PLANT, HARVEST, COOK, REPEAT.
At one of Amsterdam’s first farm-to-table restaurants, chef Jos Timmer stays grounded. Inside a century-old greenhouse in Amsterdam’s Park Frankendael, De Kas has spent 25 years cooking from the land. Before “farm-to-table” became cultural cachet, the one-Michelin-starred restaurant was building its menu around what grew in its gardens.
Words by Shannon Michelle Bouffard
Photography by Fritz Butziek
Saved from demolition and transformed in 2001 by founding chef-owner Gert Jan Hageman, the greenhouse became a humble temple to seasonality and self-sufficiency. A decade ago, leadership passed to chefs Jos Timmer and Wim de Beer, who continue to evolve its vegetable-forward philosophy.
Now, as De Kas marks its 25th anniversary, Timmer reflects on staying true to a humble ethos while operating at a fine dining level.
Shannon Michelle Bouffard: The plant-to-plate concept is rooted in humility, yet De Kas is a Michelin-starred fine dining restaurant. How do you keep that philosophy grounded and true to its roots?
Jos Timmer: De Kas has been open for 25 years. At this point, it’s simply our way of thinking—we make the garden the star of the show. It forces you to think creatively about dishes. In the beginning, we did have to adapt.
SMB: What were those early hurdles?
JT: Some years, we ended up with massive amounts of certain produce and had to figure out how to use it all. That’s where we learned the most—figuring out exactly what the garden would give us and how we’d use it all in the restaurant.
It’s challenging, but it’s also freeing to let the garden decide what goes on the menu.
When you start out as a young chef, you’re used to calling your vegetable guy and saying, “Can I get 15 kilos of courgettes?” You’re not stopping by his garden. Our approach feels like a more natural way of working.
SMB: What does a typical day look like at De Kas?
JT: Each evening, the chefs place their order for the next day. In Beemster, the gardeners start at 7 in the morning, and arrive at the restaurant around 10 with the harvest. The kitchen uses that produce for lunch and dinner. Ideally, the fridge is nearly empty by the end of the night. Then we place the next order and begin again.
It’s an intense way of working, but that’s the only way to taste the freshness of the products.
SMB: What does the collaboration between gardeners and chefs look like from season to season?
JT: It’s very straightforward. At the start of each season, the kitchen makes a list of what we loved last season and what we’d like more of the next. The gardeners plant accordingly and send us a calendar of expected harvests.
We have a WhatsApp group where they’ll say, “You’ll have 60 crates of kohlrabi in two weeks, and 40 crates of padrón peppers in week 16.” Then we plan around that.
A few days each year, the chefs and front-of-house staff work in the garden, too. That connection stays with them for the rest of the year.
SMB: What percentage of the menu is sourced externally?
JT: About 80 percent comes from our own gardens. The remaining 20 percent comes from organic farms, many of them neighbors in Beemster. They grow grapes, leeks, and Brussels sprouts for us.
We’re not overly strict. We outsource lemons and oranges—obviously we can’t grow those here—and we make exceptions for wild mushrooms. Asparagus doesn’t grow well in Beemster’s soil, so we work with an organic farmer for that. But everything must be organic and preferably local.
SMB: How would you define the kitchen’s DNA?
JT: Fresh and vibrant. That’s De Kas.
Our previous owner used to say that a dish shouldn’t look like it’s been touched by 25 cooks before it reaches the table, and I agree. When guests sit down to eat here, they should be able to look at the plate and understand what they’re having. If a dish needs too much explanation, it’s not a good dish. It should speak for itself.
SMB: I imagine that leads to a calmer kitchen.
JT: Exactly. If you look at the way some kitchens work, there are people just plating small herbs or petal garnishes for hours. It’s all they do; they don’t learn. That sounds like hell to me.
SMB: Do you think that balance is missing from the conversation about sustainability?
JT: To be sustainable, you also should be a good employer. The chefs in our kitchen work a normal week. When I started, it was expected to work from 9 o’clock in the morning until 12 o’clock at night. It’s changed in Amsterdam since then, but the fine dining world is still a bit of a dinosaur.
I think we can do better. When chefs are happier, you get a better plate of food.
SMB: Alongside its Michelin Star, De Kas carries a Michelin Green Star. Do you feel a responsibility to educate your guests about sustainability?
JT: Cooking should be fun. We’re not delivering a message at the table. We’re a restaurant serving beautiful food. If our message is anything, it’s that you can cook exciting dishes centered around vegetables instead of meat.
We’ve been working this way for 25 years. It’s natural to us. If guests leave inspired to cook more vegetables at home, that’s enough.
A dish shouldn’t look like it’s been touched by 25 cooks before it reaches the table.
SMB: How do you define sustainability?
JT: It’s complicated. For us, it means working closely with the garden, minimizing meat, staying organic. It’s not revolutionary. It’s how our grandparents cooked. Somehow, that’s become new again.
We use almost everything we harvest, so there isn’t much left to preserve. We ferment a bit. Elderflower vinegars, sambals. But we’d rather serve strawberries when they’re as fresh as possible—not pickle them.
Only 10 percent of the menu includes fish or meat, but it’s always part of the dish, never the focus. We’re cooking more vegetable-forward than ever.
SMB: How do you stay inspired?
JT: Maybe it’s the boring answer, but by walking in the garden. Seeing the first wild garlic in spring, the first new potatoes, the tomatoes ripening in summer.
When you taste a tomato that’s still warm from the sun and has never seen a fridge, it’s not so difficult to come up with a dish. You pick it, and two hours later it’s on a plate. That’s the most inspiration you can get as a chef.
SMB: It’s a humble concept, and you really feel that when you sit down at De Kas.
JT: We’re not a very typical Michelin restaurant; we’re really chill. This is a relaxed atmosphere where you can celebrate, bring your kids, and laugh out loud.
We’re part of the park. Schoolchildren grow vegetables nearby. Every year, we invite them to the restaurant and show them how to cook what they’ve grown.
Our guests should explore the park, take a walk. That relationship goes both ways. Our doors are open; people can come in and see what we’re up to. It would be a shame if they couldn’t.
DE KAS
Kamerlingh Onneslaan 3
1097 DE, Amsterdam
