My Treats ← Food Identity portal
Search restaurants About Methodology Contact
Restaurant Vannu Food Identity independently researched
Food Identity How restaurants source, cook and care. Independently researched

Restaurant Vannu

Fully plant-based fine dining in a converted 1953 inn near Breda, where chef Gijs Kemmeren transforms seasonal Dutch vegetables through fermentation, drying and meticulous technique.

Food Identity How restaurants source, cook and care. Independently researched

Restaurant Vannu

Fully plant-based fine dining in a converted 1953 inn near Breda, where chef Gijs Kemmeren transforms seasonal Dutch vegetables through fermentation, drying and meticulous technique.

The essentials, at a glance


Documented practices
Independently
researched
Seasonal cooking
Low waste
Plant-forward menu
Health-intentional kitchen

Documented practices

Seasonal cooking Seasonal menu reflecting Dutch crop availability
Low waste Vegetable scraps and liquids fermented into flavouring
Plant-forward menu Vegetable Restaurant of the Year 2025
Health-intentional kitchen Specific health practices named in at least one sub-area

Style
Fine dining
Cuisine
Dutch
Good to know
Terrace
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide
Recognised by
We're Smart Green Guide·5 radishes

The delicious details

Chef Gijs Kemmeren and host Iris Saaman opened Vannu in 2023 in a converted 1953 inn at the edge of the Ulvenhoutse forest, near Breda. The kitchen is entirely plant-based, with vegetables, fruits and seeds forming the foundation of every course.

Kemmeren draws on fifteen years of fermentation, smoking and drying to coax depth from seasonal Dutch produce; his dry-aged beetroot technique is now used in restaurants across the Netherlands. Saaman pairs each course with inventive non-alcoholic drinks made from walnut leaf, blueberry and black tea.

The team makes everything from scratch, including plant milks and vegan cheeses ripened with specialist moulds. The warm dining room features an open kitchen, with a terrace looking out over the surrounding forest.

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

Three to six course tasting menu, entirely plant-based. Vegetables are transformed through fermentation, drying, smoking and ageing to develop savoury depth; the signature dry-aged beetroot applies preservation techniques to concentrate flavour. All dairy alternatives and non-alcoholic pairings are made in-house from whole ingredients without additives.

Cuisine

Dutch

Dietary options

Vegetarian options
Fully plant-based
Gluten-free options
Dairy-free options

Health-intentional kitchen

Specific health practices named in at least one sub-area
Researched

The kitchen makes everything from scratch: plant milks, yoghurt, and vegan cheeses fermented from vegetable purées (celeriac, parsnip, parsley root) with specialist cultures in temperature-controlled chambers. Tomato brine is re-fermented weekly from vegetable scraps. The dry-aged beetroot technique applies preservation methods to concentrate flavour. No pre-made components are used, and all dishes are made without additives.

Vannu participates in Samen Smaak Maken, a Kidney Foundation initiative for salt reduction in restaurant cooking. The chef emphasises that vegetables without additives can become complete plate components, though refined sugar is used in some preparations. Independent sources describe the approach as having 'a clear view for nourishment, comfort and savoury', but the framing is culinary rather than explicitly health-focused.

Allergies & intolerances
How this kitchen handles the EU-14 allergens
Handled on request
Public sources point to a working level of allergen accommodation, but no dedicated preparation area. Treat this as a starting point and confirm directly.
Allergens named on public sources
PeanutTree nutsGlutenSoy
Ask about any allergen not shown. Kitchen separation isn't published. Ask directly if you need a trace-free dish.
Always confirm your allergy directly with the restaurant when booking.
Researched from public sources · restaurantvannu.nl · not yet confirmed by the restaurant
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
4 - Recognised

Vannu holds a Michelin Green Star for its commitment to sustainable gastronomy and appears in the We're Smart Green Guide. The kitchen minimises waste through fermentation, drying and preservation techniques that find purpose for vegetable trimmings and processing liquids; tomato fermentation liquid, for example, is re-fermented into complex flavouring rather than discarded.

The menu follows seasonal Dutch availability, changing with what regional growers and the wholesale supplier Rungis can provide.

Named Vegetable Restaurant of the Year 2025 by Gault&Millau, the restaurant's fully plant-based approach eliminates the environmental footprint associated with animal agriculture.

The impact dimensions

Local & direct sourcing

Seasonal cooking

Low waste & circular practices

Sustainable animal products

n/a

Social impact

Plant-forward menu

Rungis, a national wholesale distributor, supplies the kitchen with named contact persons (Francis and Gert Jan) providing product-origin transparency.

The kitchen's primary supplier is Rungis, a national wholesale distributor. Named contact persons (Francis and Gert Jan) at Rungis provide product-origin transparency. The restaurant also sources from 'local market gardeners', though no individual producers are named.

The Dutch menu reflects regional seasonal availability and the Michelin Green Star attests to the restaurant's sustainable sourcing commitment.

Strongest sourcerungis.nl ↗

The menu changes with Dutch seasonal availability, evidenced by dedicated seasonal dinners such as an asparagus menu in spring 2026.

Gault&Millau, Michelin, We're Smart Green Guide, and the chef's interview with Rungis all confirm seasonal cooking as a structural principle at Vannu. The menu changes with Dutch seasonal availability, evidenced by dedicated seasonal menus such as an asparagus dinner in spring 2026.

Chef Kemmeren explains that seasonal crop failures, such as the 2024 potato fungus and beet flood, directly impact the kitchen's planning, demonstrating genuine reliance on seasonal produce rather than decorative seasonality. Fermentation and preservation techniques extend seasonal ingredients beyond their harvest window, and the surprise menu format, with no fixed menu published online, supports regular menu rotation.

Strongest sourcerungis.nl ↗

The kitchen re-ferments vegetable processing liquids, such as tomato brine, into complex flavouring rather than discarding them, and makes all dairy alternatives in-house to reduce packaging waste.

Fermentation, drying, smoking and pickling are applied specifically to reduce waste, with fifteen years of technique development behind these practices. A key example is the re-fermentation of tomato processing liquid for use as complex flavouring rather than discarding it.

All dairy alternatives, plant milks, yoghurts, vegan cheeses, are made in-house from whole ingredients, reducing external packaging waste. The approach extends across the entire kitchen; Explore Breda and Entree Magazine confirm waste reduction as a stated principle.

Strongest sourcerungis.nl ↗

The restaurant is fully plant-based; meat, fish, poultry and seafood do not appear on the menu.

Restaurant Vannu is entirely plant-based. No meat, poultry, fish or seafood appears on any menu, including seasonal specials. The restaurant describes itself as a vegetable restaurant and is listed as 100% vegan by independent platforms including RestauPlant, HappyCow, and NovaCircle.

The plant-based approach is foundational to the restaurant's identity and values. All courses are built from vegetables, fruits and seeds, eliminating the environmental footprint associated with animal agriculture.

Strongest sourcerestaurantvannu.nl ↗

The restaurant participates in Samen Smaak Maken, a Kidney Foundation initiative to reduce salt in restaurant cooking.

Vannu participates in Samen Smaak Maken, a Kidney Foundation (Nierstichting) initiative focused on reducing salt in restaurant cooking. This is a named, verifiable partnership documented on the programme's website.

The restaurant's broader social engagement is not extensively documented in other areas, but the participation in this salt-reduction initiative reflects a commitment to responsible food practice and public health.

Strongest sourcesamensmaakmaken.nl ↗

Vannu is named Vegetable Restaurant of the Year 2025 by Gault&Millau, holds a Michelin Green Star, and appears in the We're Smart Green Guide.

Vannu is a fully plant-based restaurant where vegetables, fruits and seeds form every course. Named Vegetable Restaurant of the Year 2025 by Gault&Millau and awarded a Michelin Green Star for sustainable, innovative gastronomy, the restaurant appears in the We're Smart Green Guide and is listed as 100% vegan by RestauPlant, HappyCow, and NovaCircle.

Chef Kemmeren is publicly and consistently associated with plant-forward cooking; he invented the dry-aged beetroot technique now used across Dutch restaurants. The fully plant-based approach is foundational to the kitchen's identity and values, and no animal proteins appear in any course.

Strongest sourceWe're Smart Green Guide ↗
Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Gilzeweg 24, 4854 SG Bavel, Bavel, Netherlands
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€€
Format
Tasting menu, book in advance
Hours
MondayClosed
TuesdayClosed
Wednesday18:00–00:00
Thursday18:00–00:00
Friday18:00–00:00
Saturday12:00–16:30, 18:30–00:00
SundayClosed
Style
Fine dining
Good to know
Terrace
Web
restaurantvannu.nl
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 12 Apr 2026
To website
Link copied
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 an impact score 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.
Endorsed Meaningful practice across three or more dimensions.
Recognised Strong practice across four or more dimensions, with independent corroboration.
This place
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.

Scores of four or five 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
—
How this dimension works
—
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.
About• Contact• Methodology•