4 - Recognised
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Mearkas draws on a two-hectare Frisian estate: the kitchen garden, pick-your-own beds and the adjoining Voedselbos De Iest food forest supply a large share of what reaches the plate.
Local and direct sourcing is exemplary. Butcher Van Huisstede in Dronrijp provides Frisian Angus beef and northern Frisian lamb, and fisherman Ale de Jager of Iel en Mear has supplied fish from Frisian waters in a relationship spanning nearly twenty years. Menus rotate with the harvest, and seasonality is described in every guide listing as the kitchen's founding principle.
Animal sourcing is fully named and traceable across both meat and fish. The chef has stated publicly that responsible cooking does not mean avoiding meat or fish but choosing how it is sourced and treated. The plant-forward menu is structurally meaningful: the full tasting menu is available in a fully plant-based version on request, and the We're Smart Green Guide recognises the team at four to five radishes for plant-led cooking. Circular practice runs through the building, which was constructed from reclaimed materials, with dining-room tables and the bar built from local wood and water served via the Merk Water filtered tap system. Social contribution includes guest lectures and demonstrations for younger chefs.
Endorsed by the Michelin Green Star, awarded in 2024 and renewed in 2025, and listed in the We're Smart Green Guide.
The impact dimensions
Low waste & circular practices✓
Sustainable animal products✓
Multiple named, traceable suppliers across most categories: Van Huisstede for Frisian Angus beef and lamb, Iel en Mear for Frisian-waters fish, Voedselbos De Iest for food forest produce, complemented by the estate's own kitchen garden and pick-your-own beds.
The two hectare estate holds an on-site kitchen garden, pick-your-own beds and the adjoining Voedselbos De Iest food forest, which supply vegetables, herbs and fruit. Multiple independent and partner-vouched sources describe the gardens as the primary source of produce, with the chef harvesting directly on the day of service.
Meat comes from butcher Van Huisstede in Dronrijp (Frisian Angus beef, lamb from northern Friesland), fish from Ale and Marjan de Jager of Iel en Mear (Frisian waters; a twenty year supplier relationship), with Veltman for additional fresh fish. Editorial corroboration is present in the Michelin Green Star listing and the We're Smart Green Guide radish entry.
Set menus rotate entirely with the harvest from the kitchen garden and food forest, with seasonality named as a founding principle.
Set menus of four, five or six courses follow the harvest cycle, with suppliers' produce taken when in prime. Seasonality is named as a founding principle of the kitchen in the Michelin Green Star listing, in the We're Smart Green Guide entry and in multiple independent profiles. Chef Meinderts publicly associates his cooking with what the land gives through the cycle of the year.
Greenhouse built from reclaimed materials, dining-room tables and bar from local wood, water served via filtered tap system.
The greenhouse was constructed largely from reclaimed materials on a two hectare estate. Dining-room tables and the bar are made from local wood. Water is served via the Merk Water filtered tap system rather than bottled supply. Multiple specific practices are named across packaging and the building fabric.
The Michelin Green Star validates the circular framing overall. No explicit food waste partner, composting programme, or energy measure (solar, renewable contract) is documented in available sources, which holds the dimension short of the Level 5 multi-area and measurable bar.
Butcher Van Huisstede supplies Frisian Angus beef and northern Frisian lamb; fisherman Ale de Jager of Iel en Mear provides Frisian-waters catch in a twenty-year relationship; additional fish from Veltman.
Animal sourcing is fully named and traceable across both meat and fish categories. Butcher Van Huisstede in Dronrijp supplies Frisian Angus beef and lamb from northern Friesland. Fisherman Ale de Jager of Iel en Mear operates a vessel in Frisian waters and supplies the catch in a relationship spanning nearly twenty years; the kitchen also works with Veltman for additional fresh fish.
The Michelin Green Star citation frames conscious sourcing as a basis for the award, and the chef has explicitly stated that responsible cooking does not mean avoiding meat or fish but choosing how it is sourced and treated. Formal certifications (MSC, ASC, Beter Leven, organic) are not directly documented in available sources, which holds the dimension short of full Level 5 validation.
Strongest source smakenvan.nl
Guest lectures and demonstrations for young chefs; regional economic development support via Versnellingsagenda subsidy; durable twenty-year supplier relationship.
The local Eastermar press describes guest lectures and demonstrations for young chefs as part of the restaurant's contribution to the trade. The opening of the restaurant received Versnellingsagenda subsidy support tied to regional economic development in Eastermar. The twenty year supplier relationship with Iel en Mear suggests durable supplier ethics.
We're Smart Green Guide rates the kitchen at four to five radishes for Pure Plant cooking; full set menu available in fully plant-based version on request with no advance notice.
The We're Smart Green Guide rates the kitchen at four to five radishes and describes the team as having perfected 'Pure Plant cooking', with a vegetable-focussed menu. The full set menu (four, five or six courses) is available in a fully plant-based version on request, with no advance notice required.
The kitchen garden, pick-your-own beds and food forest position vegetables and plants as the foundation of the menu structure. Chef Meinderts frames the regular menu as a healthy balance of plant components and animal proteins rather than plant-dominant by definition, which holds the dimension short of Level 5 fully-plant-forward identity.
Sourcing signals
✓
Direct named-farm sourcing
Two hectare estate with on-site kitchen garden, pick-your-own beds and adjoining food forest, described as the primary source of produce with direct harvesting on the day of service.
Named, traceable suppliers across main categories: Van Huisstede (Dronrijp) for Frisian Angus beef and lamb, Iel en Mear (Ale de Jager) for Frisian-waters fish in a twenty-year relationship, Voedselbos De Iest for food forest produce.
