A dessert like warm summer sun

As if you were walking through the landscape from Marsman’s poem, ‘infinite lowlands’, ‘farms scattered throughout the land’, trees, forest, an impressive stretch of beach with a gray-blue sky through which the sun shines, the strong wind that blows the gentle scatter grains of sand through the air. The Netherlands can be so unexpectedly beautiful at times and places. And on Texel, where I am for the first time in my life – for the first time on a Wadden island anyway – I discover that beauty again.

It is called the ‘Ibiza of the North’, I read here and there. That’s what I always think of those silly and superfluous comparisons that express both pride and an inferiority complex. As if Texel cannot stand on its own. Ibiza is beautiful and grand in a different way. The typical Texel polder landscape needs no comparison, it has its own charm.

We are here for restaurant BOSQ, which is led by chef Robin Koenen and wife Marlies, who is also a hostess and sommelier. The atmospheric interior has a bit of an eighties feel to it, there is a sun-drenched terrace where passers-by can relax after cycling trips, from your table you have a view of the flat landscape with its wide meadows and Dutch farms, right behind the restaurant is a raked forest with a path that takes you to the beach along almost un-Dutch hills.

In the open kitchen of BOSQ, Dutch nostalgia is skilfully mixed with international influences. There is the hamachi with ponzu, sesame and pomelo, a real contemporary dish, with the popular Asian ponzu (soy sauce with yuzu juice). It is fresh, light, combines different structures and has the emphatic sweet-sour accents of the pickled radish and the crispy corn with a hint of umami. A dish that lets us know that time has not stood still on Texel and worldly influences, just like in the rest of the Netherlands, have found their way into the kitchens.

Dried black lime is grated on top of the dish: a seasoning in Iraqi cuisine, among other things. I first read about it in the cookbook NOOMI by Sara Shawkat, but lately the fascinating ingredient has been on the rise. The French top pastry chef Cédric Grolet has already turned it into a pastry and Shawkat has introduced a drink based on black lime (NOOMI) to the Dutch market.

But this is the first time I get it in a Dutch restaurant, and it must mean that you will soon be able to get it everywhere, just like yuzu, the Japanese citrus fruit that is now ubiquitous in the catering industry.

Unadulterated Dutch

So much for the international, because the Texel fish dish that comes to the table is unadulterated Dutch: cod, clams, shrimps and pieces of roasted and crunchy cauliflower are brought together by a tasty eel sauce and some pieces of samphire. Not an exciting, exuberant dish; most of the flavor comes from the rich, slightly salty eel sauce and that’s what the cod, itself a rather pale, boring fish, really needs.

The Dutch polder moves to the plate with salted and confit lamb and lamb neck, with the fresh green of the fresh peas, the tasty and meaty morels and asparagus. Now I usually don’t find such classic dishes very exciting, I like daring combinations, but in all honesty I have little to criticize. A fine, solid dish.

At the sweet finale, the chef shows that he also likes a splurge. My dessert is like a warm summer sun: the cheerful yellow of the sweet and slightly sour pineapple, the super fresh lemon ice cream, the crunchy chip of banana and the wonderfully full-sweet vanilla of the crème suisse, together form a stimulating conclusion.

But the real stunner is my table companion who, for a small extra charge, orders the savory dessert ‘extravaganza’ off the menu, which betrays the creativity of the chef (and the Spanish influences, Ibiza!): a duck foie gras with Argentinian gamba, pata negra ham, pineapple and quince ice cream.

A colorful composition that I don’t taste a bite of because of the ham, but which he is very enthusiastic about: the foie gras connects all the elements through its creaminess and makes it a layered savory whole with full, rich, fatty flavors, a hint of sweet and a refreshing one finishing touch through the ice.

Original and daring. BOSQ is not (yet) a ‘detour restaurant’ as Michelin calls it. Culinary wise, apart from the dessert, it is not very adventurous, but if you do come to Texel for the beautiful landscape, the tranquility of the forest or the extensive beach, then you are assured of a great meal at BOSQ , friendly service and generously filled glasses.

Judging by that savory dessert, I think the chef has a lot more to offer and I hope he explores his talent and taps into creativity, because the beautiful location on Texel lends itself perfectly to modern cuisine that combines past and present, the local and exotic together.