Taste
At the table with Martin Reijnders
In the Business Lunch series, Floris Kappelle and Rijk de Gooijer sit down with a renowned entrepreneur. Anecdotes and success stories alternate with clinking glasses and poking forks. In this episode, the napkin lands on the lap of Acqua Filette importer and former professional footballer Martin Reijnders. "Strange guys, those rednecks." Into the country. The […]
In the Business Lunch series, Floris Kappelle and his buddy Rijk de Gooijer sit down with a renowned entrepreneur. Anecdotes and success stories alternate with clinking glasses and poking forks. In this episode, the napkin is placed on the lap of Acqua Filette importer and former professional footballer Martin Reijnders. “Strange guys, those rednecks.”
Into the country. The woods near Bennekom. Peace and quiet. Here in this wooded area, even a pardon-driver like Rijk de Gooijer lets his brutal Bimmer loosen up. Our Gooise society farmer can barely suppress his excitement. We are heading for a gastronomic adventure of a kind. Deep in the Veluwe nature, we park at restaurant Het Koetshuis. In possession of a Michelin star for 26 years without interruption. De Gooijer is eager. Because star chef Jurre Klein Bleumink is known for his rich sauces. And we know how to appreciate that. Good sauce is still, mumbles our sidekick with an expert eye. On the grand terrace, host Danny Löhr is already ready with glasses of fizz: Champagne Paul Bara Bouzy Grand Cru Brut. Look, that cheers you up. Bennekom far away? No way. Not far from the geographical centre of the country, Danny welcomes his guests from far and wide. Even we, typical Randstad stunt tasters, often look for culinary stimuli outside the Ring. The province calls, and rightly so. We enter the atmospheric Koetshuis with its beautiful thatched roof. A timeless feeling overwhelms us like a warm towel. The chef and his team smile at us, the charming restaurant is ours. Now we just need a friendly guest at the table. And there he is: Martin Reijnders. The popular former professional footballer from Zwolle now goes through life as an enterprising gourmet. And that works out well because there is Danny with the amuses.
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It's a good thing he didn't become a motocross rider, because Danny has continued his parents' tradition in this top restaurant with great enthusiasm. Especially now that chef Jurre is threatening to go all out. Martin immediately gets going: "Cooking... me? No, I get really sour looks. Luckily my wife is very good at that." Rijk perks up: "Mine cooks with a soft G." Eating out is always a treat for Martin: "Especially when we're in Italy. My son Tijjani plays for AC Milan. I act as his advisor. That's when you get to go places. Milan is heaven if you like good food." Rijk nods: "I used to go there a lot... to pick up models in La Bricciola... Brigitte Nielsen and the like. There were also footballers around. But I don't know anything about that. Nothing!" It turns out that Rijk knows something about amuses. They disappear greedily down his eager throat. We note a quartet of elegant appetizers: crispy cuttlefish with kimchi chives, mini-toast of bell pepper, cream of vadouvan and pumpkin seeds, crispy of kataifi dough and Bennekom heather tea. The stakes are high right away.
From meatball to reindeer
During his active career, Martin ended up in Finland: “Beautiful country, Helsinki is a nice city, everything is well organised. But those Finns, what strange people! They drink a lot, are often depressed, sit in the dark for months. And us? We ate out a lot, a lot of fish from our own sea. They jumped around our ears. And of course reindeer. That was quite a change… from meatball to elk. The taste of game, that took some getting used to.” What you do get used to quickly: the smells and flavours of the forest: an ensemble of porcini mushrooms, from your own garden, dressed up as crumble, foam and ice cream. Plus a soup. Just taste it in silence and… excellent. Martin licks his lips as he surveys the situation: “Eating out at a high level has everything to do with the complete picture. The entourage, the food, the atmosphere, the service. That has been very successful here. But this is also part of it…” The former athlete deftly dives under the table and conjures up a beautiful bottle. Martin is currently an entrepreneur in luxury table water: Acqua Filette, mineral water that tickles the palate with sensational softness, the website boasts. After successes in beds and videos, Martin entered the world of the better restaurants last year with this Italian top product: fine spring water from the area around Rome, presented in a stylish wine bottle. The pearl on every table, whispers Rijk. Martin is also very pleased with this new departure in his career as an entrepreneur. “I was very pleased to be at the MASTERS EXPO.” He receives exclusive marketing support from his son Tijjani, who is making a splash as a midfielder for AC Milan and the Dutch national team and is now giving this new adventure a nice boost. Filette now adorns the tables in many restaurants. Italians know what good water is. Now the Dutch. And that is being worked on. By Martin and his two sons who have joined as partners. The glass bottles look good anyway. “We are aiming for the higher segment. There, people want a beautiful bottle on the table as an extra experience. So no plastic. That is the latest trend. We cannot ignore these bottles.”
Among the cowboys
As a recognized gourmet, Martin regularly goes out to eat. Strangely enough, he has never been to De Librije. Within crawling distance of home! What would our good friend Jonnie Boer think of that? We offer to make a reservation. While Martin is sitting there feeling ashamed, Rijk starts to mumble about his rascal years with Jonnie in Giethoorn. Back to Het Koetshuis and top-level sport. Whether that is on a pitch with 50.000 roaring supporters or on a film set at 7 in the morning with an actor with a huge hangover, or in a kitchen with a strict chef, it remains performing under high pressure. You have to deliver. That is how Martin ended up with the Nashville Metros in the US a long time ago. “It was 45 degrees there with a humidity of 92 percent. If you blinked your eyes you would break out in a sweat. There was a lot of show in that stadium, Ezell Park it was called. When we went out, we sat in saloons among the cowboys. Boots, lace-up ties and enormous hats. Then they would line dance. I had to get used to that. Also to the ignorance of the people. They thought I was from Holland, the capital of Germany. Strange guys, those rednecks.”
Finished Japanese
Oppressive adventures with hillbillies make one thirsty. As a true Burgundy adept, part-time grape picker Danny now delights us with an elegant Chassagne-Montrachet from Caroline Morey. A masterpiece, says Rijk: “Classic stuff, a little nutty, a touch sour. Complex, mineral and silky soft on the uvula, completely in balance.”
Perfect with the marinated hamachi: yellowfin mackerel. As a lacquered Japanese, the fish goes hand in hand with Granny Smith and a sauce of ginger and tarragon, and seaweed crackers. Firm, super tasty, beautiful sauce, according to Martin. The long aftertaste completes this successful combination. We digress to America where Martin traveled the entire country as a professional footballer. “They trained hard, everyone always wants to be the best there. I had talent, but to reach the absolute top you had to have a different mentality. I didn't have that. I also found life outside of football very interesting.”
