Thrift at the Dutch table

Address:

About Thrift at the Dutch table

Thrift at the Dutch table is a company with a local service area.

---

Why Dutch cooking stayed plain while the country was rich.

Rich but sober

In the seventeenth century the Republic was among the wealthiest regions of Europe, yet the kitchen stayed modest. Display was considered improper, and that carried through to the table.

The lunch sandwich

Bread with cheese, standing or at the desk. In France or Italy lunch is a meal; here it is an interruption. That difference is centuries old.

Dinner at six

The Dutch eat their hot meal around six, earlier than almost all of Europe. Restaurants open the kitchen at five and close it by nine or ten.

Turning up unannounced

The observation that you are not invited to join a Dutch family at dinner is well known. It is not always true any more, but the reputation has a basis.

What changed

Hospitality has shifted greatly in thirty years through migration and prosperity. The thrift now sits in the home kitchen more than the restaurant.

Where you notice it

The lunch menu of any eetcafé, and the opening hours of any kitchen.