The Tomotto sauce, a slightly spicy sauce from Den Bosch, is now receiving national attention because Remia will produce it. The sauce itself, however, is anything but new. Theo van Gestel from cafeteria De Dageraad in Den Bosch invented the original sauce as early as 1965. For the Hoyer family, there remains only one true Tomotto: theirs.
“He probably didn’t like regular mayonnaise and he started mixing herbs, which makes it a bit spicier,” says son-in-law Arthur Hoyer (68), who has taken over the business. The creator himself died about twenty years ago.
The very first Tomotto
Is this Tomotto really the first? Hoyer is convinced of this. “My father-in-law also came up with the name.” From the start, the slightly spicy sauce was exclusively sold at De Dageraad and is still available there. “We sell it even more than mayonnaise,” Hoyer says. The recipe has hardly changed in 2025. “It used to include onions, but now people can get onions if they want, because not everyone likes them.”
No patent
From the 1970s to the 1980s, more and more businesses started making their own Tomotto sauce. “Everyone has tried to recreate the Tomotto, but they forgot the thin sauce.” Hoyer and his in-laws never saw the need to patent it. “That wasn’t for us. If I see that someone has nice garlic sauce, I try to make that too. Anyone can sell Tomotto, I have no problem with that.”
How he makes Tomotto? “With my hands and brains,” he jokes. “We’re not going to tell you. It’s a secret and everyone tries to do it their way. They come very close, but it’s just the feeling you have to have.”
Very proud
Hoyer calls Erik van den Heuvel’s Tomotto from cafeteria Bonna Fritura, which is now produced by Remia, “a very tasty Tomotto”. “But it’s different from ours,” he explains. “Our sauce has a tighter structure, while Remia’s is more of a dressing. But it is certainly tasty.” According to Hoyer, the name Tomotto is broad enough. “It is Tomotto, but not in this form,” he says, pointing to his own container of sauce. “We think ours is better, but every cafeteria thinks its own Tomotto is the best.”
He especially likes that his father-in-law’s sauce is now produced nationally in a different variant. “It’s great that they did it. I think it’s great that the name will continue to exist and will soon spread around the world.” According to him, his father-in-law would have been proud. “He would have really enjoyed it.”
Pension
It doesn’t feel to Hoyer as if anyone else is taking the credit. “I don’t believe that. There is only one Tomotto on the scene and that is ours. Different brands have curry. Why shouldn’t there be different types of Tomotto?”
He once tried to introduce the sauce to Elite Salads & Snacks. “They brought samples, but they didn’t like it.” Six months later they introduced the Joppie sauce, which is very similar to Tomotto.
Although the cafeteria will close next month and Hoyer will have more time to enjoy his retirement, the Dageraad-Tomotto sauce will not disappear. “I will continue to make and sell Tomotto for our regular customers.”
