The next generation: Tom Vinke

In 1993, Edwin and Blanche Vinke purchased a vacant school building to establish De Kromme Watergang. After a major renovation and a challenging start, success only came years later. Edwin: “At first, I mainly listened to what the guests wanted, but that alone wasn’t enough to make the restaurant profitable. Nevertheless, we persevered. It wasn’t until I met Gordon Ramsay in 2005 that my eyes were opened. Before that, I barely knew what a Michelin-starred restaurant was. After seeing what he did on TV, I knew I had to meet that man. We flew over, dined at his restaurant and even had a beer together in a pub. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to cook differently and I changed course. I locked myself in the kitchen for a week to experiment and less than six months later, we earned our first Michelin star.”

The basics first

Edwin: “I felt it was important for Tom to gain that experience, and I wanted him to work in a restaurant where the basics – the ingredients and the dishes – come first;in a kitchen that wasn’t too big, where you really learn to work under pressure and get involved in all aspects of the craft. That led him to The House* at the Cliff House Hotel in Ardmore, under the guidance of Martijn Kajuiter. Tom was still young and had a lot to learn. Martijn instilled in him a strong sense of discipline, which is incredibly important. In the end, Tom worked there for two years.” Tom: “On top of that, it taught me to be independent and make my own decisions. Before that, I did an internship in Spain at El Celler de Can Roca*** and stayed on for a few more months afterwards. I’m glad I had that experience, even though it wasn’t entirely my thing. There were about 30 people in the kitchen. You were assigned a specific task and just did the same thing all day.”

Chefs with a vision

Tom and Edwin share the same vision when it comes to ingredients – they should come from the local area. “There are plenty of restaurants that cook well”, says Edwin. “So guests need a reason to travel to Hoofdplaat. That’s why I’ve always believed it’s important for us to set ourselves apart by using regional ingredients. For example, our menu now consists entirely of seafood. Zeeland has so much to offer when it comes to ingredients. Personally, I’m always searching for a restaurant’s unique identity – its DNA. Today, that’s becoming more and more important; it’s what makes you stand out. Tom’s cooking style is a little more classic than mine and that’s absolutely fine. As long as you stay true to your product – the Zeeland product.”

De Zilte Hof

Tom agrees and even sources some of the kitchen’s ingredients from just across the road – De Zilte Hof, De Kromme Watergang’s nearly one-hectare kitchen garden. “I spend a lot of time working in our kitchen garden, which is right opposite the restaurant. Since 2012, we’ve been growing vegetables, herbs and flowers there, among other things. I find it incredibly interesting. The garden had been slightly neglected, but last year we put a lot of time and effort into it, and now De Zilte Hof is back to how it should be. We try to grow all kinds of produce  – not just from the Netherlands, but also from places like South Africa and South America. Some non-native crops thrive in our garden, which is fantastic because it allows us to work with truly unique ingredients. And what could be better than stepping into the garden and harvesting your ingredients fresh?”

Preserving the harvest

“We preserve part of the harvest to use in winter”, Tom continues enthusiastically. “We pickle, confit, dry and ferment. For example, we make our own sambal, pickles, kimchi and flavoured oils. It would be a shame to throw away surplus produce from the garden and, moreover, preserving enhances the flavour of the ingredients. When crops die off in winter, they create a layer of humus, which provides rich nutrients for the next growing season.” And if there’s a dinner party in the De Zilte Hof during the summer, then the charcoal is lit in the Big Green Egg Large.

Big Green Egg since 2014

“To be honest, I didn’t see the need for a Big Green Egg at first”, admits Edwin. “So many chefs already had one, so I bought a smoker instead. That changed in 2014, when we hosted an event where chefs cooked on Big Green Eggs. I had really underestimated them – they were incredibly easy to heat up and maintain at temperature, and they offered so many more possibilities. The plan was for the Big Green Eggs to be collected afterwards, but that wasn’t necessary, because in addition to me, there were several other chefs who also wanted to buy this kamado. Now, we cook on them in the garden for 20 to 30 guests. And of course, that’s fantastic!”

Extra flavour

In 2017, the Large was joined by a MiniMax, which can be found in the kitchen of De Kromme Watergang. “We light the charcoal in the MiniMax at noon on the days the restaurant is open”, Tom explains. “We use this Big Green Egg during lunch or dinner to quickly smoke or grill something, like vegetables, a langoustine or a piece of fish. It maintains a steady temperature all day long, so you can really rely on it. Plus, it adds extra flavour. It’s become a staple in our kitchen – I genuinely couldn’t do without it anymore!”

Especially for our fans, Tom has prepared a delicious and easy fish dish on the Big Green Egg. Now you can effortlessly bring a chef-inspired dish to your table at home.