First Green Michelin Star Chef in the Netherlands: Luc Kusters on where Dutch fine dining meets sustainable gastronomy.

A conversation with Luc Kusters

We sat down with the Bolenius founder and chef to talk sustainable gastronomy, new (and old) Dutch cuisine, Michelin Green Stars and why you should embrace stamppot.

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You are one of the founders of the new Dutch Cuisine movement. Tell me about it.

Years ago, I was one of six people who came together to answer the question: How do you feed the planet in 50 years, in 2050? Because we must change the way we eat. But a lecture won’t be effective, so we had to find a solution, and that solution is to just work locally, be honest and eat many more plants. You can of course eat some meat or fish, but way less and way better, not mass-produced. And because we have pride in local things, we eventually called it Dutch Cuisine, to rediscover our own Dutch kitchen. Because if you look back 100 years, the way we cooked then is nearly the solution now.

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How so?

‍In those times, there were lots of vegetables in the city from farmers. The mass-produced meat didn’t start until after World War II, but that was to make sure nobody went hungry, so no offense to farmers. But we did that so well that half of the food we produce we throw away! The movement is also about no waste, so all these things are combined. But we want to make it a positive thing, so that's why we talk about Dutch Cuisine.

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‍What’s so new about the new Dutch Cuisine? It seems like it’s been around for at least a decade…

Actually, there's nothing new. That's why I call it ‘rediscovering Dutch cuisine’, because it's always been there; we just took a wrong turn after the war. We now know we must serve the land in multi-culture and not mono-culture ways. We must give back to nature what we take. So it’s all about healthy foods, better meat, less meat—all those things combined. We must change the way we work with and eat food. In the culinary world, it's not a trend; it's a food transition.

And we chefs can be the game-changers. Many chefs are taking this opportunity to tell the story and make delicious new dishes. It’s a pleasure to work on it. So, it's only getting better on our side. It has to.

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You’ve said there should be stamppot in every Dutch café! Why?

In Spain, everyone is proud of paella. We are based in Holland, so everyone should be proud of our stamppot. There are many local dishes in the Netherlands and a lot of great products. So use these products and be proud of our local dishes and tell their story. It makes people want to eat these things again, and that’s a privileged way of contributing to the food footprint.

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For example, one of the stories I’ve always liked is the Leidse hutspot, started in Leiden after the siege of the city in the 16^th century. It was left by fleeing Spanish soldiers during the Eighty Years' War.

So using those ingredients—parsnip, carrots and onions—and the story, we made a new dish here at Bolenius. Then suddenly you have a Michelin star stamppot dish. Before it always had to be caviar or French or Japanese cuisine to gain some Michelin stars. And suddenly there were restaurants, not just mine, with a Michelin star stamppot on the menu!

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How do you make stamppot Michelin-star worthy?

Traditionally, there's no potato. There's parsnip, white beans, carrots and onion. So individually, we made a sorbet of parsnip, an airy foam puree of parsnip. We made pickled parsnip and parsnip chips in one dish but separated it so it's like two little dishes besides each other. We perfectly cooked the white beans with a nice, caramelized gravy made from the onions and carrots.

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That sounds delicious!

That’s the way we work. You just analyse the ingredients and start from scratch and tell the hutspot story. Of course, it's not the way the Spanish left it hundreds of years back, but we still call it that. So you tell the story and have a delicious dish. It's a nice warm and cold mixture, one of our best dishes, and it’s on the menu every year for a few weeks, usually around the time of the Leidens Ontzet, or 3 October Festival, celebrating Leiden’s liberation in 1574.

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You got the country’s first Michelin Green Star in 2021. What is that and why does it matter?‍

The Michelin Green Star says it recognizes those establishments who serve as role models for sustainable gastronomy. And when we were the first restaurant to receive it, we had our press release ready to go because we were working on it for more than a decade. So finally, it was good to let everybody know that all that pioneering was finally rewarded. Everybody wants to contribute to how the world is going or to have a bit of an influence. So I think being the first Green Star of the Netherlands is proof that we also changed the whole culinary scene a bit on the sustainable side. So as a chef, it’s really nice, but also as a restaurant owner, because we were fully booked for a year!  

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Why are you relocating from the Zuidas to the Rembrandtpark?

‍I was asked to go there because it's a completely sustainable building, and they want to have a sustainable solution for their restaurants. It gives me the opportunity to take our whole green story one step further. If you come to our location in the Rembrandtpark, opening August 21, 2025), the proof is already in the pudding. There’s a nice entranceway, and you can see the kitchen garden through the restaurant’s windows. There are sun panels on the roof and sustainable pumps. I feel privileged to open there.

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What do you want diners and visitors to experience at Bolenius?

First of all, a delicious meal, a memory and, after they come home, the awareness that the solution to sustainable eating is to eat way less meat and fish. You’re not even going to miss it if you cook delicious vegetables. And if you eat more vegetables, the good thing is you want to eat even more, because you're going to positively change your digestion. In the end, we are also making our own future customers with all the plant-based and pure plant food we’re creating and serving!

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What can people do at home to eat more sustainably?‍

I think people are introducing things like Veggie Friday or just skipping meat in a normal meal. At home, for example, I always make breakfast during the week for me and my children. It's always pure plants. Well, sometimes I might use cheese, but it's always without fish or meat.

People must realize they have to eat better and also spend more money on food. The average spend on food in the Netherlands is too low. It's better to spend six euros on a meal you prepare yourself, even if only half-way, with lots of vegetables and even nice products then spend eight euros at McDonald's.

And if you’re going to a garden centre, buy biological or edible plants and put them in your garden or in a pot indoors. Because why not? Just plant edible plants. They are always there and they’re nice to cook with. If you want a tree, why not an elderberry tree? You get blossoms in the spring, berries in autumn, and you can eat them all or make a jam with your children. Maybe you do it only once or twice a year, but it's a big difference and it makes children aware of the food they eat. It’s also way healthier!

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Luc’s Amsterdam Favourites…

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Outdoors market: Definitely the Albert Cuyp market. Everything is there and it's always buzzy. There's still a good fish stall and a good stroopwafel stand that’s not just commercially producing them.

Market (indoors): De Hallen

Place to enjoy nature – the Rembrandtpark!

Dutch beer:  Barrel-aged Hertog Jan

Dutch wine: Aldenborgh wine from Limburg

Bread bakery: Kometen Brood in the North. It started during Corona making sourdough bread and now it’s also a café and very well-known.

Flower shop: Flowers are a bit of a discussion right now, so I’d say just pick your own in nature and don't tell anyone.

Dish you ever concocted: Our beetroot in clay. We wrap Duch clay around the beetroot, it goes into the oven, and then we bring it to the table, break it open and trancher it like it's beef and serve it with a sauce of morel mushrooms. That's our best—and signature—dish. And we will bring it to the Rembrandtpark as well!

Place to Zen out: I'm still looking for it!

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