By Otti Thomas
The Netherlands has more than 150,000 residents with roots in Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba. Thousands of these residents are successful in their own way. During 2018, Foundation Ocan, originating from the Consultative Body for Dutch Caribbean persons, will put one of these persons in the spotlight every week. In the spotlight this week is Richard Veld from Curaçao, chef and owner of a restaurant in Amersfoort.
In his own words:
I actually came to the Netherlands for the maritime academy. On Curaçao, I did the chef’s course and worked in the restaurant business, but I wanted something different. Ocean navigation seemed exciting as a trade. After two to three months, I stopped and ended back up in the restaurant business. I have virtually always worked either as a chef in restaurants or as a co-owner: Kasteel de Hooge Vuursche in Baarn, De Lokeend in Vinkeveen, various restaurants. I would switch when I wanted to move on; either I wanted to grow, could earn more elsewhere, or had identified a new challenge. I obtained my Food & Beverage and Leermeester diplomas; but cooking is my favourite – beautiful dishes served on beautiful tableware. I have been the owner of De Monnikendam restaurant in Amersfoort for two years now. My wife also works in the business. It’s hard work, but I don’t know any other way. I leave home in the morning and return at night, six days a week. My children do not even want to go into the restaurant business and at times ask me whether I am crazy; but when you own a business, you also need to be present, because you’ll have a problem otherwise.
Obstacles
School wasn’t really for me. My salvation was an internship at the Plaza Hotel on Curaçao. A very famous French chef, who would fly in from France every two weeks, worked there. This sparked my interest in cooking. The Plaza Hotel was an enormous education centre for me. The hotel had everything you needed – its own bakery, its own butchery. The chef made sure that all ingredients were readily available, directly out of France. For this reason, the Netherlands did not have anything new for me where products were concerned. I knew all of them already from the hotel.
Inspiration
I own lots of cookbooks and dined out regularly. I experienced what my colleagues were up to and determined which direction I wanted to go in. Your first sense of taste is naturally given at home. My mother is always busy cooking. It doesn’t matter if I call her up during the day or at night; she is always in the kitchen. My parents usually don’t care for my dishes, but I don’t mind that because I know what they are accustomed to. It is difficult for persons to appreciate dishes that come from outside of their comfort zones. Personally, I was never really intrigued by Caribbean or Creole cuisine. It has always been French cuisine for me; it varies from rural to refined. For me, this interest has been centred on beautiful, small dishes – about flavours. I want to elevate a product’s flavour perfectly. I want people to savour a nice langoustine or a terrine of duck liver. That constitutes dining out and enjoying for me.
Advice
It is important that you follow your own path. You don’t need to do the same as your neighbour does, because that may not be a fit for you. Therefore, let yourself be open to possibilities and they will come your way. You will need to work very hard to achieve that which you want to achieve, whether on your strength or through utilizing your network. It works in the Netherlands the same way as it does in the Antilles.
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