Restaurants receive Gouden Lapelpels: ‘Sometimes there is a fork on the right side of the plate’ | Cooking & Eating

Ask a food critic what it was like to review past years and you’ll get answers ranging from ‘messy’ to ‘most special ever’. Their work was forced to stop for a while, because restaurants were closed or only served lunch. Higher prices for raw materials and energy caused the prices of meals and drinks to rise considerably (‘I estimate about 20 percent’, according to ADreviewer Karin Kuijper).

Enough to stress about. And then there was also a whopper of a shortage on the labor market. Still, many restaurants managed to survive. With cousins ​​who were hastily summoned. The fact that a fork sometimes ends up on the right side of the plate and the service cannot distinguish the chardonnay from the rioja, that should not spoil the fun.

“It is sometimes cringe-inducing,” says Karin Kuijpers, who scours Rotterdam and the surrounding area for gems. “But I forgive them, because it’s about being warmly welcomed.” Rather an inexperienced person who doesn’t speak the language, but who gives you a nice evening, than a grumpy waiter who doesn’t care.

In the experience, it all went quite well. “There was a lack of knowledge,” points out Ellen Lengkeek, who reviews for the Haagsche Courant. “Certainly if you look at the knowledge about wine and wine pairings. still scored high.”

“It was quite a season”, says Hans Pfauth, who reviews restaurants in the Groene Hart. He visited 59 restaurants and calculated that he had not been able to do his job for a total of 45 weeks since the last presentation (which he made up for by tasting the atmosphere and chefs for the newspaper. “We started with wheelchair accessibility for the first time. We receive a lot of letters from readers about this. They appreciate that extra information.”

What Marco Bosmans noticed in his own area – Utrecht and Amersfoort and the surrounding area – is that many very young people did indeed appear at his table and that it ‘has become more expensive here and there’. “The service is a bit disappointing here and there. I’ve had a lot of teenagers at my table, so it’s hard to ask for wine advice.” But the good tents are doing well. In other words: super good. Bosmans was almost hugged by the winner of the Gouden Lapel. “The sommelier was very happy with my interest.”

The winners were presented with the Gouden Pollepel at Gastvrij Rotterdam yesterday.

Utrecht Restaurant Guillotine was a haunted house for eight months due to corona, but is now the winner of the Golden Ladle. It’s right in the kitchen, on the plate and in the mouth, writes Marco Bosmans in his review: from the juicy, velvety pork belly to clafoutis with roquefort. Creative cooking is central and the sommelier helped us find wines that gave the dishes even more power. Guillotine got an 8.7 as a grade.

Rotterdam Restaurant Putaine in Rotterdam does it all well: from the art to the dishes, from the photobooth to the wine. ,,Such a worldly tent. Everything is right there,” says Karin Kuijpers. Entrepreneurs Eva Eekman and Michael Schook have already scored with Héroine and have now given Rotterdam a new topper with their floating restaurant. The service wants to take you home and the food radiates fun and guts. The restaurant gets a big 8.5.

Gouda Restaurant Unique received a second visit from reviewer Hans Pfauth because Lizz and Unique finished equally in the ranking. “I had to do it one more time. Very heavy”, the reviewer jokes. In the end Unique won on generosity and hospitality. “Then you get a little extra wine when they notice that you enjoy it. I always like that.” The atmosphere got a 9.5, the final score was 8.4 for Unique.

the Hague Three days a week, Cru only serves meat from the best hunters, like buttery pieces of roe, as reviewer Ellen Lengkeek put it in her review. Not something for vegans and vegetarians, but owner, cook and butcher Alan de Vries and his team respect nature. Because De Vries is also a hunter. Prime Minister Rutte and President Macron have already discovered it. The final score: 8.3 for Cru.

Spaghetti on the floor and kids running around? Parents of Nu explains how to keep it fun in a restaurant when you go with the kids.