HOESTERNOUMEE
Bon vivant Dick Middelweerd: “I’m perfectly happy to eat a frikandel, too”
In the section Hoesternoumee , Lei Willems chats with business partners, friends, and colleagues. He asks them about their inspiration, interests, and the present moment: about time and peace, about stepping out of the rat race. About the process of creating beautiful things. It’s not just about business; it’s also about life in the “corona era” and how it affects work, collaboration, and your own identity. About small joys, big joys, but above all about giving meaning to our/your/life. And all of this while enjoying a delicious oyster! Will you join us?
Hoesternoumee was written by Marlène van Kuyk
Today on *Hoesternoumee*, Lei is eating oysters with two-Michelin-starred chef and bon vivant Dick Middelweerd: “I’m also happy to have a frikandel.”
When Dick Middelweerd joins Lei Willems for the “Hoesternoumee” segment, he has just seen off a Michelin inspector. But there’s no sign of stress whatsoever for the head chef and owner of the two-star restaurant De Treeswijkhoeve in Waalre. “Just today, the maître d’ and sommelier, among others, were off, but that shouldn’t matter. The most important thing is to stay calm. I’m not going to cause a stir, even though my team does look to me in a situation like this: how does that old guy handle it?” laughs Dick. Lei: “The big advantage is that you’re always one step ahead and see everything right away.” Lei then continues to ponder aloud: “The event industry should really have stars too. A clear classification system where the quality of agencies is assessed, just like with restaurants.”
How's your cough, Dick?
The two men have known each other for about twenty years. After first discussing their shared hobby of cycling, memories start flowing across the table in no time. They talk about their most memorable events, such as at the airport, at the polo match, of course, and once at a client’s home in Limburg. The client came over for dinner beforehand to get to know Dick: “We clicked right away, and that’s important for an on-site event. It’s nice when I know people; then I don’t have to explain who I am or what my company does. They immediately know the quality is top-notch and everything is in perfect order.” And together with Lei, it all goes perfectly. He handles the entire operation, and we can get right to work in a perfect atmosphere.
“When my team and I are up there, it really adds to the dining experience. The atmosphere is relaxed, and I get to enjoy spinning my DJ set.” Huh? Dick as a DJ? And what kind of music? “House, deep house, and tech house. I also sometimes spin at a hockey tournament, just to get people going. And I once played at Lakedance and at Ahoy for a crowd of hospitality industry folks. For me, that’s relaxation, which is why I sometimes do it here on a Sunday morning.”
How was last year?
“Here” is the beautiful farmhouse where the men continue to chat while enjoying delicious oysters and champagne. Dick and his wife Anne-Laura took over the restaurant from her parents in 2000 and built a world-class reputation with guests from home and abroad. Of course, they and their team also went through some extraordinary times in 2020 and 2021. On King’s Day this year, Dick cooked for the king, queen, and princesses. What was that like? “Really fun! I was asked by the organizers, who were looking for a restaurant that had done a lot of takeout during the pandemic. We cooked a lot in people’s homes and were incredibly busy with Trees voor Thuis—a concept we’ve actually had for over ten years now. In addition, it had to be a restaurant that exudes a sense of sustainability. That fits with us; over 40% of our dishes are now vegetarian.”
“It’s a wonderful challenge to make dishes vegetarian or even vegan. There’s definitely a lot of demand for that at our level too; people are very conscious about their diet. That’s really the future. We’ve actually already moved past the point where you ‘cook vegetables with meat or fish’ and not the other way around, like in the old days. When my father asked my mother what we were having for dinner, she’d reply, ‘We’re having meatballs tonight.’ (Dick laughs) My father thought the meat was the most important thing to know. Now we’re actually adding a meat-based preparation to the vegetables. That also makes the vegetables much tastier. For example, we now have a little celeriac satay, with a real layered texture.”
“We’ve also spent a lot of time with the celebrity chefs. We’d each bring a dish, have a nice barbecue, and chat about all sorts of things. But we’re really happy that we’ve been able to cook at full capacity for guests here in the restaurant for a few months now and see them enjoying our dishes. That’s the best part of all!”
What's your favorite dish?
“I don’t mind if it’s simple, as long as it’s prepared well. A tasty paella, cooked in an old Spanish kitchen, a pan-fried sole, or—like yesterday in Knokke—the first partridge of the season, with a little foie gras and half a bottle of red wine on the side. Delicious!”
As far as I'm concerned, it can be simple—as long as it's prepared well.
And what's your guilty pleasure?
He laughs: “Sometimes a frikandel late at night. Or a hamburger, made with really good meat and a good bun. And something the guys here sometimes make for me is katsudon—a schnitzel in broth, a bit Japanese-style. That’s always so delicious, too. I picked that up from my time in Okura. Enjoying food is also about the atmosphere. Like in Hong Kong. We were at a kind of market there once—loud noise everywhere and a crazy waiter who suddenly started singing karaoke. I love that. It’s such an experience!”
What are the plans for the future?
“If you have two stars, you want three. We definitely have that motivation. It’s not like my life would be ruined if I didn’t get it. But at this level, you’re competing at the top, and you always want more. Especially after the last crisis, I really feel like we’ve gotten even better. We’ve grown again. Just like during the previous crisis, things have been quiet recently, and we’ve been working hard on ourselves. Back then, the second star followed shortly after. Not that we’re ready for a third one just yet, but we’ve really polished the details even further.”
What are those dots?
“What I really like is that, right before we reopened, we had all our servers taste every dish: the entire set menu and the full à la carte menu. And now I see the youngest one, who’s nineteen, sitting at a table talking about his experience, describing how that dish tasted to him. They stick to the basics, but tell their own story. It’s crazy that we didn’t do that sooner! And there are plenty more things like that. Soon we’ll also be practicing guest interaction, simulating different situations. Because even I sometimes find myself thinking, ‘How am I supposed to handle this?’”
Do you have any plans?
“Oh, definitely not! I’m far from done!” Dick winks: “I’m 58 now, and I always say ‘in ten years,’ but according to my wife, I’ve been saying that for ages. Things are organized differently now, though—we have eleven chefs, for one—and it’s not as intense as it used to be.”
Since your tick-tock?
“Yes, I had a mild heart attack fifteen years ago. That really gave me a wake-up call. Apparently, that’s what it took for us to change the way we lived our lives. Looking back, things have gone much better since then. We improved because our focus was better. That’s also true now, after this pandemic. I’ve really decided to do some things the way I want to. Also to spare my employees. I have a great team here and am very happy with my people. You have to protect them. And myself, of course.”
“In five years, we’ll need to have a plan in place. We need someone to carry on De Treeswijkhoeve. We’ll have to provide them with proper guidance. It could be a family member, but I also have a few young people here who are interested. It could also be taken over by a group of people who work together to grow the catering business and further expand Trees voor Thuis. There are quite a few things that need to be done.”
One of your children?
“Mats, our oldest son, wants to become a chef just like me. He’s attending the Cas Spijkers Academy in Almelo and working as an apprentice chef at ’t Nonnetje in Harderwijk. But will he take over the business? We’ll see. Taking over the Treeswijkhoeve is a bit like jumping straight into the Champions League. If he just starts a cozy little spot in town, that’s great too. And he won’t be compared to his mom and dad. Our other son is studying music and media in Enschede, as part of the conservatory. He’s in his element there and is really motivated right now. I didn’t like school either. But when I started culinary school after taking a career aptitude test, I immediately thought, oh yeah, this is fun! And I see that in him too.”
And the question of all questions: How do you eat your oysters, Dick?
“Raw or Japanese-style with soy sauce. At the restaurant, I’m always trying something new with oysters. Oysters can be a bit of a challenge for some people, and they often have a bad first experience with them. My advice? Try an oyster first au gratin or incorporated into a dish. To get used to the taste. Then they often end up liking it. You just have to guide people a little in that regard. I personally appreciate oysters in all sorts of ways. A fresh oyster with a glass of good champagne like this—I find that festive.”
Before Dick Middelweerd took over De Treeswijkhoeve with his wife Anne-Laura, he gained experience at the Okura Hotel Amsterdam, De Kloosterhoeve in Harmelen, La Provence in Laren, and De Hoefslag in Bosch en Duin. In 1990, he earned the title of SVH Master Chef, and he has been a member of the Alliance Gastronomique since 2003. In 2013, De Treeswijkhoeve was awarded a second star. Together with Guus Meeuwis, he ran the pop-up restaurant Gustaaf and has written two cookbooks.
