WorldHotel Heroes: Wouter Dekker, Dining like a Local.

Local produce for Local people.

Q: Good Morning Wouter, it’s great to be able to speak to you about your brand-new concept restaurant LOCALS, the launch was a great success! Could we begin with why you chose to go ahead with the opening despite the complications of the pandemic?

A: Well, not only did we believe that guests were looking for a restaurant like LOCALS in Arnhem but we also wanted to create some positive news for the community, and I think we achieved that.

Q:?How does the LOCALS concept fit into the identity, or philosophy, of Hotel Haarhuis as a whole?

A:?Our approach is about community and inclusivity, but we didn’t want it to ‘fit’ into the hotel, we wanted to create our own identity, to have locals visit, and the best way to do that is when you don’t integrate too much into the hotel.?We wanted something different.?Hotel Haarhuis has classic elements, and LOCALS is focused on the future and the way food is prepared in the future.??We specifically wanted to be different to offer a separate outlet.

Q:?Who is LOCALS targeting as its’ main visitors? Who does the concept appeal to?

A:??We are aiming for the restaurant to be 90% for local guests, members of the Arnhem community, we want to surprise those who live in and around Arnhem; local products for local people, those who recognize the local producers and can appreciate the nearby produce.

Q: What is the focus of the restaurant?

A: ?The focus is on the vegetable; we also offer meat and fish, but they are built into the dish around the main component of vegetable.?Our dishes are served with herbs, salads and vegetables grown in our own vertical greenhouse gardens in the restaurant.?We base the dishes around basic French and Dutch cuisine.

Q:?Sustainable dining and the use of local produce seems to be becoming increasingly important; how do you see this trend growing in the near future?

A: I think many people are recognizing that we buy steaks from Australia and Argentina when we have plenty of cows, for example, in our own countries, and it doesn’t make sense. People want to support local projects and become more ecologically conscious.

Q: So how have you coined your own concept around this?

A: We have worked together with renowned Dutch chef Niven Kunz (a Michelin-starred chef and food author), who is recognized as THE vegetable chef of the Netherlands and introduced the 80/20 rule of parts vegetable (80) to fish or meat (20) and was really ahead of his time.?Our concept is that we are vegetable based but we are not a vegetarian or vegan restaurant.?We want to be inclusive and accessible for everyone, a terrific quality of locally produced food for very affordable prices.

Q: Does your guest have a specific demographic?

A: There is no specific demographic.?We tend to appeal to young, urban people who are educated about healthy food, but the restaurant is for all ages.

Q: What do you think LOCALS offers that no other restaurant in Arnhem does?

A: I feel we have filled a niche for fine dining at accessible process.?There is a high demand for fine dining in Arnhem, but you tend to find either highly priced top end restaurants, or restaurants at the other end of the scale. We wanted to offer our local guests healthy, approachable fine dining.

Q: What is your favourite dish on the menu? And do you have any specialties?

A: I really enjoy the pumpkin ‘hasselback’, a grilled pumpkin dish in a honey and herb glaze, served with sauce. There are no specialties, we change with every season, based on what is produced in our surroundings and whatever we can grow, such as fresh Dutch strawberries in the summer, so the menus change every quarter.

Q:?How personal is this concept to you?

A: It is very personal; I care about the issues around non-local produce, and I care about the seasonality of food and how the seasons affect your feelings.?My wife is vegetarian and vegetable-based dishes are important to both of us.

Q: The pandemic has been a major barrier to dining and getting together; has LOCALS adapted to the current situation??

A: Yes, LOCALS is available for room delivery for guests staying at the hotel and we offer in-room menus, but the restaurant itself is currently closed.

Q:?Why is Arnhem a great place for local produce?

A:?Arnhem is positioned at a crossroads between the nature reserve and local wildlife, so we can source & forage many local fruits, grow our own herbs and salads in the restaurant’s vertical gardens and access local wild boar, game and deer.

Q: The restaurants vertical gardens are very impressive, tell us more about them

A: We identified a part of the hotel that already had a greenhouse feel to it and built around this as a foundation. The vertical gardens are around 3 metres high with 5/6 shelves. Within the shelves we are able to grow all manner of herbs, salads, tomatoes, peppers and vegetables, which creates not only a functional but aesthetically beautiful space.?

Q:?Are you the first hotel to offer the vertical garden / greenhouse-based restaurant?

A:?Yes, I believe we are one of the first in the Netherlands.?The QO Amsterdam Hotel offers food in their restaurant from their greenhouse (https://www.qo-amsterdam.com/eat-drink/ ) as does The Greenhouse Restaurant in Utrecht https://www.thegreenhouserestaurant.nl/ ) and the Restaurant De Kas (https://restaurantdekas.com/eng/garden ) so I’m happy about this movement becoming more popular.

Q: So, what’s next?

A: We are committed to creating our own local produce, and we will potentially also supply to other restaurants in the future!