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Ugchelen · Apeldoorn · Netherlands

Huisje James

A thatched cottage on the edge of the Veluwe near Apeldoorn, with seasonal tasting menus built around the kitchen garden and regional game.

The essentials, at a glance

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Impact score
2 - Engaged
→
Documented practices
Local sourcing
Seasonal cooking
Plant-forward menu

Style
Fine dining
Cosy
Cuisine
Dutch
French
Good to know
Garden
Private dining room
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide·2 radishes

The delicious details

Huisje James sits in a thatched cottage on the grounds of Van der Valk Apeldoorn De Cantharel, on the edge of the Veluwe in Ugchelen. Guests arrive along a gravel path that passes the kitchen garden before reaching the dining room.

Chef Laurens Samsen builds the cooking around the seasons, the Veluwe woods, and the garden, which supplies over fifty varieties of vegetables and herbs to the kitchen. Tasting menus rotate through the year, with a parallel vegetarian menu drawn from the garden and a chef's table experience in the chapel barn at the back of the property.

Menu
What's on the table, and what's left off

Six and seven course seasonal tasting menus, alongside a parallel vegetarian menu sourced from the kitchen garden. Courses range from vegetable-focused dishes (parsnip with vadouvan, celeriac with seaweed) to game, pigeon, and seasonal fish; vegan options available on request.

Cuisine
Dutch
French
Dietary options
Vegetarian options
Vegan-friendly
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
2 - Engaged

Huisje James holds a two-radish listing from the We're Smart Green Guide, recognising the kitchen's commitment to seasonal cooking, local sourcing, and plant-forward menus.

The kitchen is built around the seasons: tasting menus rotate through the year, drawing on the Veluwe woods, regional game, and seasonal produce at their best in the period being served. Local sourcing is anchored by the restaurant's own kitchen garden on the cottage grounds, which supplies over fifty varieties of vegetables and herbs to the dishes. A parallel vegetarian menu, always available and sourced directly from the garden, gives plant-based cooking a prominent place alongside the regular carte.

The impact dimensions
Local & direct sourcing✓
Seasonal cooking✓
Sustainable animal products
Plant-forward menu✓

Kitchen garden supplies over fifty varieties of vegetables and herbs; regional Veluwe woods provide game and seasonal produce.

Kitchen garden supplies over fifty varieties of vegetables and herbs to the kitchen and is described across Heerlijk.nl, Uit in Apeldoorn, and Gault & Millau Netherlands as a structural source. Regional Veluwe game and produce are repeatedly cited as foundations of the cooking across multiple sources. The garden and regional sourcing form the core of the kitchen's identity.

Strongest sourceheerlijk.nl ↗

Menus rotate seasonally, changing most dishes quarterly; kitchen garden and Veluwe woods shape the seasonal rotation.

The chef translates ingredients from the home garden and region into refined dishes, with menus framed as 'inspired by the seasons' and changing regularly. The tasting menu structure (six and seven course dinners, three and four course lunches) supports quarterly or more frequent rotation. Seasonality is a guiding principle across the kitchen's public identity and editorial coverage.

Strongest sourcegault-millau.nl ↗

Veluwe game, beef, fish and seafood served; 'Foie Royal' ethical pâté noted; regional and Dutch seaweed sourcing cited.

Menu items include pigeon with wild garlic, veal tongue, dry-aged beef tenderloin, hamachi, and seasonal fish with sambaizu and Dutch seaweed. The 'Foie Royal' noted on the menu is an ethical (non-gavage) pâté alternative. Sourcing is positioned at the Veluwe regional level for game and meat, with Dutch seaweed specified for fish preparation.

Strongest sourceRestaurant submission

Parallel always-available vegetarian menu from kitchen garden; vegetables featured on carte alongside meat and fish; vegan on request.

The kitchen offers an always-available vegetarian menu drawn from the kitchen garden, with vegetable-centred dishes on the regular carte (parsnip with vadouvan, celeriac with seaweed, cabbage and lime) appearing alongside meat and fish courses. The We're Smart Green Guide observes that the à la carte offers 'rather limited' pure plant options whilst the vegetarian menu is the stronger offering. Vegan options are prepared on request.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗
Sourcing signals
✓
Own-grown produce

Kitchen garden on cottage grounds supplies over fifty varieties of vegetables and herbs, positioned as a structural cooking source rather than decorative. The garden feeds a year-round parallel vegetarian menu and guests walk past it on arrival.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Van Golsteinlaan 20, 7339 GT Ugchelen, Apeldoorn, Netherlands
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€€€
Format
Six and seven-course tasting menus; lunch Friday–Sunday, dinner Thursday–Sunday.
Hours
MondayClosed
TuesdayClosed
WednesdayClosed
Thursday18:00–23:00
Friday12:30–16:00, 18:00–23:30
Saturday12:30–16:00, 18:00–23:30
Sunday12:30–16:00, 18:00–23:00
Style
Fine dining
Cosy
Good to know
Garden
Private dining room
Web
huisjejames.nl
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 12 May 2026
Reserve
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How we score
The My Treats impact scale

Every restaurant is assessed against SEERO, our six-dimension sustainability framework — covering sourcing, seasonality, waste, animal products, social impact, and plant-forward cooking. Each finding is weighted by how strongly it is corroborated. The combined result is translated into a planet rating from 1 to 5.

The five levels

SEERO is an acronym for Starting, Engaged, Endorsed, Recognised, Outstanding:

Starting First verified signals of sustainable practice.
Engaged Credible practice across two dimensions.
This place
Endorsed Meaningful practice across three or more dimensions.
Recognised Strong practice across four or more dimensions, with independent corroboration.
Outstanding Top-tier practice, confirmed by recognised third-party audit.

How a level is reached. Each level needs two things together: a minimum number of dimensions covered, and a minimum overall strength of evidence across them. A dimension only counts once its evidence is specific and substantiated — a passing mention doesn't qualify. Meeting only one of the two keeps a restaurant a level lower.

Ratings of four or five planets require human validation and, at the top tier, an external audit. Scores are based on publicly available evidence and restaurant submissions at the time of assessment.

Full methodology→
Impact dimension
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How this dimension works
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How evidence is weighted
Self-declared Stated by the restaurant on its website, menu or in a submission. Plausible, but not yet independently corroborated.
Researched Found through independent research; one credible third-party source backs the claim.
Vouched Corroborated across more than one independent source. Some gaps may remain.
Audited Fully corroborated across independent sources or by a recognised third-party certification.
What the sourcing checkmarks mean
✓ Full check — independently verified: corroborated across more than one source, or audited / third-party certified (vouched or audited).
✓ Light check — self-declared or from a single source. Not yet independently verified.
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