From zero at Ciel Bleu, Dick Middelweerd (Harmelen, 1963) developed into a star chef at De Treeswijkhoeve. Not without setbacks, such as a recent fire in the kitchen. But he tackles every crisis to come out of it stronger. "That keeps the energy in your company, that good vibe."
In the village of Waalre, the "green fountain" under the smoke of Eindhoven, Dick Middelweerd and his wife Anne-Laura have been running De Treeswijkhoeve for 22 years. The restaurant is situated in a 1916 farmhouse that used to belong to the Treeswijkhoeve estate. A classic white farmhouse with a huge terrace and a large herb garden where chamomile, sorrel, fennel and strawberries grow, among other things, and where there are three beehives, good for ninety kilos of honey on an annual basis. Upon entering the restaurant, one immediately notices the unusual portrait that photographer Marie Cécile Thijs shot of the chef: bowler hat on, cone-shaped fries in hand. Two man-sized works by Marc Lagrange also attest to Middelweerd's penchant for photography. A huge collection of Michelin guides from all sorts of countries is piled up in the private dining room. Some specimens date back to the 1950s. "The neighbor who lived on the Treeswijkhoeve estate collected the guides. Upon her death, she transferred the collection to us," Dick explains.
In the interior dominated by predominantly soft brown tones, two unwieldy selenite crystals also stand out. Among other things, these seem to stimulate a clear mind. That bodes well for the interview! Dick and I take a seat behind an espresso at one of the tables, where he dives back in time. In his youth, which he spent in Harmelen, nothing at all indicated that he would ever become a chef. "I had no passion for good food, didn't help in the kitchen, it didn't interest me anything, zero. I had no idea what I wanted to be later anyway. The only thing I liked was my drive-in show, a mobile disco complete with light organ. From the age of thirteen I played music at barn parties in the village. That earned me about a hundred guilders. My uncle, who had a van rental business, brought my stuff to the party location and picked it up again afterwards.
In return, I advertised him by putting his company's name in large letters on my deejay set. At home, I used the equipment to make pirate radio. Working at a station like Veronica appealed to me, but my parents were less enthusiastic about it. They were quite traditional and had their own business: they were in the home heating oil business. Because in those days not everyone was already on gas, especially in the farming area where I grew up. Later my father went into horses, originally a hobby of his - we even had a riding school at home."
Because Dick had no idea what he wanted to be later, his parents suggested he take a career test. It turned out that cook or baker suited him best. "I used to beat meringues at home sometimes, I thought that was funny. And on Sundays I always watched with interest as my mother made rolled meat in one of those Moulinex ovens. But a chef? I didn't want to be one. But I had to decide quickly: I had taken the test in May and in August the advanced training of the lts started. So I opted for the Consumptive Techniques course. And guess what? I really liked it! I learned everything about lemonades, tea and coffee, how to make bread, how to crush tomatoes... I had never been much of a student, but now I only got good grades. That made me happy.
Those two great years were followed by apprenticeships. The first apprenticeship was not a success - a party place with bitterballen, schnitzels, meatballs and bouncers on the menu. That head chef left me to my own devices; he was just gone. I stood there on my own, with my fifteen years. My consultant quickly helped me find another place to work: a roadside restaurant with a very classic chef who still made the Russian salad and croquettes himself. Wow, this is bold. I always thought croquettes came from a packet and Russian salad from a bucket. It dawned on me that you can make everything yourself." That was a big step in the life of the novice chef, who then ended up at La Provence in Driebergen, a starred establishment, via Hoog Brabant in Utrecht. "I was a bad eater, but what they cooked there I found really super tasty. It was inspired by the Provençal cuisine of Roger Vergé, a three-star chef from France and one of the biggest names of his time. For example, on the menu was "fleur de zucchini": a zucchini flower with the zucchini stuffed with ratatouille. At the time, a very progressive dish. Vergé even came to cook at La Provence on occasion. I still have a beautiful signed book by him. That's where I really became a fan of Provencal cuisine."
During his time at the lts, Dick spent weekends shadowing at the Apollo Hotel, where Ben van Beurten - an acquaintance of his aunt - was the executive chef. When he left La Provence, he called Van Beurten, who then held a position at Hotel Okura Amsterdam. Whether he couldn't go there? "Ben arranged for me to come work at Ciel Bleu. A challenge, because at the time the restaurant was run only by Japanese people. He wanted a Dutchman to get a foot in the door there, because he had absolutely no control over what happened there. The chef at Ciel Bleu sensed that and so was not happy with that intruder. On my first day of work, he showed a roster with only Japanese names and at the bottom Zero. 'Do you know what that means?' the Japanese chef asked. 'Yes,' I replied, 'zero means zero.' 'That's what you are! You are nothing at all. I worked in three-star establishments in Paris. Compared to me, you are a zero.'
A leaden time followed.
For example, I had to be the only one present at ten o'clock in the morning to clean all the refrigerators of the chefs de petit. Everything out, polishing and buffing, everything back in. Two hours later, the chefs reported to the 23rd floor and I had to take note of what they needed for the day. Then to use trollies to get everything out of the cold rooms on the first floor, where they had just come from. I really was the slave there. Three months I had to keep this up, then a Japanese would come and take over my duties. When the time came, I moved up a step, to the entremetier, and I was slave-off. From then on I was accepted, I was one of the guys. And I also did everything they did. Although classic French was cooked for the guests, with those heavy madeira sauces, the staff food was authentically Japanese. They made their own katsudon: schnitzel in a broth with onions, omelet on top and put in the oven. Unbelievably delicious! I still make them myself. And in the summer they played baseball in the Amsterdam Forest every Saturday morning. "Are you there too? Of course I was there! Gathering at five in the morning and at seven already on the beer. Man oh man!"
A third important milestone was The Hoefslag in Bosch and Duin. "There I tasted that southern French again. The drive in such a starred establishment! Everyone was keen to create beautiful dishes. The atmosphere there was super nice, Gerard Fagel really knew how to build a team spirit. He listened to everyone, tried to stimulate everyone, to improve things... That was unheard of in those days. Normally if you did something wrong, your head was beaten in, so to speak. In The Hoefslag you were encouraged to get the best out of yourself. During that period I got my Master Chef diploma, at quite a young age: twenty-five. And that's where I met Anne-Laura. She started on the same day as me, in service. Although she was originally a chef: she worked in the kitchen with Paul Fagel and Roger Souvereyns, among others.
I did not open up to her right away, because I had been dating for seven, eight years and had just bought a house. Just before I was to move in with my then girlfriend, however, she gave up. She didn't want to share her life with a cook who had to work from morning to night. Suddenly I was stuck with a house of my own! And I couldn't pay the mortgage on my meager salary. Gerard Fagel came to the rescue. He wanted to know how much I had to earn to keep the house. When I had calculated that, he said, 'You'll get that salary from me, but you have to keep working here for at least another year.'" In that year, the spark struck between Dick and Anne-Laura.
Her parents were also in the hospitality business. After years of running bistro De Heerlijkheid in Valkenswaard, they took on a new challenge in 1988: converting the farmhouse where De Treeswijkhoeve is now located into a neat bistro. Anne-Laura left De Hoefslag to assist her parents in the kitchen. "In 1991, a vacancy became available there because the chef could no longer work full days in the kitchen due to a medical cause. Did I want to take over his place? I didn't have to think long about that. But once I was in the kitchen together with Anne-Laura ... It didn't work at all. My goodness! There was constant friction and irritation. The solution was simple: me the kitchen, her the front. Then it ran like clockwork. It was a typical middle-class restaurant, a bit classic French: lobster, asparagus, lamb... I may have been in charge of the kitchen, but I couldn't really control the menu. I had trouble with that. And also with the decay in the business: if something broke, it wasn't replaced. My in-laws didn't have that drive anymore."
Curious about the rest of the interview? In the fall edition of MASTERS, an interview with LVMH boss Bernard Arnault ("being the richest man in the world didn't do anything for me"), a driving impression of the electric Audi RS e-tron GT, on reportage with the 'tree matchmakers' of The Green Contractors, an interview with celebrity chef Dick Middelweerd and on a visit in Barcelona with Ronald Koeman. The war, the climate crisis, the energy problem... More than ever, leadership and entrepreneurship are being called upon. With MASTERS EXPO | The Colourful Edition (December 8 to 12, RAI Amsterdam), we want to contribute in our own way and give the world a push in the right direction. In this edition of MASTERS, a colorful preview of the most exclusive business fair. Time to think ahead, innovate, connect!
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