attend an informative workshop. These are held in the field in the Beemster region where yet more seasonal vegetables are grown for De Kas. The chefs and waiting staff regularly lend a hand, harvesting the ingredients for the kitchen at sunrise.

De Kas History

Gert-Jan Hageman was already enjoying success as a top chef in 2001. He had earned a Michelin star at the renowned Restaurant Vermeer but dreamed of having a kitchen surrounded by a garden. The fresh vegetables and herbs would inspire creativity from the best and freshest produce. It was a far cry from the white tiled restaurant kitchens and harsh fluorescent lighting he was used to working in.

Hageman found a disused greenhouse in Frankendael Park belonging to the Amsterdam Municipal Nursery which was about to be demolished. With a great deal of hard work and support from family and friends, he took a five year sabbatical and converted the glass building into a restaurant and nursery. He turned the surrounding land into a productive market garden, and finally De Kas was born.

The stunning main dining room designed by Piet Boon is a natural oasis of calm looking out across rows of green vines, trusses of ripening tomatoes, plump melons and shrubby herbs separated by neat box hedges. The greenhouse has spectacular outdoor views and advanced heating and air-conditioning systems to keep the glass structure comfortable in all seasons.

Along with rows of simply laid white-cloth tables in the main restaurant there is a Bar Table for groups or family dining next to the fireplace. A separate Business Table occupies a quiet corner of the floor. The Chef's Table is particularly popular as diners overlook the open-plan kitchens where the freshly picked ingredients are simply marinated, roasted and served. The separate Garden Room at De Kas is used for private functions, located among the leafy greenery of the nursery gardens.  Outdoors there is a furnished patio for al fresco dining in the summer. It's the perfect place to work up an appetite with an aperitif followed by dinner. Guests can not only see the kitchen garden, but also smell the fragrant herbs and flowers grown there.

The ever-changing menu at De Kas is governed by the availability of seasonal produce to accompany meat from local farms and fresh fish from the Wadden Sea and the North Sea. Asked to define De Kas, Chef de Cuisine Bas Wiegel and Head Chef Jarno van den Broek believe "Simplicity and flavour - that's what De Kas is all about."

Illustration: De Kas  - De Kas
Illustration 2: De Kas  - De Kas