In the series Business Lunch, Floris Kappelle and his buddy Rijk de Gooijer sit down with a famous entrepreneur. Anecdotes and success stories alternate with clinking glasses and poking forks. In this episode, the napkin is placed on the lap of former record label boss Eelko van Kooten. “You can force luck.”
Flames shoot up dangerously from the fire pit. Together with former record label boss Eelko van Kooten, we watch the actions of chef-de-cuisine Thomas Val in the open kitchen of restaurant Wils*. Top chef Joris Bijdendijk beams as he explains the situation. “Here we pay a culinary tribute to the primal power of all kitchens: fire.” Side-kick Rijk de Gooijer gets a little too close and nearly burns his freshly cut head. A shock, but not for the rest of the group. Because we are in for a star lunch with fire specialties that you won’t get anywhere else. At this location in the MOVE building next to the Olympic Stadium, this pearl of Amsterdam-Zuid presents itself as a hotspot for refined dishes straight from the fire. This could well be a hot afternoon.
University with Willpower
In the midst of impressive wood-fired ovens, master chefs Val and Bijdendijk work up a sweat in their chef's jackets. In the spacious kitchen, Team Wils rules the fire like no other. We witness the creation of an amuse that takes shape on high heat. Culinary entertainment of the purest kind. Our lunch guest Eelko van Kooten (Quote500) knows what to do with this hot entrée. The entertainment industry holds few secrets for the Gooi entrepreneur. More about that later. First the amuse that is finished at high temperatures. With a piping hot flambadou - a steel funnel from the Pyrenees - the chef pours dry-aged fat from Simmental ribeye over the raw oyster that suddenly scares itself to death. Result: a hint of doneness as well as a taste surplus that is second to none. Sauced with veal jus and finger lime caviar, the salty sea creature dives into our uvula with a touch of sourness. Delicious! The head is off, the tone is set. We go to the table.
Still a bit dazed by the fiery opening show, Eelko starts: “A very creative preparation like that: art and craft combined. With that dripping fat, really very cleverly thought out.” Time for a toast. Fluut with frothy sparkling water from Pierre Moncuit. “Blanc de Blancs, brut from fine grapes”, Rijk knows. “Ideal with this pre-snek.” Chef Thomas parks a second amuse: oxtail cooked in brown butter, with aji amarillo – a popular Peruvian pepper –, raspberry powder and olives. Rijk sinks his clammy teeth into the tail and, gulp, it’s gone in one go. And that’s how it should be. “Enjoying it to the fullest goes hand in hand with big bites.” Is Eelko also in the kitchen himself? “Anyone can make something delicious. With a bit of willpower you can easily put something nice on the table. Or otherwise you can get something from the caterer. But this appetizer… still very special with that smoky flavor. “You can taste it straight away at university.”
Hit singles and pumpkin
As the son of the country's most famous radio DJ at the time, Joost den Draaijer, Eelko was brought up on pop music. Music was always and everywhere. No wonder he couldn't resist the lure of the music business later on. Inspired by his enterprising father, Eelko founded Spinnin' Records in 1999, the record label that housed artists such as Sam Feldt, Martin Garrix, Afrojack, Tiësto and Don Diablo. These activities became so successful that Warner Music Group acquired the company in 2017 for more than 110 million euros. That success didn't come easy. Eelko: "The music industry is not a book that you read and you know it. There is so much practice involved, it can be very uncertain. Not all artists are immediately successful." This does apply to chef Thomas and his starter: pumpkin cooked in the oven with burning charcoal, topped with citrus gel, yellow-red kumquat and amba ice cream with fenugreek. As a pairing, a nice sip of Riesling from Michael Grindl from Austria. We note a fruity nose, a touch cloudy in the eye, elderflower in the aftertaste. Fine combination. Back to the music. After a short adventure in real estate, Eelko was able to come and work for his father: “That's how I got to know the music world from the inside. From publishing to entering songs, guiding authors, exploitations. Until it was time for my own publishing house. I immediately won an Edison with the hit single Fiësta by The Sunclub. That was another worldwide hit last year with David Guetta.”
Vinyl pressing
Eelko moved like a fish in the water of dance, house and trance: “I can’t make music myself, but I can sell it well. Marketing, promoting, making brands of DJs. I was good at that. This created a good balance with authors, who I could put on the map by working together. In my first year, we sold 100.000 records. Pressing vinyl, that was it. DJs played vinyl. At that time, artists often worked with project names. Later, a face was added, especially with the rise of social media.” Dishes also appear on Instagram by the millions, to the full satisfaction of the chefs. So it was time for Verdicchio from San Lorenzo in Le Marche. Rijk gets to taste it: “A fresh boy, well matured.” As a chaperone, perfect with the smoked trout with Elstar salad and Belle de Fontenay foam, the yellowish French potato. Eelko: “Beautiful fish, I couldn’t do that. This is so much work. It's also hard work here, starting early, going home late. If you're ambitious, you have to focus, know what you're good at and work long hours."
High peaks of pleasure
In addition to the commercial success of a stable full of artists, Eelko likes to listen to Dutch songs: “Tino Martin, Guus Meeuwis, Quincy, Glenn Palm, I have a wide taste. Also Dua Lipa, ABBA, Ed Sheeran, Bee Gees. All classics. After a few seconds you know which band it is and which song. That's the trick with music: it has to grab you right away. The question remains of course: Why do you like something? Why does it grab you? Music remains emotion. A lot of mathematics is involved in that. Why do you sing along to that one intro and not the other? I like that analysis. As a record company you have to seriously consider the skip rate and the burn rate. Why does someone skip? When does a song burn? As a producer you have to keep it exciting.” Also exciting is the cuttlefish that looms before us: decorated with pointed cabbage, herring caviar and gochujang, the sweet-spicy chili paste from Korea. Another insta-worthy dish that manages to charm us to high peaks of pleasure. The slightly tannic Chasselas from the Savoie of Les Vins du Léman feels more than happy with this squid from its own sea. Eelko notes: “Good bite, a bit spicy, very tasty.”
Ambition with a fine nose
In no time, Spinnin' grew to become the market leader and the most influential dance label in the world. What was the secret of this enormous success? Ambition and a good nose were not foreign to Eelko. As well as talent and the will to become the biggest in the country. And then the Benelux, Europe and the world. “There was a constant need for new music in the dance scene. We could produce that cheaply in home studios with software, two speakers and a mixing console. DJs like Erick E and Jean wanted a new record almost every week. Then they could claim that they were the first again. That was international music, very different from pop artists like Guus Meeuwis. He made an album with three singles. You do that once every two years with a theatre tour. DJs could earn a lot of money with many performances because they were known from the radio and their hits that they played themselves in clubs, at events and afters. If you are on the radio, you reach the masses, you become popular and you are booked even more often. That's how you got producers who wanted to make music to become famous, so they could deejay a lot in the country. That's the beginning of the worldwide success of Dutch deejays. If a record was successful in the Netherlands, it usually succeeded abroad as well. With a long version for the clubs and a short one for the radio. You still see unknown deejays break through with a cover. That's when you get recognition."
Guest at your own party
While Rijk mumbles something about a hit he once had with the German punk band Toten Hosen, we bend over the quail. The delicate bird reveals nutty wild tones with morels, wild garlic and purslane. Truly a feast for connoisseurs to gently wash down with the graceful Valpolicella Classico from Cà dei Maghi from Veneto. Beautifully light in colour, bramble nose, accommodating in every way. Less smooth was the moment when Eelko sold his shares to Warner: “My work was my life. I had the best job in the world with everything I like. Then that suddenly stops. I was suddenly a guest at my own party. You get a bag of money, you stop working, you ask your friends to go for lunch, but they have to work. Then that money is irrelevant. After many years of hard work day and night, I didn't want to die in harness. That's why I stopped. Then you have to reinvent yourself and be careful not to fall into a black hole. In the meantime, I have found my way with my own family office, real estate investments, investments and charities. In addition, we have set up Collabhouse, a startup for independent artists. My heart still lies with music. And I remain a passionate entrepreneur. If you do nothing, nothing happens. You can force luck.”
Serious manager
We continue to muse about Eelko's glory years as an artist manager. Often travelling, Ibiza and Miami Beach, legendary performances, epic parties and adventures. Rijk has it figured out: "So playing the roast duck." But no, Eelko was always the serious manager in the background. A tranche of Ibérico now appears before us, melting on the tongue with notes of Arabica, garam masala and a drop of Cannonau from Quartomoro from Sardinia. Always nice to discover new wines. The sommelier of Wils has understood that well. Rijk greedily forks whole chunks of the pig stomach-ward: "Just for the taste." We also enjoy the dessert wine: a beautiful Sauvignon Blanc from Oliver Zeter from the Pfalz, a perfect match with a classic rhubarb bavarois with buckwheat and horseradish ice cream. Eelko: "What a fantastic restaurant this Wils is, very culinary and artisanal: really great class." As a farewell gift, Eelko receives his latest cookbook Chez Bijdendijk from Joris. Rijk enters the enormous terrace: “Afbuiken geblazen.” And so the crazy duo once again shared the table with a tasty lunch guest.
