by Mariah McKenna

Johannes van Dam, journalist and food writer for Het Parool, as well as several other publications, is the well-known author of Lekker Amsterdam (a Dutch food and restaurant guide for Amsterdam) and the recently published English version, Delicious Amsterdam. He is often said to be Holland’s most prominent food writer, and restaurant critic, whose weekly restaurant reviews are both feared and revered.

Being aware that Van Dam is the most well known gastronomic writer of Holland, I looked forward with anticipation to our meeting. Knowing he has had a strong impact on the landscape of Dutch cuisine, I hoped to extract some of his educated opinions about the history and food culture of the city. I was not disappointed.

In the short time I spent with Johannes over lunch at Café Luxembourg (his choice, a place he says often conducts interviews) I found one thing that stood out as important to this man. Knowledge. For van Dam, understanding the true essence of something can only be achieved by the act of studying and learning. To him ignorance seems to breed indifference. When discussing the disappointing fare of Amsterdam van Dam blames lack of education. As he explained to me, he has some elements of the tutor in him, and wants to learn and to teach what he has learned.  So that is what he does.  This is exactly what he has been doing in Holland for decades. 

Van Dam, who says his interest in food began at the early age of six or seven, has made it his life’s work to study, and educate people on, the world of gastronomy.  As we ordered our lunch and sipped on tea, here is some of what we discussed together.

Tell me a little bit about yourself. How did you become a food critic?

I am not a food critic; it is one of the things I do. I am a food writer; it is not the same thing as a food critic.  I am a food writer and a restaurant critic. I started out as a journalist, but I have done lots of other things, I have been a bookseller, I specialized in cookery books for a long time. I like to write. I have some elements of the teacher and the tutor in me, I want to learn and I want to teach what I learn, so that is what I do. I started doing that actually when I was a little boy. I became a journalist and stopped being a journalist and came back to write and decided to write just about the specialization of gastronomy and at about the same time I look over a small bookshop that specializes in cookery books and combined that for about 7 years or something then I had so much to write I stopped being a book seller and became, what is now, the foremost gastronomic journalist in the Netherlands. That is it in a nutshell.

So how did you learn what quality ingredients are?

By comparing. My father taught me that. And I have been interested since I was a little boy. So that is how I learned, by doing it, by tasting, and by comparing and staying sharp and having a good memory. It is all important.

What are some of the biggest changes you have seen in Amsterdam as you have been doing this? You have been doing this for over 20 years, I would imagine things have changed quite a bit.

Yeah, but changes are slow, it is slowly getting better. It was terrible. The Dutch are not very interested in quality in food. They are interested in fashion and quantity, but the quality of the food is not something they know anything about or appreciate very much so I have to teach them that. Only about 1/5 of what I do is restaurant criticism and the rest is all information about food.

I have one Dutch friend who told me The Dutch like good bread and good cheese so this is what they eat.

Well, that is not true. They like bread and cheese, but they don’t especially like good bread and good cheese. The most widely sold varieties of bread are very bad and the most sold of cheeses are also very bad. Some people know about quality, but in general this is not true, this is not a true statement. It is nonsense, how could they appreciate good bread and good cheese if they don’t even know what it is? You can get good bread now in Amsterdam. It used to be impossible. But if you go to the supermarket it is not very good. Like in any other country. Most cheese is not very good, You have to look for good cheese. 

There are some nice cheese shops here.

It is not about the cheese, it is about the shops. Because there are nice shops, they look nice, but sell mostly bad cheese. It is my job to point out what is good cheese and what is not. Most people really don’t know. Or these kinds of shops that are nice, where it is the packaging that is nice wouldn’t be so popular. The Dutch like the wrapping of the things. You could sell a turd as long as there is a ribbon around it. One of my Dutchisms (he says with a smile and twinkle in his eye).

What do you think are some of the biggest or most common mistakes a chef makes?

Not knowing his work, not knowing his job, and cooking anyway.

As our lunch arrived, French Onion Soup for me, Croquettes for van Dam, we continued to talk about the things that are important to him.  In addition to education, the other thing this man holds in high regard is always speaking the truth. For him, “That is how it is.  That is how I write, that is how I express myself.  It is just telling the truth and not beating around the bush, I don’t like that.  That is how I teach people.”  I tell him speaking the truth is important when teaching people.  In response he nods and say…

Yeah, you should never lie. You should never lie even if you can make more money lying. I never cared about that but most do. Most of my colleagues lie if it helps them make more money. Either because their journalist efforts get more popular and the paper sells better or because the restaurant owners will like them better. And when I started writing reviews of restaurants nobody had even written a negative review in Holland. They were all very kind even when the restaurant was a complete mess. And I never did that. Never. So they had to get used to me, and now they are. 

Yes, I wanted to ask you about that.  I could see where it would be a problem.  I mean, especially once people know who you are, to not have preferential treatment.

No, they cannot pull wool over my eyes. That is nonsense. If they are not good cooks, they cannot give preferential treatment if they don’t know how. If they are stupid and bad cooks, they stay stupid and bad cooks. Even if they know I am there, I can see through every trick they may try on me because it stays bad.  They cannot fool me. I was afraid of that but I have read books by famous American reviewers who not only reserve their table under an assumed name, I do that too, but also disguise themselves. That is complete nonsense. I don’t give them time to prepare for me by reserving under my own name, but once I am there I am there but I do not give any sign that I am there to review. I just want to be treated like an ordinary customer; I never say I am here to do this or that. And if they are good you will see that and if they try to charm you they will fail. They always fail. Sometimes they give larger portions, and I can see that with another guest, or sometimes you cannot see it but I describe so many grams of this, so many grams of that and that so they will have to serve that because I write it down or I will show that they are cheaters. So it works out well and it is not really necessary if you know your stuff. They cannot cheat you, they cannot charm you, they cannot give you preferential treatment. Even a bad waiter cannot turn into a good one by giving you more attentions because that can be a nuisance too, getting too much attention. 

What do you think of the culinary scene in Amsterdam?

Well, it is more fashionable than gastronomic, but that is the same in every big city I guess. For them it is fashionable people and also lack of gastronomic background at home because home cooking in Holland has deteriorated since the end of the century before last, the 19th century, they founded cookery schools and there they made the cuisine bourgeois deteriorate because they wanted it to be open to people with little money or education, so lack of sauces and herbs and just a few spices were left over and everything was simplified and made cheaper. And this was very popular because if it is cheaper then the Dutch are getting very interested. They all want the first row for a dime, the best places for a dime, that is what the Dutch want. And they pay a dime and they get very bad [food], but they think it is more important that they pay less. So gastronomy here didn’t get a chance and a lot of better produce was shunned here in Holland. Alex (a mutual friend from the US) didn’t like it. He hated that he couldn’t get the right kind of marshmallows here or pretzels or lots of things he wanted differently, BBQ sauce, and in a lot of ways he thought we were just backwards, but now he has learned to appreciate what is good here, the best place to buy cheese and get the best cheese. So each country has its own traditions. There is a very small niche tradition of high quality, good quality food stuff, like mussels, oysters, some kinds of fish, some cheeses are really excellent. The best breads here are not made by Dutch bakers, then we need the French bakers. Some bakers come here and bake for us. Dutch bakers employ French or Flemish bakers and that is where you can get the good stuff. Dutch bakers are usually rubbish. 

I think shopping here, and going to the markets can be a positive experience if you know where to go.

Well, looking in the dustbins can be a positive experience.

Can it?

Yes, it can. It depends on what you expect and what you want. Yes, it can be okay but it can also be deception. If you go to large markets like the Lindenmarkt at Lindenggracht or Albert Cuypmarkt, there is good stuff but there is also bad stuff. It is the same everywhere, it’s, well, there is dozens and dozens, even hundreds of stalls and there are some good ones but there are some bad ones. It is the same with shops. That is just how it is.

I do feel to prepare a meal there is a lot of running around from place to place.

That is the thing. I have one place I go for my vegetables and fruits, another place I prefer to go for cheese, but I have a few cheese places. There are a few butchers where I go, but just a few and there is one I go for a certain kind of sausage and another one for another kind of sausage, and fresh meats for a third one.

Where do you think the best produce is?

Ah…

Often it looks beautiful but it doesn’t taste good.

Lindenmarkt at Lindenggracht, there is the Green Grocer, he has a stall there on Saturdays and he is good because what he has is fresh and what he does not sell that day goes back to the wholesaler. That is one of the good places. Because most of the organic places have quite bad quality. They do not know how to stock it. It stays there too long. It dries out and thatís no good so that is quite hard to get. With him it is not organic but that’s okay.  And the Noordermarkt that is okay too. But that’s still they are not always very professional. When I want damsons and they sell me prunes or plums that have the shape and color of damsons, then I know it is a completely different thing. And they don’t know. They have the wrong sign there. I hate that.

Are a lot of things grown here, or are a lot things imported? 

A lot of things are grown here. The Dutch are very good at producing fruit, gardens, things like that. But a lot is imported too.

Tell me some of your favorite restaurants in Amsterdam.

Well they are all in my guide. Le Petite Latin, Bordewijk, Toscanini, and well, Tempo Doeloe for Indonesian. There are some more, but I really should not have any favorites (he says with a smile), but these are some of my favorites.