Year after year, Restaurant De Vlindertuin in Zuidlaren manages to rise on the list of the 500 tastiest restaurants in the Netherlands. This is also the case in the new edition of the Lekker500, which appeared in Dutch bookstores today. The Michelin star holder will rise from 38th place to 34th in 2023. This makes the Zuidlaarder restaurant the highest ranked Drenthe establishment.
Restaurant owner Froukje Cazemier considers herself fortunate with the annual rising trend. “But it all ends eventually, you can’t keep rising forever,” she says, audibly proud.
Cazemier runs the restaurant together with her partner Jilt, who prepares his food in the kitchen of the classic Saxon farm every Tuesday to Saturday. She herself is responsible for the work in front of the screens. “For us, moving up is not a goal in itself, we just do what we enjoy most and that is food.”
The native Southlaarders will not organize a big party, but tonight the couple will uncork a bottle. “We have to be there again tomorrow. We set the bar high for ourselves. The basis is quality and that starts on the plate. You remember everything that is tasty. What comes with it makes the experience more enjoyable,” says Froukje Cazemier.
The couple is especially happy that guests still know where to find them. The Cazemiers work according to the credo ‘get out everything you can’. That has been easier than said in recent years. The catering industry has suffered a lot in recent years from the corona crisis and many are only now feeling the blow. Cazemier is therefore happy that she and her partner have used the corona period to give the restaurant a boost upgrade to be able to give.
“Corona was difficult, especially for companies that started then or just before. They are now feeling the blow. A lot is now uncertain. The uncertain time we are in now is also the biggest challenge for us, for example, all costs have risen sharply. “Fortunately, the restaurant is our own building and we have no rental costs. This meant we were able to tackle it during the corona period,” Cazemier explains.
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