Wrapping up Netherlands

From last year October I have begins my working holiday trip in The Netherlands and that is the best decision I had ever made.

Many people asked me why I had chosen The Netherlands, I would always answer because I would like to visit my relatives. But that’s actually part of the reason, Netherlands is the country inspired me to work in the fine dining field.

I remember 6 to 7 years ago I visited my cousin in the Netherlands during spring break, she took me to many fine dining restaurants. The first time I ever had a testing menu and wine pairing it gave me lot of chills. During that time I was still in culinary school and I only worked in some bakery, cafe and catering business. And then there was the one restaurant left me a huge impact “restaurant by pascal” a true frontier. The experience I had was impeccable, a true fusion new and fun dining experience. And then a light bulb popped in my head, I want to do something just like that.

I will say my fine dining journey started in The Netherlands but it also die in The Netherlands. (not die but a rethink)

Fine dining is not the optimal goal for food industry, especially not my personal goal. Netherlands just help me to realise the fact which is I like food cause I like to eat and curious about the culture and the story behind food. I like the connection through food, cooking for me is never to show or to gain fame, food getter the people.

I have been in the fine dining field more or less for 6 years, I like the food the art the technique the whole presentation. But it is slowly slowly become just pretentious, we cook for the rich. I lost the connection with food I lost the fun, 17 hours in the kitchen for 4 guests is not what I wanted.

The first job that I had in The Netherlands was a fine dining restaurant serve a 18 to 22 courses menu. They have many machines in their lab which a lot restaurant won’t have. This place seems cool at first a real sugar coated rotten apple. The first time I met the chef he said he never care about the star or the best, lies. He wants it all, the fame, the money, the recognition. Becoming a celebrity chef or Instagram famous chef has become the goal for many young chef owner, making food for the algorithm maybe later they will need to ask GPT how to cook famously.

I no longer feel their passion for food, purely just for show. When my chef can ditch the team in middle of the service and go home to play PS4, and comeback on time for staff meal. I am purely speechless. Maybe it sounds sour, but we did get into a law suit. (They break several labours law, I won the case)

This experience have me rethink about what Rene Redzepi the Chef of restaurant Noma said in a interview the fine dining restaurant is not a sustainable business. Everybody know the profit margin in fine dining is really low, you have to be very successful in order to grow your business. Even as successful as Noma it is not sustainable for them, yes they are fully booked the whole year but to have 8 people working on 1 dish, the high maintenance of the lab and getting seasonal fresh food in local farms. These all can just be suffocating, is it human or right to have your workers work off the clock for 6 hours every single day to just keep the business running ? Is it even legal or healthy?

It is weird the society have fight for the minimum wages, the maximum working hours, a proper break time and a gender equal environment, but it seems like they will never apply to our industry. We have our own set of rules which is from Stone Age. That is why many chef will leave the industry after 7 to 10 years, cause nobody want to live in Stone Age anymore.

I still have passion for food(a lot) and I don’t think I will ever able to leave the industry, but things definitely have to change. The business model has to change, please if you don’t want to pay my overtime at least give me a bottle of wine treat me nicely. Passion and compassion is the motivations for the industry. Cheers guys!