Jeroen van Spall
Jeroen van Spall is executive chef of restaurant and bar The Lobby at hotel V Amsterdam
Another hotel with a popular restaurant!
´Yes, restaurants within hotels are doing pretty well nowadays. Why? All kitchens improved, including those in hotels. Over the last decade, so many good new businesses came to Amsterdam, unbelievable. Our strenght is the value in combination with the homely cosiness in our ‘living lobby’. Three years ago i started at The Lobby at the Nesplein, in the heart of the city. Meanwhile, we added The Lobby at the Fizeaustraat, in East and there will be another hotel with bar and restaurant…’
You work with true Dutch ingredients. Do your young guests even know what mullet fish, haddock liver or fat bloater is?
‘We want to get rid of the standard fishes. Baked sea bream is nothing new. In addition, there are fishes that get extinct; we try to keep that in mind. At the Fizeau street we now serve fried kingfish with squid, marinated in garlic and red pepper oil and shortly sprinkled with lemon juice and gremolata. With: antiboise, Opperdoezer Ronde, the mini potatoes, baked in goose fat, and bouillabaise sauce.’
Vegetarians are well served. I see a salad of spelt, fennel, pecan, feta and roasted peach. And also: risotto with duck egg, macadamia, peas and parmesan cheese…
‘With fruit and vegetables, we’re delighted we can work with Rungis. In addition to our regular products, we can also get our special products. Mini-vegetables and extraordinary herbs and flowers. We’re also very pleased with their Cerisa cherries for our signature dish: tongue of veal and duck liver with cherries, onion compote and cherry beer. Right after the opening we already served this dish, but now, with the cherry season, we’ve put it back on the menu.’
More favorites?
‘I absolutely love pink garlic: a simple, but unbelievable tasty product. Sometimes we try to make it taste a bit softer by roasting it. Very nice within soups and sauces and in combination with squid. And further: the opperdoezer, morels and the fresh inca-tomatoes and the coeur de boeuf. And August is, ofcourse, the month of the red fruits. I’m thinking about a new dish with coconut, filled with buttermilk mousse, raspberries and wild strawberries, marinated in Mezcal tequila and sugar syrup. And also with coconut ice cream and crispy popcorn. Fresh peas and beans will always remain delicious. That last one double podded, the first one not. There’re Chefs that actually do that, they even make their own cream of the double podded peas, but that goes a little to far for my taste. You shouldn’t make ik to hard…’