4 - Recognised
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The kitchen has confirmed strong practice across five areas of responsible cooking, earning a four-planet rating. Local sourcing is the restaurant's defining feature: more than ten named farms and producers within the Achterhoek supply meat, dairy, grains, vegetables and even sturgeon caviar. Seasonal cooking follows naturally, with tasting menus that rotate through the year, wild game in winter, and a kitchen team trained in preservation, fermentation and curing to carry each harvest forward.
Waste reduction goes well beyond standard kitchen practice. The team buys whole animals and uses every part of each vegetable, from beetroot blooms rendered into syrup to oyster shells turned into broth. Four worm compost bins process scraps on site and remaining organics go to local pig farms. Animal products are traceable to named local producers, and the restaurant's community engagement extends to Buitenplaats Park Ruimzicht, a 1.6 hectare regenerative farming initiative that involves children, students and people with distance to the labour market.
Lokaal holds the Michelin Green Star, awarded for four consecutive years since 2021, and the JRE Taste of Origin Award for fresh, sustainably produced and ethically responsible ingredients.
The impact dimensions
Low waste & circular practices✓
Sustainable animal products✓
More than ten named local suppliers from the Achterhoek region, with an explicit no-import policy and full traceability for every ingredient.
Exemplary local and direct sourcing across the Achterhoek region with more than ten named, traceable suppliers: 'T Sandershof (pork/charcuterie, Etten), De Brommels (goat cheese and meat), De Steenoven (dual-purpose cattle), Daalwiek (dairy/cheese), 'T Slaege (grains and legumes, Silvolde), De Steurhoeve (sturgeon and caviar), Smits Groentekwekerij (asparagus, leeks, pumpkin seeds), Het Passion (vegetables and fruit, Hummelo), Bakkerij Koenen (heritage-grain sourdough), Kaasbaas (Dutch cheeses, Zutphen). Chef Massop has an explicit no-import policy, replacing rice with pearl barley and regional quinoa, and importing no tropical fruit, foreign cheeses or luxury seafood. Local caviar from De Steurhoeve replaces imported alternatives.
QR codes on each dish link to supplier information. Independently validated by four consecutive Michelin Green Stars (2021–2024) and the JRE Taste of Origin Award (2022, for ethically responsible ingredient sourcing). Detailed editorial coverage in Entree Magazine and Rabobank &Co confirms the sourcing approach in depth.
Tasting menus built entirely around the Achterhoek growing calendar, with wild game menus November–January and staff trained in preservation, fermentation and curing.
Deeply seasonal kitchen organised around the Achterhoek growing calendar. Tasting menus change with the seasons. Wild game menus run November to January with a separate vegetarian wild-inspired menu.
Menu items show clear seasonal alignment: wild garlic, asparagus and spring herbs in warmer months; game, root vegetables and preserved produce in winter. Staff trained in preservation, drying, curing and fermenting to extend seasonal availability across the year. The restaurant's direct relationships with local growers structurally tie the menu to what the land produces.
Confirmed by JRE listing, Gault&Millau, and detailed editorial coverage in Entree Magazine describing the seasonal preservation approach.
Whole-animal purchasing, zero vegetable waste (trimmings to syrups and broths), four on-site worm compost bins, and in-house miso, butter and charcuterie.
Advanced, measurable circular kitchen practices across multiple sub-areas. Food waste: whole-animal purchasing (entire dairy cows, spent laying hens at approximately one per 340 eggs), whole-vegetable use (beetroot blooms for syrup, Jerusalem artichoke flowers for syrup, carrot tops processed), bread converted to miso, oyster shells rendered into broth.
On-site composting: four worm compost bins in the garden; remaining organics sent to local pig farms. The kitchen developed its own plant-based butter (rapeseed oil and hazelnut milk) after determining traditional butter's environmental footprint. Staff trained in preservation, drying, curing and fermenting as systematic waste-avoidance tools.
Developing 1.6 hectare regenerative farming project Buitenplaats Park Ruimzicht (launched October 2024). Independently validated by four consecutive Michelin Green Stars and detailed in Entree Magazine, Rabobank &Co, and Porsche Discovered interviews.
Named suppliers for pork, goat, cattle, poultry and sturgeon with described welfare approaches; whole-animal purchasing; no formal certifications identified.
'T Sandershof provides smalt, smoked bacon and charcuterie from what the supplier describes as 'happy pigs' (Etten). De Brommels supplies goat cheese and goat meat (Ellen and Bert Kots). De Steenoven provides dual-purpose cattle for both meat and dairy (Ronald Pelgrom). De Steurhoeve supplies local sturgeon and caviar, replacing imported alternatives (Martin and Sandra Hoentjen). A local poultry farmer provides free-range eggs and spent laying hens. Whole-animal purchasing demonstrates commitment to reducing waste and maximising quality.
No formal welfare certifications (Beter Leven, MSC, ASC) identified for any supplier. Gurnard and yellowtail appear on the current menu; no named fishmonger or seafood sustainability certification found for seafood sourcing specifically. The breadth of named land-based suppliers with described welfare approaches across pork, goat, cattle, poultry and sturgeon is strong. Corroborated in Entree Magazine and Rabobank &Co editorial coverage.
Buitenplaats Park Ruimzicht (1.6 hectare urban farm, launched October 2024) involves children, students and people with distance to the labour market; JRE Youth Week participation.
Verifiable social commitment through Buitenplaats Park Ruimzicht (1.6 hectare regenerative urban farming initiative, launched October 2024), which explicitly involves children, students and people with distance to the labour market alongside educational and community agriculture components.
JRE membership and participation in JRE Youth Week (reduced-price tasting menus for guests aged 27 and under). Chef Massop runs multiple venues in the Achterhoek (Eetwinkel van Mien, Lev Foodbar) to maximise local product value across market segments, contributing to the regional food economy.
Meaningful plant presence in mixed tasting menus; vegetable-centred dishes available, but animal proteins co-equal with plant elements, not secondary.
Meaningful plant presence in a mixed tasting menu. RestauPlant documents 9 vegan and 7 vegetarian dishes. Several courses are vegetable-centred: marbled beet with ponzu and kefir, wild garlic with egg yolk and potato, celeriac with fried yeast and black garlic, spelt with tandoori spice and purslane. Chef works extensively with whole vegetables and has developed a plant-based butter alternative.
The tasting menu is not structurally plant-forward: animal proteins (caviar, yellowtail, gurnard, quail, Holsteiner beef) appear in most courses. The kitchen's identity centres on local sourcing and circularity rather than plant-forwardness per se. Vegan and vegetarian tasting menus are available on request, indicating kitchen flexibility, but the default menu positions animal and plant proteins as co-equal rather than plant-led.
Sourcing signals
✓
Direct named-farm sourcing
Cultivates own vegetables, herbs and flowers on the Villa Ruimzicht estate; developing a 1.6 hectare regenerative urban farm (Buitenplaats Park Ruimzicht) with greenhouse.
More than ten named Achterhoek suppliers documented on the website and in independent editorial coverage: 'T Sandershof (pork), De Brommels (goat), De Steenoven (cattle), Daalwiek (dairy), 'T Slaege (grains), De Steurhoeve (sturgeon/caviar), Smits Groentekwekerij (vegetables), Het Passion (vegetables/fruit), Bakkerij Koenen (bread), Kaasbaas (cheese).
In-house categories include plant-based butter (rapeseed oil and hazelnut milk), miso from bread scraps, broths from oyster shells, syrups from vegetable trimmings, and preservation, drying, curing and fermentation of seasonal produce.
