Forget port, we pour a Gewürztraminer at Munster

Forget port, we pour a Gewürztraminer at Munster

Satiating, comforting, stimulating, surprising, abundant, chic or just practical. It is impossible to imagine the Dutch household or the better catering industry without cheese. But what are the tastiest cheeses, how do they best come into their own and -very important- what wine do you drink with it? Winelife asked the Netherlands' best fromager and sommelier: Sven van Leeuwen and Noël Vanwittenbergh. - TEXT KATJA BROKKE | IMAGE CIEL BLEU, RENE VAN DONGEN AND CLAIRE TUNS

Sven van Leeuwen puts a cup of tea in front of me. 'Oh, how wonderful that I can do this again for once,' he sighs. 'I miss it so much.' I am visiting Restaurant Fred in Rotterdam where I am meeting the fromager for a one-and-a-half-minute interview. The two-star restaurant is closed, piles of boxes in the corner waiting to be filled and then delivered. But this is different anyway. Nor is it the reason I am here. This article is about cheese and so I went in search of the best fromager in the Netherlands. And that's Sven; at least according to the 2020 Restaurant Awards. Sven also won in 2017, 2018 and 2019, by the way.

Not good

Sven is a Rotterdammer at heart. Straightforward and no fuss. He loves telling stories. For instance, how he got into the catering business at the age of 20 through a good friend of his. He has now been working for patron-cuisinier Fred Mustert for nine years. At first, he was a waiter, but Sven finds everything interesting and asks everyone his opinion. This way, he learns more and more about the cheeses they serve in the restaurant. When the fromager isn't working, Sven steps in. Later, he will take over his colleague's cheese trolley. 'I have reduced the range from 80 to 55, which is really enough for guests to choose from. Everything is on it, except cumin cheese and Frisian nail cheese. I don't like those and then I can't talk about them enthusiastically. By the way, if I don't know that much about a particular cheese, I just say so honestly at the table. It's also okay if you don't know exactly which village the cheese comes from and that the farmer has fifty goats and a wife called Bella.

Sven van Leeuwen was named best fromager in the Netherlands in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020

'The mistake people make most often at home is serving the cheese too cold'

 

The same with wine: I don't need to know that the grapes grow on the east side of some mountain. I want to know how it tastes and why it goes with my dish.' The fromager gets most of his range from Van Tricht in Antwerp and the rest from some smaller suppliers in the Netherlands. Cheese from all countries is on his trolley, as long as delivery can be guaranteed. Unfortunately, this is still not always the case with home-grown artisanal cheeses. 'More and more beautiful cheeses are being made in the Netherlands,' Sven says, 'but the delivery is only now starting to become somewhat constant.'

Sommelier Noël Vanwittenbergh has been working at Ciel Bleu for 13 years

 

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