Meatless partying is becoming the norm, so this caterer serves bourguignon without beef

How do you make a salad niçoise as sustainable as possible? By first looking at what is growing in the area, for example. The organic farmer who lived next to the Lowlands site received a free ticket from the festival organization every year. Make amends for the inconvenience. Nobody had the idea to use their vegetables at the festival. ‘When Lowlands called in us in 2018, we immediately went to him’, says Willem Treep (47) of The Food Line-up, ‘you can’t get your ingredients more local.’ The classic niçoise came on the map as Salade Biddinghuizen.

Local sourcing it’s called in technical terms. It is one of the principles of The Food Line-up, a caterer that consistently links good food – ‘everything starts with taste’ – to sustainability and awareness about it. Think bourguignon without beef for a walking dinner, or a food truck with organic fries and stew for a festival.

The Food Line-up works with about a hundred chefs, each with their own specialty – a culinary agency for those who want to dress up their event with sustainable snacks and drinks. ‘During the farewell of KLM boss Pieter Elbers this year, sustainable dishes were presented, inspired by the countries where he had lived, such as Greece and Japan, served in a blue suitcase,’ says Treep.

Future proof menu

The caterer is now firmly involved in corporate events, it started ten years ago with two young girls who wanted to shake up the food scene at festivals. Rolling kitchens – food trucks – now drove all over the country with all kinds of goodies, but at pop festivals visitors often queued for hours for a lukewarm fries.

Festival Best Kept Secret in Hilvarenbeek brought in 2014 The Food Line-up. Visitors could then listen to the Wild Beasts or Daryll-Ann with a sustainable killer hair salon or a trendy ice cream from a food truck. In 2018 and 2019, the catering company set up Brasserie 2050 at Lowlands, with sponsorship from Rabobank: a circular greenhouse annex dining pavilion with a ‘future-proof’ menu. Better food, both for the body and for the climate – they won prizes in the catering and event industry.

‘Founder Lotte Wouters has a background in the Slow Food movement and initially catered for small parties, together with Maartje Nelissen,’ says Treep about the company’s origins. When Wouters left in 2016, Treep stepped in. He was already involved with the company as a consultant. This summer Nelissen embarked on a new adventure. Since then, Treep has been the only ‘business boss’, as it is called on the website.

76 percent vegetarian

The Food Line-up aims to present as many plant-based dishes as possible (‘we are now at 76 percent vegetarian’) and to limit residual flows. Everything as biodiverse and inclusive as possible. ‘Food connects’, says Treep, ‘we have chefs from all kinds of world cuisines. For example, we presented Ethiopian injera at a buffet – the client had worked in Ethiopia.’

In addition to their craftsmanship and the quality of their products, new chefs are screened for the origin of their ingredients. ‘Where does the meat for the barbecue come from, for example? We are not one hundred percent Puritan, which is counterproductive, but the chefs must be open to improvement and we want to help with that.’ The satay farmer who said he was working on sustainability and at the same time continued to buy meat from the factory industry could pack his bags.

As more and more festivals started putting together their own culinary programme, The Food Line-up’s focus shifted to partnerships with permanent locations, such as Amsterdam’s Westergasfabriek, and corporate events. Big boys such as KLM and Heineken are now part of the customer base. Deloitte dared to have completely plant-based catering for three thousand employees.

Meat eaters and vega sausage

The fact that not all customers are known for their own sustainable business operations does not mean that there is ‘greenwashing’, according to Treep. ‘There is always a risk that companies will use catering to look better. Fortunately, because that means they are aware of their responsibility. It is of course important for sustainability that you core business (core activity, red.) makes it more sustainable and not the peripheral matters. But then let’s be the driving force.’

He points to the advantage of corporate events over festivals. ‘Guests are offered the food for free. You can introduce them to sustainable dishes in a playful way.’ The vegetarian sausage bread, for example, appears to be very popular with carnivores.

Turning point

Turnover tripled between 2016 and 2019. In 2020, Goeie Grutten stepped in, an investor that wants to stimulate sustainable energy and food traditions. Then the pandemic came and the turnover plummeted from 4.1 million euros in 2019 to 550 thousand in 2020. The corona support gave peace of mind, says Treep, which did not mean that employees had to leave.

For the time being, clients remain on the cautious side. “We do not know how it will continue with corona, and the chance of a recession is not excluded.” At the same time, staff shortages mean that companies want to open their wallets to keep employees happy, for example with a nice party.

Thinking about sustainability has grown during the pandemic, notes Treep. ‘Many companies now see that you can also throw a good party without meat. We are close to the tipping point that a meatless event will become the norm.’