NH Radio reporter Samanta was at the Roset in Castricum this morning with Hans Tros from the Patisserie College. This was not just to indulge in all the goodies in the display cases: Vince Spijkerman received his well-deserved certificate and flowers. The pastry chef had made the very best gingerbread chunks in North Holland, according to the jury of the competition, which was organized by the Patisserie College.
Herbs and butter
And good gingerbread chunks do have a number of requirements. “A good gingerbread piece is fresh,” Tros explains.
“You have to taste the gingerbread spices, it must have a good spice taste. And what is also very important is that you have to taste butter. You often see that when you taste gingerbread, you only taste cinnamon. But that is not the definition of a good gingerbread chunk.”
According to Tros, all these different conditions make it difficult to organize a competition for the very best gingerbread chunk. By the way, these sweets also taste very different at a national level: in some regions, for example, they are more reminiscent of Bastogne biscuits.
Correct ratio
According to Tros, speculaas is perhaps the tastiest in North Holland. “It is exactly what we are looking for and is characterized by the right ratio of gingerbread spices and butter.”
This is not the first time that Roset has won prizes. Last year, the company’s ice cream parlor opened for the fourth consecutive year voted the tastiest in the province. Last year the tastiest gingerbread was baked by Barry Dunselman from Den Helder.