Zine Magazine Feb 2014

ZINE #611 Feb 2014

British International education opens doors...

The British School in The Netherlands Open Day Junior & Senior Schools Wednesday 5 February www.britishschool.nl

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Internationally British

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Contents

chair/ “chairman” Page 7 photos/“ball pictures” Page 8 activity/ “soft tennis tournam events/ “social friday” Page 2 article/ “burns night” Page 24 life & living/ “amsterdam lib interview/ “green greek” Page books/“blog” Page 46 food/ “nick’s nosh” Page 52 food/ “swiss cheese fondu property/ “renting” Page 63 membership/ “fee reminder”

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EDITORIAL

ISSUE #611

EDITOR IN CHIEF Alison Smith | editor@britsoc.nl

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ZINE

EDITORIAL BOARD Ian Cherington | ifcherington@hetnet.nl John Richardson | webeditor@britsoc.nl

ADVERTISING

ADVERTISING SALES Zetterij Jan van den Berg | ieee25qr@kpnmail.nl

PUBLISHING

PUBLISHED BY John Richardson | JohnTheCopywriter.com FLIP MAGAZINE PUBLISHING PLATFORM www.issuu.com

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” Page 67

PUBLISHED ON www.wordpress.org

SUBSCRIPTIONS AND FEEDBACK Alison Smith | editor@britsoc.nl www.britsoc.nl/

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Small classes and personal attention. At the British School of Amsterdam we get to know each and every student. We provide an all-round education that develops the whole person and delivers academic success. From Early Years to Secondary School, we provide top-class British schooling for everyone from expats to locals seeking an international education.

With pupils of more than 40 nationalities, the British School of Amsterdam offers a stimulating and inclusive learning environment for students aged 3 to 18.

Non-native English speakers are welcome.

Our curriculum leads to the respected British A-Level qualification accepted by universities worldwide. In addition to the formal academic subjects, we teach European languages including Spanish, French, German and Dutch, as well as English as a foreign language.

“Our school is for everyone who wants a top-class British education in the Netherlands�

Every day is an open day at the British School of Amsterdam. Why not come along and visit us? For more information, see www.britams.nl, or contact us at +31 (0) 20 67 97 840 or info@britams.nl.

TEACHING PEOPLE, NOT JUST TOPICS

Amber Age 14 English/Dutch

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chairman’s blog/ Feb 2014

Welcome everybody to 2014, May I be the last to wish you all the best this year – I really think that it’s going to be a good one. I feel a positive buzz already, so hope it manifests itself in good times for all of us.

I wish to thank Dave, who has left the production team of our Zine. His creative input and work will be missed. This means that we have a vacancy, as always actually, for anybody or any articles to support our team in creating a publication fit for our members and sponsors.

We had a brilliant Christmas Ball again this year, attended by more than 120 people and where we raised € 3500 for our chosen charities, the Red Cross and Cliniclowns.

Our thanks must go to all the sponsors who made this possible and are featured on a page in this issue. Thanks, too, to Nick for organising another great Ball, which is still our signature event.

Our tables were filled with a merry mix of some members, more guests and a special presence of CADS members, who made 3 tables sound like 6. More members attending would be an improvement for next year (which is already being planned!).

I hope that our connections to sponsors and friends grow stronger following on from this Ball.

The Ceilidh on Burns Night was a great evening with kilts and swords and haggis and whisky. The dancing took up all evening and most of our energy – I think that there were some sore heads and legs on Sunday. Good work by Alison and Margaret and team for organising. Good speeches and quality musical accompaniment by our in-house McVities. Not surprising it was a sell-out.

I hope that you all enjoy Benji’s photos of our events in this issue. He certainly is a man with an eye and, as luck would have it, a camera as well.

Having decided to focus on our big 5 events for the time being, it is even more fun to announce that we plan to organise another one, which I believe will prove quite popular.

The BritSoc stand up comedy nights will kick off in March!

Under the jocular control of Paul Huxley (who can be funny…..really), we invite you to come along and laugh, cry, heckle or even join in as a few take on the likes of Billy Connolly and that short, Irish fella.

Watch this space and be there for a good night out!

2014 – I am enjoying it already.

Ian Cherington Chairman

chair@britsoc.nl

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Britsoc Charity Christmas Ball 2013

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Photography Benjamin Arthur Page 9

Photography Benjamin Arthur Page 10

3500 reasons to paaaarty!!

Britsoc Charity Christmas Ball 2013 For those of you who have seen the pictures or if you were one of the 130 people who were at the Ball, I hope you will all agree that the night was a really fantastic party to end the year.

The event raised 3,500 euros for our chosen Charities; the Red Cross and CliniClowns.

You may also know that I was given the honour to be the Ball Chairman this year. I was very lucky that I had a really great team on board and I would like to thank all of them for their efforts to make it a great evening.

The hotel catering team also did a tremendous job and I think everyone went home full and happy.

I thought the starters, which were very plentiful, were really delicious. I ate so much in fact that I did not have any room for my turkey, which was also great.

The British Society is always looking for helpers for this event and if you have the organisational ability and creativity to think up another spectacular night then please feel free to contact Ian and he will make sure you get a job on the team for this year’s event.

I know Ian is considering a really great venue for this year so keep an eye on his blog for an announcement.

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Glitz, glamour and gluttony

Photography Benjamin Arthur Page 12

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For those of you who are considering helping out with the event, I thought I would give you a little behind the scenes look at what happened to make the Great British Ball, great!

The first thing you need is a good theme and this year was the Red, White and Blue edition. This ran throughout the night with all the attire, images and prizes.

We were very happy to have great sponsors on board such as British Airways, which really added to the theme.

John Richardson, our resident Zine publisher and webmaster, put together all of the images displayed on the evening and designed the Logo which ran through all of our advertising, which I thought was a really strong image.

Once you have a theme then you need to look at the entertainment. This year we had Ann May who entertained us with her own tunes and some from Adele.

DJ Wicky then saw us dancing into the early hours with some great music.

Additionally, our Chairman, Ian, our President, John Cameron-Webb, his wife Anika, and BritSoc member Duncan Peacock, made up an impromptu BritSoc Band. After a few secret rehearsals and a couple of hours of sound check, they put together a worthy surprise performance.

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One of the biggest issues is always the food.

We listened to the comments from the year before with the lack of choice and made sure that there was a vegetarian, fish and meat option. That was one of the biggest organisational issues on the night, to make sure that that the meals match the people on the table. Our Chairman, Ian, made sure this went to plan.

I hope you would all agree that the food was magnificent on the night and British Chef

Chris Naylor and his staff have to be given a huge pat on the back for the food on the night. I hope we will be able to keep Chris for next year’s event.

Additionally, the arrangements for the ball allowed the British Society to come into the 21st Century with online ticketing. The first event to use it was the Bonfire Night, and I thought it was imperative we were able to do this for the Ball.

Sponsors make it possible for us to raise money for our charities and they should also be thanked. All the sponsors logos are shown in this issue and I would also like to say well done to the team with a particular mention to Stephen Huyton who really worked his socks off to bring in some excellent prizes for the Silent Auction and Raffle.

Our volunteers on the night did a really great job of selling the tickets and helping to make the event go really smoothly.

Glitz, glamour and gluttony The on-the-day/night team also deserves a special mention, as everything did not go quite as smoothly as you may have seen and thought. Unfortunately we had a few issues with the on-the-day team from the hotel. Our liaison was unfortunately sick for the 3 days before the event and our substitute was not fully up to speed with our arrangements. This meant when I arrived to begin the final arrangements on Saturday, the room was in a completely different configuration to what we agreed. Luckily we had a team of about 6 people who turned up to help. We ended up physically moving the tables and chairs around ourselves, which luckily we did quite quickly and the venue was ready by 3pm. I hope that unless you were one of the organisers you would not have noticed this.

I was delighted with the way the room looked in the end. Many thanks to all those who gave their input to help with the look and feel of the night.

Finally our MC, Mike Waters, did a really great job of moving the proceedings along at a good pace and made up quite a lot of time from the first rather slow service from the hotel. It meant we had an extra 30 minutes of dancing time when the DJ came one.

Finally congratulations to all the Silent Auction and other prize winners. All the contributions went towards our tremendous total.

See you all in 2014, maybe at the next great BritSoc Event.

Nick Nugent Ball Committee Chairman

For more great pics go to http://www.britsoc.nl/photo_gallery/

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Big thanks to our Christmas Charit

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ty Ball sponsors

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Activities/

Soft

Venue: Spa Zuiver / Amstelpark 13:30 to 17:00 h

Tennis Page 18

We will be holding another soft tennis tournament , following the very successful one in February 2013. Some spare racquets will be available for those without. The rules of this Japanese version of tennis are very similar to those of ordinary tennis - anyone familiar with tennis will have no difficulty with soft tennis. There is even a short video of last year’s tournament (see link below) so you can see what it’s all about. Spa Zuiver have again kindly offered tickets for the Spa as prizes for the ladies and men’s winners.

The cost will be in the region of € 15 - 20 per person.

Movie Link: http://bit.ly/M3cJyQ Soft tennis or Nantei is the Japanese version of lawn tennis. It’s played on a tennis court and the rules are similar to tennis. The main difference from tennis is that soft tennis also relies on spin because the ball is lighter and inflatable, hence the name “soft” tennis . If you have played any racquet sport you will be able to play Soft Tennis. You can hit the ball hard with a good and comfortable feeling and will find it easy to control the ball.

In a doubles match, which is more popular in soft tennis, you can see breathtaking, varied rallies and impressive net play between players. Speed, agility and perfect timing make exciting play. Paired players combination and cooperative play will assure the games popularity for both players and spectators alike. From school children to pensioners, soft tennis fits all.

Tournament Page 19

Social Friday Fr

| @The Tara 21 http://www.thetara.com/nld/

Friday 7th Feb, 2014

(1st Friday of the month as 2nd Friday is Valentine’s Day) No attendance list or Britsoc membership required—so just show up!

Sean Jansen

http://www.britsoc.nl

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rom 1:00

|

events/

Venue: Rokin 85-89, 1012KL Amsterdam Trams: 4,9,14,16,24 and 25 tramstop Rokin.

Contact: Tracey Taylor Email: socialfridays@hotmail.com

This venue is a well known bar amongst the expats.

This Irish bar has an interesting variation of rooms mixing from a trendy modern bar to the classic leather armchair corners and fireplaces. We will meet in the far end of the pub where the rear/ back bar area is exiting to the Nes backstreet entrance. Look out for us near the bar wearing a bright pink scarf.

Social Fridays is a great opportunity to meet new people or catch up with friends - all welcome.

No attendance list, so just show up!

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Burns Night 2014

by Alison Smith

Photography Benjamin Arthur See more images on http://www.britsoc.nl/photo_gallery/

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Burns Night 2014

By Alison Smith

I

think that, for me, the Burns Night Ceilidh is the best event of the BritSoc year. I would even put it ahead of the Christmas Ball for enjoyment, which takes some beating. It’s the sheer fun factor that does it for me. You know you’ve had a fun evening when your stomach muscles hurt as much from laughing as your feet ache from dancing.

The Britsoc Ceilidh is a high octane, energetic, romp of an evening. Highly aerobic dancing interspersed with the right amount of tradition and culture, entertaining speeches, whisky and of course haggis with neeps and tatties.

Under the patient guidance of Margaret Lambourne we tripped over the willow, Virginia reel-ly got it wrong and docey DOH’d. All to the brilliant musical accompaniment of the now famous Mc Vitie’s, who, (dare I say it?) really took the biscuit (ouch!)

Craig and Kirsten crossed swords and pitched their wit in the addresses to the lassies and laddies. Kirsten challenged the floor to see if we had the “ideal man” amongst us. All the men stood up and had to sit if they failed a certain criteria. To pass the first test a laddy had to have brown eyes and left only a handful standing so we started again with question 2 to give more chaps a chance.

The major eliminator question was “Sit down if you don’t phone your mother twice a week” A little unfair to my 81 year old dad who’s mum died in 1989 and never had a phone installed, but after that question only three laddies were left standing. All three were subsequently eliminated by the “must be 6 feet tall” rule so, it’s official, BritSoc has many blue-eyed, short guys who aren’t tied to their mother’s apron strings, but it doesn’t have the ideal man. A great relief to the lassies as then we’d have to be all perfect too.

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I think that events like the Burns Night Ceilidh make BritSoc what it is and what makes it worth the membership.

The organization was tiptop, it draws a fun loving crowd who aren’t afraid to have a go at the dancing. The dance floor was packed all night and everyone was willing to dance with partners they’d never met before. It’s truly a great night out and ideal for newcomers to the country who are keen to meet other expats in a really relaxed, friendly environment.

Can we do it again soon? How’s about a St. Georges Day Barn Dance? Or a St. David’s Day Twmpath? Thanks anyway to everyone who made it possible and the to The British School of Amsterdam for opening their doors to us.

See more images on http://www.britsoc.nl/photo_gallery/

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life & living

Europe’s largest

PUBLIC LIBRARY

Ten minutes walk from Amsterdam Central Station

When I’m working from home I normally take time out to go for an 8 km walk. This usually takes me to the eastern dock area of Amsterdam (Oosterdokseiland), which has recently undergone an inspired transformation. Some interesting architectural gems have risen out of the ground of this once busy railway yard, including a hotel (DoubleTree) with a wonderful view of the city from its Skyline cafeteria, modern apartment buildings, metropolitan cafes, a surprisingly vast and inexpensive electronic store, a Japanese-inspired ‘corridor’ music school (Conservatorium van Amsterdam), and my topic for today: Europe’s largest public library

It only has books in Dutch, right? I was so wrong

Dr Who’s library

Despite passing the Amsterdam Public Library numerous times on my power walks,

I felt like I was entering Dr Who’s TARDIS, his sentient time-travelling space ship.

I always thought it was a Dutch library built for the local residents and students.

I would go in and rent books, I said to myself, when my Dutch had improved.

But instead of the comparatively cramped conditions of his blue police box, I had entered a vast universe of white light.

Parachuting into Venus without an oxygen mask

Space of mind-boggling proportions

It was my bladder rather than my brain that opened my eyes. I was speed walking

God made the Earth, but the Dutch made the Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam

past the door when I had the overwhelming urge to visit to the little boy’s room.

Walking up the entrance stairs, and through the throng of nervous student smokers, I held my breath and politely nudged my way through their acrid haze (now I know what it must be like to parachute into Venus without an oxygen mask), and in through the revolving door.

Dr Who’s library I felt like I was entering Dr Who’s TARDIS, his sentient time-travelling space ship.

But instead of the comparatively cramped conditions of his blue police box, I had entered a vast universe of white light.

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(OBA). Opened in July 2007, the OBA occupies a mind-boggling 28,000 m². This vast, cutting-edge, ecological masterpiece is the brainchild of Jo Coenen, the former state architect of the Netherlands.

Gezellig, even Despite its enormous size, with every one of its seven floors the size of two football fields, the OBA doesn’t make you feel small. It’s a very human, warm and inviting space. Spread out, yes, but relaxed in that way that the Dutch call Gezellig (there’s no English translation, but essentially it means the exact polar opposite of a dentist’s waiting room—cosy, friendly, comfortable, relaxing, and enjoyable).

GOD MADE THE EARTH, BUT THE DUTCH BUILT THE OPENBARE BIBLIOTHEEK AMSTERDAM. THE OBA OCCUPIES A MIND-BOGGLING 28,000 m². A VAST WHITE UNIVERSE OF WELL-LIT SPACES. BEST OF ALL: IT HOUSES A VAST TREASURE OF BOOKS AND FILMS — IN ENGLISH.

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life & living

Space-age study pods? Beam me up Herman Gorter

Humungous film collection

(Dutch poet and writer)

Staring at the impossibly large volume of DVDs on

The OBA has hundreds of comfortable places to

the round shelving, inside which there is a small film theatre, the lady on the first floor said this was

sit and read. There are space-age study pods, and

just the tip of the collection. Really? It was so big I

quiet zones with huge, white winged, leather swivel

was beginning to feel I may have agoraphobia. The

chairs. Plus relaxing sofas and an impressive amount

rest, she said, was hidden in the cellar (in case, I

of desk space. With its generous lighting and south

supposed, the sheer volume of the DVD collection

facing panoramic views, you would be forgiven for

might scare us mere mortals).

thinking that you had been beamed into a futuristic art museum.

Apple iMacs everywhere Everything is geared to help you read, listen to music or zone out with your chosen topic. There are 1200 places to sit, of which 600 have Internet-connected computers, 50 multimedia workplaces, 110 catalogue reference terminals and 11 print and copy stations. Can’t find a book? There are Apple iMacs available on every floor with access to the library’s impressive catalogue (around two million books).

Hairy yellow walls? Live music? In a library?

Being used to the silence of British libraries, I was immediately transfixed by a young man, presumably from the music school next door, playing the recognisable trills, fioritura, grace notes, detailed pedalling and tempo of Chopin (sorry about that, I once studied music). Music? In a library? What kind of parallel universe had I walked into? € 0,20 is a surprisingly loud coin A feeling enhanced by the hairy yellow wall that escorted me down to the basement toilet facilities, where I was greeted by a Moroccan lady who wished to relieve me of € 0,20 before I could relish the joys of relieving my bladder in her spotless latrina. € 0,20 is a surprisingly loud coin when tossed into an empty saucer. A head swivelled from a scarfed lady in the far corner who was using a vacuum cleaner and, fixing her eyes on me, she signalled that I’d passed the entrance exam.

I tentatively asked the charming receptionist “Do you have any books or films…in English?”

Relief finally gave way to intrigue: I headed back from

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Joining is a no-brainer the toilet up along the wall’s hairy eco system and into the reception area where I located the reception desk. Much to my surprise and delight an absolutely charming lady informed me that the library contained a boundless treasure of books and films…in English.

Including a vast range of free newspapers and magazines from many English-speaking countries.

A multi-cultural meeting and learning centre She explained with great enthusiasm that the library is a cultural institution that aims to promote free

As an avid renter of films and audiobooks, and reader of e-books, I did a quick calculation of how much money I could save each year. Within half a second I considered joining to be a no-brainer. If you’re an international expat on a budget, or the recent financial crisis has taught you the value of wonga, moolah, or “sad leaves” as the Brazilian rain forest tribes call it (or you’re just plain tight fisted), then this is the deal of the century.

There are five subscription types to choose between:

exchange of information throughout Amsterdam

Jeugdpas (youth pass). Free up to 19 years.

society. Adding that it’s also a meeting point and

Gebruikerspas (User pass). €17,50.

learning centre for all groups within the population.

I wondered why it was not on my expat radar.

Leenpas (Borrower pass). €32,50.

Something I aim to remedy.

Leenpas+ (Borrower pass plus).€52,50.

She then unravelled the mysteries of membership

Vriendenpas (Friend pass). €100,00.

The charming and helpful receptionist then gave me a lot of printed info about the library in English.

She pointed out that if I chose a membership fee of around €50 a year, I could borrow English books, e-books, music videos, and every kind of audio music from country and western to classical. At no extra charge. Oh, and they throw in free Wi-Fi as well.

Borrow recent films on DVD for €1 per week per film What really caught my attention was when she mentioned that I could rent DVDs of recently released English films. For free. Well, the first ten are free (if you choose the €50 Leenpas + membership). After which they are €1 each. And that includes many films on Blue-Ray.

Great for young families This is a beautiful and inspiring place that everyone, especially families with young children, can enjoy.

The downstairs children’s floor is home to a great many whimsical features, including ceiling lights shaped like giant jacks, a tee pee, a large glass enclosed critter home, big stuffed chairs, some small tunnels to crawl through and lots of space for curling up and reading a book.

Not many books are in English, but it makes up for that with the great time the kids can have crawling through the tee pee and tunnel. This is one of the few places you can take your children in Amsterdam and not worry about them getting hurt. You can relax, let

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English DVD heaven with latest blockbuster films Rent for one euro per week

2.5 million users and visitors annually, making it the largest of all the public libraries in Amsterdam.

them move around and play without being right on top of them.

The readers’ cafe Located at the back of the ground floor, on a raised section, it has a number of long reading and study tables as well as free newspapers and magazines from many countries.

Food is limited and is of the snack variety.

The V&D La Place self-service restaurant on the 7th Floor A large restaurant on the top floor with a south-facing outdoor terrace with one of the most spectacular

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views of Amsterdam. With a wide variety of foods to choose from - all of it delicious.

Good to know The OBA is a collective name for all public libraries in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The first library opened in 1919 at the Keizersgracht. As of 2007, there are 28 public libraries and 43 lending points, such as in hospitals. In 2005, OBA had 1.7 million books and 165,000 members

Unusual features Some other unusual features can be found in the library such as a theatre, two radio stations (AmsterdamFM and OBA Live), conference rooms, exhibition space, and a music department with a huge English sheet music collection.

Opening times The library is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. in the morning to 10 p.m. in the evening. And the lending and

and lent out 5 million books. Today

returning of books is fully automated.

2.5 million users and visitors

To join

annually, making it the largest of all the public libraries in Amsterdam.

You will need a form of ID and proof of address.

life & living

Some other unusual features can be found in the library such as a theatre, two radio stations (AmsterdamFM and OBA Live), conference rooms, exhibition space, and a music department with a huge English sheet music collection.

At a glance • Free entrance • Opening hours: 10:00 - 22:00 • Improved access for wheelchair users • Quick reference counter with expert help • Underground storage area for 2,000 bikes and 1,200 parking places for cars More information: Visit the English-language website of the Amsterdam Public Library at www.oba.nl/ pagina/22010.english.html

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“

London; the week before Christmas.

Written by Ian Cherington The Jumper 1930 by Paul Klee

Paul Klee The EY Exhibition: Paul Klee – Making Visible

T

he only thing on everybody’s mind is what to buy your nerdy friend now that the i-gizmo has sold out.

Harrods was hell, Selfridges was silly (great lunch, though), so I did the only thing a sensible person would do……….escaped the crowds!

The perfect get-out was supplied by the Tate Modern, with a marvellous Paul Klee exhibition.

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To get me in the right frame of mind, a short walk through the grounds of St.Paul’s led to the Millennium bridge across the river. A modern steel suspension pedestrian bridge forms a fitting entrance to the Tate, in its industrial building.

Paul Klee was a German artist, born in 1879. He used a great variety of materials, becoming known as an etcher and a watercolour painter. The Tate exhibition shows this scope in his work very well, alongside oil paintings, it makes

for an easy journey through Klee’s inspirations and methods.

Klee was also an accomplished musician and considered good enough for a professional career.

His family life and choices are really well documented and explained.

Having already achieved some success and reputation, Klee was sponsored and decided to hold a one-man exhibition in Zurich, where he decided himself what would be shown, demonstrating his disregard for the critics and

“

The perfect get-out was supplied by the Tate Modern, with a marvellous Paul Klee exhibition

arts & culture businessmen who were trying to run the art scene.

The Tate exhibition shows the works of that show together for the first time since. Looking at the tone and style of the artist’s choice gives a unique insight into his mind and life at the time.

He later moved and taught at the Bauhaus. This part of his career

is particularly well shown with photographs of his studio and students.

I always feel a great sense of spying back into history when I see pictures of an artist’s studio – imagining the creative conversations and oily smells. And then of course, there’s always the wondering about how such an artist

would react if he were to see the prices of his work today.

Klee was dismissed by the Nazis as not being a serious artist, which meant that they left him and his work alone. That’s hard to believe when walking through the “EY Exhibition” (for the third time!)

– he used a stunning amount of techniques and materials to create intricate and expressive works.

The collection is an excellent tribute; well documented, arranged and just the right size for an afternoon visit.

Comedy 1921 by Paul Klee

Open until March 9th.

Exhibition details Exhibition: The EY Exhibition: Paul Klee – Making Visible When:

16 October 2013 – 9 March 2014

Location:

Tate Modern, London

Admission:

Adult £16.50 (without donation £15.00)

Concession £14.50 (without donation £13.10) http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/ey-exhibition-paul-klee-making-visible

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interview of the month/

The Gree

We talk to Martijn de Haan and Effie Halkid

ORGANIC FOOD FRO ANCIENT B PLANET Page 34

en Greek

dis from greek organic food importer and distributor De Groene Greek

GREEN OM AN BLUE

Interview by John Richardson

Greek food today, with slight variation (such as the addition of the tomato after 1500 AD), is about the same as it has been for over 2000 years.

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interview of the month/

De Groene Griek “ We’re an import and distribution company, and we specialise in organic Greek products. We import directly from the farmers and producers to the HORECA trade. We also sell directly to people from all over the world that have discovered us at our Lindengracht market stall in Amsterdam. You’ll find us there every Saturday. Just look for the blue Greek flag.”

www.degroenegriek.nl

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food & drink

Martijn de Haan and Effie Halkidis at their Saturday stall in the Lindengracht market, Amsterdam

A

s I mostly eat food prepared by my Japanese wife, organic Greek food was something of an alien concept to me. Then I heard Martijn de Haan from De Groene Griek (The Green Greek) speak recently at the Foam gallery in Amsterdam.

He told a great many stories about the farmers whose organic

food he and his partner Effie Halkidis import into the Netherlands. Some of their ingredients (feta cheese, olive oils, beans, honey and figs) were used for the dinner served in the gallery. I was intrigued by the ancient flavours. It struck a chord with me. It opened up distant memories.

“This is how my food used to taste like when I was younger and surrounded by farms.�

I felt compelled to find out more, and I was thrilled when Martijn and Effie graciously accepted my invitation to interview them at my home in Amsterdam to tell their story.

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food & drink Martijn de Haan

Effie Halkidis

De Groene Griek

Interview by John Richardson

Greece is principally famous for its financial crisis. Yet there’s another side to the Greek coin: its exceptional olive oil, the quality of its agricultural products, its unique Mediterranean cuisine and its rich history dating back to ancient times Page 38

De Groene Griek brings the food of the Gods directly from the humble farmer to your table

Tell me a little about yourselves and your backgrounds y name is Martijn de Haan and I studied interior design at the Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. I had a little design practice, but times were tough and I fancied a change.

We love Greece and its food—with a passion.

It’s really gorgeous and underestimated. The quality of the food is so high, but back then not many people had experienced it. We saw an opportunity to change that and started, together with Effie, De Groene Greek (The Green Greek) — our organic Greek food import and distribution business.

M

My name is Effie Halkidis and I was born in Sydney to Greek parents. I was raised in both countries as a young child, so I speak Greek fluently. My background is also in the arts.

Martijn and I visited Greece many times.

We were really impressed with the quality of the food and the humble character of the Greeks

“They’re certainly not as flamboyant and loud as the Italians. They make remarkable produce, but they just don’t shout about it.”

Their character is reserved and quiet.

We felt we had uncovered an ancient secret with their food. It opened up an opportunity to bring over high-quality Greek produce that did not exist here in the Netherlands. De Groene Greek started slowly as a love story. We love Greece and the fact that farmers grow their produce with love. Not for money. >> Page 39

food & drink

“We are spreading a great image of Greece through these products that we believe in and love.”

Tell me more about De Groene Griek (The Green Greek) It’s an import and distribution company, and we specialise in organic Greek products. We import directly from the farmers and producers to the HORECA trade. We also sell directly to people from all over the world that have discovered us at our Lindengracht market stall in Amsterdam.

You’ll find us there every Saturday. Just look for the blue Greek flag.

What is organic food, exactly?

The goal of organic foods and organic farming is to integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster recycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Which is precisely how the organic Greek farmers have being growing food for centuries. This means organic Greek food is free of synthetic additives like pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and dyes. It’s not processed using industrial solvents, irradiation, or genetic engineering.

What’s so appealing about organic Greek food?

It’s the quality. Simple as that. Production in Greece is not easy, it’s a rugged country, and transportation is difficult. The land is divided into small, family-owned patches. It would be impossible to get all family members spread across the world together to agree on a sale of even one acre of land. This is why high volume, mass production on big farms is not often possible. So quality is the only way forward for the Greeks.

They cannot compete in any other way.

What kind of products do you sell?

Everything from organic olive oil, organic olives, organic honey, organic feta cheese, through to olive oil soap, Greek coffee, saffron tea, wild herbs, organic wine and some amazing beers from Greek microbreweries. The list grows each week.

Where can I find your products?

We supply and distribute it to a number of restaurants and stores. We also sell it directly to customers each Saturday in the Lindengracht market in Amsterdam.

Lindengracht Market: Look for the blue Greek flag: To find us in the Lindengracht market you have to look out for the blue Greek flag hanging between the stalls. Lindengracht market is next to the Farmer’s Market on Noordermarkt in the Jordaan area. In Dutch, they call it the biologische versmarkt, which means biological fresh food market. It’s a great market and we get a lot of interest and requests from all nationalities at the stall.

The stall experience: We like to talk and chat, and people come and stand around for a while discussing everything under the sun. People meet each other at the stall: Greeks, Bulgarians, Cypriots and the Dutch come and talk in Greek and try our food. It’s the Greek-speaking hotspot of Amsterdam. But the whole world passes by here. We have South Americans, Brazilians, Ecuadorians, Nicaraguans Page 40

… it’s a multicultural experience. Japanese, Chinese…tourists from all over the world see us and are surprised. They love it.

HORECA market: A growing number of restaurants serve our olive oil, feta cheese, beans and other produce, including the Foam Gallery and Wilhelmina Dok. We also supply a number of organic food shops with our produce.

Bringing over larger volumes: Now that we’re up and running, we have a good logistics supply chain— so we work extremely fast. We deliver on time, even under tight deadlines. Sometimes we have a request for a certain volume of feta cheese, 700 kg for example, which is needed in Amsterdam within two weeks. So we get straight on the phone to our farmer in Greece. They are extremely well organised and we have a very good transport system. We’re lucky to have such good producers of Feta.

on the label because… well, when the crisis hit Greece in 2008 and 2009 there was this incredible negative image created about Greece. “All those tax dodging pensioners at the age of 45.” We felt, well, this is not the people we know. We only know hard-working farmers.

But we started off thinking that people might not want to buy Greek food because of the poor image created in the media.

Introducing the men and women behind the food: So we thought, why not introduce the men and the women themselves behind the produce, so that people can judge for themselves who they are dealing with?

“These are hard-working, humble farmers who produce high quality, organic produce on family land using methods handed down through their families for centuries.”

This is how we lay a direct connection between the farmer and the buyer.

Tell me about some of these farmers that you have pictured on the labels Procopis Bantzis—De Mighty Lesbian

I see that you often put the name and picture of the farmer on the products. Why is that?

The pictures of the farmers are hanging on the front of our market stall. You can see the honey man, the cheese man, the soap man, the feta cheese woman…and so on.

Because of this, people have “an amazing personal connection with the food straightaway.” This personal connection is important for us, and was the starting point for De Groene Griek.

The face of Greek food: We started off putting the face of the producer

Procopis Bantzis is a strong, young farmer from the Greek island of Lesbos. People who live on the island are called lesbians. So his nickname on the label of his organic olive oil is ‘The Mighty Lesbian’.

He manages an orchard of 7000 olive trees that he calls his in-laws.

His Koumlouki orchard is centuries old and was founded by a Turkish Pasha when Lesbos was still part of the Ottoman Empire.

It’s named after the ceramic pipes that still irrigate the fields.

Procopis is very ambitious about biologically grown olive oil and has been to Australia to learn all he can about his passion. >>

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van

Procopis Bantzis

Lesbos, Griekenland 2012 Extra Virgin Zuurgraad 0.3 %

Biologische Olijfolie

DeGroeneGriek.nl

“

Because we put the farmers face on the label people have an amazing personal connection with the food straightaway

THT 02-13

Dimitri the honey man

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food & drink

72-years-old Kyria Mary Vasilaros

Niko and Maria Psomas - Feta

Procopis Bantzis -The Mighty Lesbian

Elias Manousakas - Creta Carob

Panagioti Karavatakis - Olives

Sofoklis Panagiotou-Septem >> Page 43

van

Kyria Maria

Paleokipos, Lesbos Griekenland 2012 Extra Virgin, Zuurgraad 0.4 %

Biologische Olijfolie

DeGroeneGriek.nl

THT 02-13

72-year-old Kyria Mary Vasilaros Kyria (Mrs) Mary Vasilaros is 72 years old and has been picking olives since she was 12 years old. She has lived all her life on the island of Lesbos, and goes each year with the whole family to her olive fields in the hills surrounding the village to pick her crop.

Niko and Maria Psomas In the south of Lesbos, near the Gulf of Gera, is a small family cheese farm run by Niko and Maria Psomas. The milk for their feta cheese comes from flocks of sheep that graze in the olive groves surrounding their farm. Tasty, creamy and full of flavour, dare we say that there is “no better feta to be found in Amsterdam!” The quality of this feta cheese is very hard to find in Holland, making it a top seller. A fact well known by our regular customers who visit our stall in the

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Lindengracht market every Saturday. If you like fresh, organic, tasty feta then make sure you are quick!

Panagioti Karavatakis He harvests all his olives by hand, which he grows on his organic olive grove on a Lesbos mountainside in Tepes, near Papados, by the Gulf of Gera. Between the trees grow wild herbs, which give his olives that extra olive flavour.

We sell three types of Panagioti olives: Damastes: dried black olives in 200 gm vacuum pack.

Green olives: with lemon and garlic in 200 gm vacuum pack and loose olives Black olives: in 200 gm vacuum pack and loose olives.

Elias Manousakas

“Carob is the lost ‘gold’ treasure of Crete” Carob has been in cultivation for at least 4000 years. Seeds were once used to weigh gold, hence the word ‘carat’. Carob provides a noncaffeine and sugar-free alternative to chocolate.

Unlike chocolate, carob is naturally sweet, low in fat, high in fibre, has calcium and, most importantly, no caffeine. But not many people know this.

As the founder of his family-run Creta Carob, Elias Manousakas says: “It’s the lost treasure of Crete.” Carob has a slightly different taste than chocolate; it has only one-third the calories (total 1595 calories per pound), and is virtually fat-free (chocolate is half fat).

In Crete, the carob trees thrive in difficult soils and prefer arid conditions that are naturally free of fungus and pests. The tree grows 15 metres in 50 years. It does not bear fruit for the first 15 years. However, once in fruit, it will yield one ton of beans in one harvest.

Demitri the Honey Man. Mr Greece 2006 Demitri used to be a personal trainer to wealthy Greek women. In fact, he was Mr Greece in 2006.

But since the Greek financial crisis, the bottom fell out of the bodybuilding and training market.

So he went looking for a new profession. He found it in the village of his grandfather, in Florina, high up in the mountains near the Macedonia border, where he took over his beekeeping business. Totally organic, his bees make honey

from local walnut, chestnut and hazelnut trees.

Plus all the wonderful wild flowers that grow between them.

The honey bears like it, too The mountainous area is also home to a number of honey bears. Even though he built an electric fence around his beehives, the bears just walk in and casually walk off with his hives under their arms. They also knock over and damage other hives in the process. He regularly loses 30% of its honey this way. Still, the honey itself is really amazing, very thick in substance and the viscosity is enormous.

Sofoklis Panagiotou. The Septem beer brewer Think of Greece and beer is probably the furthest thing from your mind. The craft beer scene, however, is definitely alive here with a handful of small brewers creating interesting and delicious craft beers. The microbrewery Septem (the Latin word for the seven days of creation), brews a beer for every day of the week. Except Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday’s Pilsner, Thursday’s Red Ale, Friday’s pale ale, Saturday’s Porter, and Sunday’s Golden Ale. They also make Citra IPA India Pale Ale, which presumably fills in the gaps left by Tuesday and Wednesday.

Chemist and wine-maker Sofoklis Panagiotou and economist Georgios Panagiotou founded Septem. They make their beer with the same dedication and skill as in wine making. In June 2009, Septem began distributing fresh, bottled, unpasteurised beer to the marketplace. Because it’s not pasteurised the flavours are far more vivid. It doesn’t taste at all like commercially brewed beer.

You’ll find, like wine, that you drink Septem beer slowly. You feel very satisfied with just drinking one bottle rather than many. The flavours are just so interesting. The Foam Gallery in Amsterdam started to order the beer from us.

We also distribute to the De Bierkoning on the Paleisstraat 125 in Amsterdam. Diehard beer drinkers absolutely love it.

Award winning beer Septem beer is winning awards as well. The producer runs out very quickly. Last year he made a beer called ACE. An empty bottle of ACE sits in De Bierkoning as one of their most iconic beers of all time. The ACE was so successful that Sofoklis Panagiotou created a new one to replace it called Citra IPA India

food & drink Pale Ale. “This is just a remarkable beer.” We imported it from the factory in September 2013, and it’s just flying off the shelves.

Amsterdam beer fact There’s one Amsterdam pub for every six and a half Britons. That could be why every pub I enter contains 3 Geordies, 2 Scousers and 1.5 Brummies.

I heard some of your customers look up farmers when on holiday in Greece For us, this connection between the farmer on the label and the user of the product was the starting point of the business. We felt we needed a label that spoke honestly about the true story of who produces this amazing product. It’s an unusual angle, but it works better than we thought it would. To our delight, some customers actually look up our producers while on their holidays in Greece. One couple, for example, went over to Lesbos with an empty bottle of olive oil. It had a picture of 72-year-old Kyria Maria on the label, and they walked through the village until they found her.

The Green Greek at a glance: Owners: Martijn de Haan and Effie Halkidis Where to find us: Every Saturday at the Lindengracht market, Amsterdam.

Just look out for the Greek flag.

The first Sunday of the month: ‘Sunday Market’ Westerpark, Amsterdam.

How to contact us: Web: www.degroenegriek.nl Email: post@degroenegriek.nl The Green Greek headquaters: Bloemstraat 84HS, 1016 LE Amsterdam

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Book Blog January 2014

By Beth Johnson

T

he Man Booker Prize winner for 2013, The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, travelled with me to the mountains of Colorado at Christmastime and I raced through the 832 pages in less than a week.

This Dickensian page-turner with its astrological charts and synopses at the top of every chapter (pay attention to these as they progressively begin to reveal more of the plot while the short chapters at the end of the book tie up the emotional loose ends of the story) is a tale of gold rush times in the New Zealand of the 1860s. Walter Moody, just arrived to try his chances, stumbles into a secret meeting of twelve men who are trying to unravel a series of strange events: a wealthy and likable young miner has disappeared, a prostitute has attempted to kill herself and a huge fortune has turned up in the cabin of a deceased drunk.

As the plot becomes increasingly intricate, one of the characters

warns: “One should never take another man’s truth for his own.” Catton withholds and reshapes information, using elegant foreshadowing and looping back in the narrative and produces a literary cliff-hanger. Worth every minute of your reading time!

I am wildly enthusiastic about a number of African women authors now writing world-class novels about identity and a sense of belonging.

Taiye Selasi, raised in the US of Ghanaian and Nigerian parents, has already been reviewed by me for her stunning book, Ghana Must Go. The Nigerian Chimamanda Nogzi Adichie, acclaimed for her novels Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun, has now produced Americanah, an erudite novel about a talented young Nigerian woman, Ifemelu, who leaves her land and her lover behind to study in the United States. Adichie is a penetrating observer of culture, race, and identity and she ruthlessly fillets both successful and struggling Nigerian immigrants to the UK and the US, letting the reader see which skins are sloughed off and what new identities are assumed by those who leave their homeland.

Her analysis of the traits and reasons for US racism is astounding but she later confronts the reader with Nigerian incomprehension of Ifemelu’s references to skin colour – tribal differences, of course, - but what is the big deal about race? What might have become a political diatribe becomes in Adichie’s hands a warm, humourfilled and universal picture of how life’s journey is meant to ensure that we all become full human beings.

Beth Johnson is the owner of Boekhandel Van Rossum (Beethovenstraat 32 in Amsterdam) which sells a wide range of Dutch and English books.

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The Tattered Cover bookshop, Denver Katherine Pancol

The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles In Denver’s fabulous bookstore, The Tattered Cover, I ran across a hugely successful French author who was unknown to me. Katherine Pancol writes highly amusing and many-layered family dramas and I was charmed by The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles. Dumped by her perennially jobless husband who saddles her with their two daughters, Josephine Cortes struggles to survive on her meagre salary as a medieval scholar. But then her scheming sister comes up with a Faustian deal – and the story takes off. A “bonbon” of escapism!

Elizabeth Gilbert

The Signature of All Things On the airplane ride back to Amsterdam, I devoured Nicci French’s latest in the new series featuring psychotherapist, Frieda Klein: Waiting for Wednesday. A good read with unexpected twists when you just want to sit back and relax. And number four is on its way!

Tip for teens Years ago I read a futuristic dystopia called The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer. It was a superb Young Adult novel with an unnerving picture of Africa in 2194. Farmer is currently busy with a new series about an opium warlord who reigns in a no man’s land of poppy fields between United States and a country once called Mexico. In The House of the Scorpion, El Patrón has ensured his survival by producing his own clones which are manufactured in petri dishes and harvested from the wombs of cows. The young Matteo Alacran is the last of these clones and he is struggling to come to terms with who he is. A brilliant adventure which has been awarded three major YA prizes. The sequel, The Lord of Opium, has just been published in hardback. This type of science fiction is particularly popular with today’s high school students and Farmer writes powerfully on the socio-political, ethical and scientific issues which may confront our next generation.

www.boekhandelvanrossum.nl Page 47

40 years of graphic experience All graphic and printing services Professional assistance with all your printing demands Or teliusstraat 362hs, 1056 PV AMSTERDAM Tel: 020 6275025 / 06 27305428 E-mail: ieee25qr@kpnmail.nl Member of The British Society of Amsterdam

British Language Training Centre

bltc

English & Dutch Courses Teaching English (TEFL) www.bltc.nl Tel. 020 622 3634

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ISA campus, main entrance

C

M

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CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

Setting the stage.

At ISA, we believe that great facilities can set the stage for great learning. ISA is housed in a space specially designed for international education. And inspiration.

Our facilities include a four-floor library/media center, a 400-seat theatre, science labs and specialist studios for music, art, and drama. More than 400 computers are joined in a school-wide, online network. Students work with laptops and iPads in the classroom. Two state-of-the-art gyms, discovery oriented playgrounds and adjacent playing fields are large, well equipped and secure.

ISA’s campus is not a luxury. It’s where ideas are born.

Exciting and developing young minds Sportlaan 45 - 1185 TB Amstelveen - The Netherlands - Tel. +31 20 347 1111 - www.isa.nl

Taste Life!

Kingsalmarkt, the world-famous foodstore!

We are known for our wide range of products from countries all over the world. ‘Taste life’ is what we call that. Visit us for your favourite American cornflakes, brownies and soups, British jams and honey, Mexican tortillas, Spanish tapas and ham, Italian coffee and pasta and French cheese.

Of course you can pick up the rest of your groceries too.

Rembrandtweg 621, 1181 GV Amstelveen-noord, tel. 020 643 37 51 www.kingsalmarkt.nl info@kingsalmarkt.nl Easily reached by car (free parking) and public transport (5 or 51 tram to Kronenburg) Opening hours: Monday to Friday: 9 am – 6 pm Saturday: 9 am – 5 pm

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Britsoc Photo Lesson #1: Shooting at night / Jan 2014 with Benjamin Arthur – the British Photographer in Amsterdam: www.benjaminarthur.com

BritPhotSlot

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A

msterdam’s canals are endlessly photogenic and so, for you photography enthusiasts, try to take advantage of being here by getting out there as much as you can – in all seasons and at different times of day. I love the deep night which is when this shot was made - 00:45 in the morning.

For night work a tripod is clearly essential. Get yourself as lightweight as you can afford without sacrificing sturdiness.

Manfrotto, Velbon, Gitzo or Giottos – which I use - are all great brands. I’m working here on a 30 second shutter speed. In most urban situations that is usually more than enough to capture any movement in the clouds or the trees.. these add texture and interest to the shot.

You’ll be amazed at the colours you can capture when you leave the shutter open for this length of time. Blues are deeper and reds becomes richer. If you are interested in spending a couple of hours with me and your DSLR on a Photo Walk improving your night time photography skills why not drop me a note to benjaminarthur@ gmail.com or call me on (0)683 943 552.

Technical details; Nikon D700. Nikkor lens 17-35mm f/2:8 @17mm. ISO 250 : f/4 : 30”.

Benjamin Arthur – the British Photographer in Amsterdam. More information : www.benjaminarthur.com

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NICK’S NOSH Britsoc food correspondent Nick Nugent Reporting from the four corners of the Amsterdam kitchen

2013 Amsterdam Food Review S

o Happy New Year to everyone and if you, like me, have indulged a bit too much over Christmas and you are looking to get in shape, then I can recommend an app for you available for your Apple and Android devices. It is called Nutra Check and is free to download then, after an initial 7 day trial, it costs ÂŁ28 for 6 months membership. You can keep track of your food intake and exercise to help you lose those extra few pounds. It has a handy barcode scanner (which unfortunately does not work with Dutch products, but does with internationally known brands such as Coca Cola) which add the product information automatically to your daily food diary. http://www.nutracheck.co.uk/

Contact: nicksnosh@hotmail.com

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On the other hand if you have not quite had enough then you can keep track of your wine cellar with another handy app, Vivino, which allows you to take pictures of the label of the bottle you are consuming and matches it against its database. It gives you places where you can buy the particular bottle and rough price guidance. www.vivino.com

So I thought I would start the year by reviewing what happened in the last 12 months; the good, the bad and the ugly of the food and drink market. From my perspective I think the overall quality of food in Amsterdam is rising with a few unfortunate losses like Lovefood HQ. The quality of service however remains stubbornly low. I think this year I would really like your input on the worst service you come across and I will happily name and shame the establishment in my column here. Please send your experiences to nicksnosh@hotmail.com.

Best Burrito

Best Indian Restaurant

California Burrito Tomatillo Burrito Maker

Ganesha Koh I Noor Surya, Maurya

Contenders:

There are a couple of other restaurants which I missed this year from the comparison, mostly because they do not open at lunchtime and so when I fancied a Burrito for lunch I was forced to go to one of these three. I guess then that you could call this category the best lunch Burrito. My comparison criteria was to go for the beef Burrito with the hottest sauce they could give me. All the Burritos get soggy toward the end but I found that the tighter, smaller wrap worked best. Also I liked the freshness of the ingredients in the Burrito Makers version. So they are my winner.

Winner!

Burrito Maker Haarlemmerplein 29

1013HP Amsterdam Tel: 020-4208383

Contenders:

I have a really soft spot for Maurya, sometimes they have served me really great Indian food, but then the next time you go they totally mess up your order. We have also ordered the same thing on more than one occasion and got completely different dishes. For me the winner and the most consistent and flavoursome is the Koh I noor (opposite Westerkerk, the Rokin one is not quite so good). I think their Madras is great.

Winner!

Restaurant Koh-I-Noor Westermarkt 29

1016 DJ Amsterdam 020 623 31 33

email: burritomaker@gmail.com

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2013 Amsterdam Food Review Best Thai Restaurant Contenders:

Take Thai Kinnaree Soen Thai & Co.

In this section there was a clear winner for me. I have visited this restaurant possibly 5-7 times last year. The service is brilliant and the food is delicious. I have even been there with parties of around 18 and they maintained the service and food quality. Kinnaree is my go to Thai Restaurant in Amsterdam.

Winner!

Kinnaree

Eerste Anjeliersdwarsstraat 14 Tel: 020-6277153.

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Best Italian Restaurant Contenders:

Incanto Assaggi Casa di David Libero

After finding Assaggi earlier on last year I have ended up going there around 10 times. I think their starters are great and their pasta dishes are the best I have had in Amsterdam. They have some great wines to match and also their Tiramisu is really good. I have a notable mention for Libero which served a great Scaloppina al limone.

Winner!

Assaggi

Tweede Egelantiersdwarsstraat 6 Tel: 020 420 5589

By Nick Nugent

food & drink Best Michelin Starred Restaurant

Best Food festival

Contenders:

Contenders:

La Rive Vermeer &samhoud|places

Neighbour Food Market Taste of Amsterdam Haarlemmerstraat Festival Russian Food Festival

Although Chris did us really proud with his Christmas dinner at the ball I have to give the title to La Rive. The food there is really great and the atmosphere and venue on the Amstel are really super. The service is by far the best I have experienced in Amsterdam. It is a little bit stuffy in their approach but they produce great food.

La Rive

The weather last year was really kind for all the food festivals. Although the Neighbour Food Market is a more regular event, I think the consistency and interesting range of food retailers they have put together deserves a mention.

For me though the overall winner was Taste of Amsterdam. The variety of stalls, chefs on display and produce available were all superb. It will happen again this May and if you have not been I would recommend to go to one out of the 3 days.

1018 GX Amsterdam

Winner!

Winner!

Professor Tulpplein 1 Tel: +31 (0) 20 5203264 E-mail: larive@ihg.com

Taste of Amsterdam 15th -18th May 2014 Amstelpark Details: http://bit.ly/1dFZoTh

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2013 Amsterdam Food Review Best Sushi Restaurant Contenders:

Zushi Yamazato Sumo Tomo Sushi

You are maybe thinking this guy is crazy! Sumo?

Really? Yep I think it is really good value for money and the quality I have had from there has been very consistently good. It is not however the winner. You can see it is up against even a Michelin star restaurant in Yamazato, which is also not my winner. My winner is Zushi. They have given me the best quality tuna Sashimi in Amsterdam. Not to mention it is the only place in Amsterdam you can get Usu Yaki which is one of my favourites.

Most Promising 2014 Winner!

Cantinetta Wine & Pasta

De Clercqstraat 105

1053 AH Amsterdam 020-7370149 Owners, MaÎtre d’ and Head chef Claudia and Deborah respectively have opened a really great little place in the west of the city. They are really producing some excellent food with an Italian style. Their baked artichoke is fantastic, they make the best carbonara I have had in the city and the baked cauliflower is something not to be missed.

It is definitely worth the trip!

Winner!

Zushi Amstel 20

1017 AA Amsterdam Nederland Tel: 020 330 6882

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By Nick Nugent

Now for the bad stuff: Worst food:

L’invité

If you read my review of this restaurant you may understand why I picked this place. The crazy goats cheese foam thing which was served before the dessert was awful.

Worst service

Razmataz

One afternoon, mostly to shelter from the Rain but I was also ready for lunch, I popped into this place.

After sitting and opening my iPad to do a bit of social networking after checking in I was hoping to get a menu. I looked over my iPad hopefully at the waiting staff pretty regularly. After noticing the time and looking at the time I checked in, 30 minutes had passed before I got a Menu, even though I asked for one when I sat down. It took a further 10 minutes to be asked what I want and then I had to get up and stand at the counter for about 8 minutes to pay the bill. The food was ok which really upsets me.

Restaurant of the Year 2013 – Overall Winner!

Assaggi

It has to be Assaggi. The service quality, consistency and atmosphere means it’s my winner.

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Swiss Cheese Fondue Karen Vivers

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food glorious/

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food glorious/ K

aren Vivers, originally from Scotland, has lived here in Amsterdam since 1997, and has set up the Cooking Coach to help inspire people to get back into the kitchen.

The basis of the cooking lessons are easy, tasty, healthy recipes. Each course starts with a free introduction session, to make sure that you only cook what you like to eat.

As well as cooking lessons, Karen offers Culinary Tours in Amsterdam, is a passionate Food Blogger and works freelance as a Culinary Consultant, specialising in small and medium businesses, helping them get started, grow and deal with commercial challenges.

Swiss Cheese Fondue

It all started in September of 2003. I was in my cheese shop talking to an importer about what specialities to order for Christmas. September may seem a little early, but the thing is, you need to get your plans in action around about that time in the world of cheese, that is, if you want to get the best for your customers for the holiday season.

At any one time during the year, I had, on average, 90 types of non-Dutch cheese in store, and from November, I increased it up to around 150. So I had my work cut out to make sure that I had the best selection, that they would be ripe at the right time and that they would fit in with my other products, and of course, that my customers would enjoy them. This early start was also due to the fact that I worked with small artisan producers throughout Europe, and so had to be in contact with them via importers to know what kind of quantities they were able to deliver.

When the importer left that day, I felt pretty good about my plans and choices. I had found lots of really special products and couldn’t wait for them to be delivered so that I could let my customers taste them. There was still though, a little niggle at the back of my mind. I felt I needed something else. Something I could make my own and create a bit of an event around. I racked my brain, I asked customers, I asked suppliers, but nothing ‘You already have so much!’, they said, but I needed just one more thing.

It came to me later that same week when the staff and I were dealing with one of the weekly deliveries. This one from Switzerland. We were unpacking the Swiss giants, Emmenthaler, Gruyère and Appenzeller. As I looked at them, ready to be cut into more manageable pieces, the idea came, ‘Fondue!’ I said, ‘That’s it, were are going to be a cheese fondue specialist this winter!’. My personnel, looked up from their unpacking duties and said ‘What are you talking about?’

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‘You know, for Christmas, and the winter as well, we are going to make a big fuss about fondue!’

No sooner had I had my idea than I started taking out cheese from the shop, small pieces to experiment with flavours and combinations. I ordered fondue sets and everything else you needed to make your fondue at home.

I even sourced some really special Swiss wine to go along with (and of course in) the fondue.

Next step, a bit of PR. There would be an event, the Sunday before Christmas, I would make fondue in store and serve the wine. I invited customers to come along and try it out.

In our tiny store, on the day of our event we had 10 different types of cheese fondue for tasting, over 120 customers turned up, and we took orders for more than 100kgs of fondue! And that was just for starters!

Needless to say we had a great time that winter with our fondue. We laughed at the endless massive Emmenthaler cheeses as the 60kg hulks were rolled into the shop, one after another.

The fondue idea was such a success it became a big part of my store being voted one of the best in the country, and I even ended up on AT5 (Amsterdam television) showing viewers how to make a classic Swiss Cheese Fondue. The recipe below is the same as I made all those years ago on TV, and even though we had lots of variations, this is still my ‘go to’ version. Every time I make it, and even when I read the recipe, it brings back some great memories of my shop, and my great staff and customers.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes (quicker if you ask your cheesemonger to grate the cheese for you) Cooking Time: 7 minutes Ingredients for 4 to 6 servings 325gr / 11.5 oz. grated Emmenthaler cheese 325gr / 11.5 oz. grated Swiss Gruyère cheese 250gr / 9 oz. grated Appenzeller cheese 2 x cloves of garlic 600ml / 1 pt. UK / 1.2 pt. US dry white wine ½ tbsp corn flour Freshly ground black pepper Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg Splash of kirsch (to taste, but be careful, it’s powerful) – optional

Method

1. If you keep your cheese refrigerated, make sure you take it out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature before making your fondue.

2. Rub the inside of the pan in which you want to make the fondue with the garlic cloves – cut the cloves in two so that you expose the centre and it rubs down easier.

food glorious/ 3. Keep back, in a separate glass or cup, 2 x tbsp of the wine. Pour the rest of the wine into the pan and heat it gradually, being careful not to let it boil – there should be no bubbles.

4. Pour the cheese into the wine and stir with a wooden spoon until the cheese is melted – note it should not boil, only melt.

5. Once the cheese has melted and is amalgamated with the wine, add the kirsch if you wish 6. Mix the wine you kept back with the corn flour and pour into the fondue – this will bind it and stop the wine splitting from the cheese.

7. Add pepper and nutmeg to taste.

8. Serve in a “Caquelon” (traditional fondue pan) with a source of heat under it to keep the fondue at the correct texture.

Tips and Variations • • •

• • •

Eat with some day old baguette ripped into bite sized pieces. The fact that the bread is slightly stale means that it soaks up more cheese.

Try dipping with broccoli (raw or blanched), cherry tomatoes or mushrooms instead of just bread.

When in season (winter) add some Vacherin Mont D’or cheese (about 250gr / 9 oz. – you can swap it with Appenzeller if you like, or just add it as an extra for an extra depth of creaminess.

You can of course use French Gruyere instead of Swiss if you wish.

When the fondue is nearly all eaten, you can add a splash of wine to the fondue pan at the table and mix it through the remaining cheese.

Serve with a simple fresh green salad.

weight without compromising on flavour or your enjoyment of food. A very achievable, common sense approach to healthy eating and cooking. With over 150 no-fuss, contemporary recipes suitable for cooks of all skill levels. As well as the recipes in the book showing you what to eat, there is lots of information about how to eat to stay healthy.

This book started life as a collection of recipes used by Karen to lose over 40kgs. Karen was diagnosed with a Binge Eating Disorder (B.E.D ) in 2003 and had lost and gained 100’s of kgs over her teenage and adult life.

Karen realized that she had to face her fear (and her great love) – food - and take a whole new approach. This became the start of her successful and sustainable weight loss and the inspiration for her business “The Cooking Coach”.

The book can also be downloaded to kindle and other E-readers and is compatible with tablets and smartphones as well as laptops and PCs.

Karen’s COOKING BOOK

“Love Food, Live Healthy” is

The Cooking Coach

Learn How to Cook the Healthy, Tasty Meals you WANT to Eat!

www.thecookingcoach.eu

now available on Amazon.

Karen has recently published her first book ‘Love Food, Live Healthy’ ,which is ideal if you want to eat more consciously or lose

Love Food, Live Healthy Mobile : 06 1424 0009 Email: karen@thecookingcoach.eu

Page 61

Expat Tax News/

Important changes for NL residents and taxpayers in 2014 Children under the age of 18 will no longer be allowed to buy cigarettes or alcoholic drinks. If caught in public with alcohol, they face a fine.

The duty on wine, beer, sherry and port is going up by 5.75%.

All traffic fines are going up, as are the duties on petrol. The fine for jumping a red light will be €230, while not placing a red triangle on the road if you have a breakdown will cost €140.

People with company electric cars will now have to pay tax of 4% on their catalogue value. Electric cars used to be tax free.

The state pension age is going up by one month to 65 and two months.

The minimum wage for an adult rises by €8 to €1,485.60.

The health insurance own-risk element rises €10 to €360.

Health insurance benefit is going down to a maximum €865 a year for a single person.

The maximum rent for a rent-controlled property goes up to €699, while the maximum you can earn to live in rent-controlled accommodation goes up to €34,678.

Every household will pay an extra €10 on their energy bills for sustainability measures.

The lower rate of value-added tax (btw) on building renovations will continue throughout 2014. It was thought that this might be scrapped.

Standard Post will no longer be delivered on Monday. Registered post Medical Parcels will continue to be delivered.

Romanians and Bulgarians will be able to come to the Netherlands without a work permit.

Source: Nos/Dutch News

See more at: http://bit.ly/1e1yrPY Page 62

property

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property

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property

Page 66

Britsoc Membership Update/

Friendly Membership Renewel Update Dear Britsoc Member: Gillian Brooks here, BRITSOC membership secretary.

Best Wishes for 2014 !!

Just to ask if you would like to continue your membership with The British Society which expired in 2013.

If so, please do pay your subscription soon - details below.

Membership subscription is still €30 for single and €55 for couples / families and payment details are........

THE BRITISH SOCIETY OF AMSTERDAM ABN AMRO ACCOUNT NO.

43.40.35.122.

If you can pay via Internet Banking that would be great.

We would hate to lose you, especially now. when we have been so busy making major changes to the organisation, in particular a revamped website.

The Committee has worked hard to enhance the value of your membership and we hope you will continue to support the Society by renewing your membership.

BRITSOC functions as a forum for active, sociable people; so if there is something you would like to do that is not already organised by someone else, then we encourage members to take up the challenge and organise it themselves! The Society will help with the organisation and publicity as well as any costs.

So, if you’d like to take an active part in the running of the BRITSOC itself by joining the committee or organising an event, we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch on.....

0653 714 525 or email Ian Cherington at - chair@britsoc.nl.

We hope to see you at one of our many events very soon!

If you prefer not to continue with your membership, again please do let me know and I can delete your details from the database.

Gillian Brooks gillianbrooks55@yahoo.co.uk Page 67

poets

corner Curtains are open, but never the door I stare through a window

two old couples

seated around an oak table

sip jenever

then play a hand I stare through a window

Siamese cat sprawled

on its owner’s lap

he zaps TV channels

fag in the other hand I stare through a window

children run wild

through a garlanded room

heaps of toys on the floor

mothers frazzled I stare through a window

young couple dine

candlelit table

eyes engaged

oblivious to the world outside I stare through a window

young couple dine

candlelit table

eyes engaged

oblivious to the world outside

Š Dave Thomas 2014

Dave Thomas & John Richardson Page 68

poetry

The Ashes What?

You’ve got to be kidding No! When?

How? Still he had a good innings It’s unreal No I can’t believe it So sudden Cremated!

Of course I’ll send flowers Can’t make it I’m afraid Got to watch the ashes He’ll understand

© John Richardson 2014

Page 69

Two blue-eyed blue-bottles boxing with a blue whale

www.JohnTheCopywriter.com Page 70