DE GROENE LANTAARN**

After ten successful years in Zuidwolde, Drenthe, Jarno Eggen and Cindy Borger have moved their restaurant to Staphorst. The two Michelin stars were of course included. Shortly after the opening, editor-in-chief Bart-Jan Brouwer was on the doorstep. “It really feels like a new adventure.” Text: Bart-Jan Brouwer
Image: Esther Quelle If you navigated towards Zuidwolde ten years ago to be spoiled with culinary delights at De Groene Lantaarn, since May 31, 2019 you have entered Staphorst. “You have the scoop,” Cindy laughs when we enter the new building. The interior looks light, sleek and modern. Some special details are the connecting doors, which form a playful mix of glass and wood - the chef's own design.

The new restaurant is located in an environment full of greenery. With many cozy outdoor seating areas and a vegetable and herb garden. Jarno leads us to the living room, which is intended for private groups. There we are served coffee in beautiful cups. So beautiful that a spoon on the saucer would detract from it. That is why the cutlery is hidden in a stainless steel egg from the Mood cutlery set from Christofle that shines in the middle of the table.

How it started

Jarno grew up in Dedemsvaart, where the seeds of his passion for good food were sown. “The family attached great importance to good food together and as a boy I already made dishes from my mother's textbook from the Amsterdam Housekeeping School. She always hated it when I started cooking, because I made one big mess.

When I was fourteen, I had three jobs, which meant I didn't exactly excel at school. And I wasn't the easiest either... The school would rather see me go than stay and applied for an exemption from compulsory education. I didn't know anything about that, it was told to me at one point by the dean: 'It is your last day.' It was arranged that I was hired by De Kievit, the restaurant where I worked as a dishwasher until I was old enough for culinary school.”

According to Jarno, the fact that he distinguished himself as a chef does not only have to do with talent: “I never get bored of making something tasty from beautiful products. How many loaves of bread have I baked? You make the dough, see it rise, it feels nice, it comes out of the oven with a nice crust... It doesn't matter how many times I've done that: it makes me happy every time.”

Jarno and Cindy met each other at culinary school and eventually embarked on a short foreign adventure together at the Herbert Park Hotel in Dublin. Jarno's father then dies. Jarno: “I didn't want to leave my mother alone so we decided to go back. We went to work together in Adema restaurant in Aalden. Because there were not enough servants there, Cindy worked in the kitchen during the day and as a waiter in the evening and eventually she automatically switched to the front.”

He then went to work at the then De Stenen Tafel in Borculo and Cindy went to De Lindenhof in Giethoorn, where Martin Kruithof and Marjan de Jonge were in charge, another lovely couple. Ultimately, Jarno also ends up there, where he becomes a chef.

World Champion

After about nine years, the couple decides to take a new step and takes over De Groene Lantaarn. It took some getting used to being an entrepreneur in addition to being a chef. “I always finished my work at the end of the day, and as an entrepreneur you are never done. It was frustrating at first. I used to be able to go to Martin, but now it ended with me. That made me aware that you need a good team around you to get the job done.”

Shortly before that, they became the first Dutch to win the international Copa Jerez. “In 2008 we won the national preliminary rounds. During the biennial world championship in Spain there were seven prizes to be won, we won three: best main course, best chef, and overall winner. The jury included Juli Soler, the owner of elBulli at the time, and Josep Roca of El Celler de Can Roca. If they choose you as the best chef in the world, that means something to you... We did have a party.”

Feelers

A year later, the first Michelin star was awarded: “It fell exactly on the day that Cindy and I had been dating for ten years. From that moment on you are completely lived. Of course the reservations increased, but that star did not put any extra pressure on us. You get it for what you have done and not for what you have to do. As long as you stick to the basic principles: the best quality, respecting the product, remaining critical of your business, being kind to people. The fact that you continue to grow is partly due to the team around you: together you can do more.”

Cindy also wins great prizes: twice the best hostess in the Netherlands. Jarno: “She gives the guests the feeling that she is very happy that they are there and that they are her special guests that evening. She can read the guests well: one wants to talk to you a lot, the other doesn't. She has antennas for that.”

Magical second star

The second Michelin star will follow in 2015. Jarno: “When it fell… The DeLaMar exploded, everyone wanted us to. Martin Kruithof was sitting in front of us, he grabbed me first.” Cindy: “We were at the very top of the room. Before we stood on stage, past all those congratulatory people... It was so special. Magic!"

New adventure

The card almost didn't move with us. “I wanted to innovate, but also keep good things. The result: the map has become larger. We haven't deleted any dishes, but we have added new ones, haha. We have two interns from Istanbul and two additional chefs. So the capacity is there too. Many credits to our team: this move, the change, none of that would have been possible without the efforts of everyone.” Cindy: “It really feels like a new adventure. We have our own vegetable and herb garden, and a mill with which we want to make our own bread in the future.”

They also want to give guests more of an experience: where do the ingredients come from, how does it grow, how does it bloom? “We currently have 'cheese from the wine cellar' in our menu, so guests can take a break from the table and select the cheeses themselves in our wine cellar. We want to take guests through the business and have a chat with the chefs. This way they can see that it is more work than simply opening a drawer.”

Jarno: “We can move forward with this building for the next ten years. But that is no reason to sit still. We always have the ambition to get better. To continue to innovate for our guests, to remain creative ourselves. In short: just have fun. Enjoying your job. We enjoy what we do, and we want to maintain that.”