3 - Endorsed
i
The impact dimensions
Low waste & circular practices
Sustainable animal products
Boer & Chef cooperative aggregates over 50 growers across Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe; two suppliers are named and visited by the kitchen team.
Chef Arjen de Vries states that local purchasing is essential to the kitchen because it raises quality and freshness and supports regional farmers. The restaurant buys through Boer & Chef, a cooperative that links more than fifty growers directly to chefs across northern districts.
Two growers are named and visited in person: Bakker Bio in Munnekezijl, a biodynamic vegetable farm, and Meinardi in Sappemeer, which grows asparagus and strawberries. Groningen beef appears on the lunch carpaccio, bread from a local bakery, and Groningen mustard with the croquettes. Meat, fish, dairy and bakery sourcing beyond these examples carry only regional labelling or none.
Strongest source Restaurant submission
Soup and salad shift seasonally; a daily special from 17:00 is built around current produce, with named seasonal intake documented from growers.
Seasonality shapes part of the card rather than decoration. The lunch and dinner lists carry a soup of the season and a changing salad as a side, and the restaurant states that the kitchen is inspired by what the season and the direct suppliers offer. A rotating chef's special from 17:00 is built around seasonal availability.
Seasonal intake is documented rather than only claimed: asparagus and strawberries from Meinardi, and more than 50kg of pumpkins arriving from Bakker Bio in autumn 2024. No archived menu comparison was available to confirm how often the standing dishes change, which holds confidence at medium.
Strongest source Restaurant submission
Head-to-tail whole-product cooking is practised across the kitchen; suppliers are chosen for reduced packaging and transport impact.
One concrete practice is described in the food-waste sub-area: whole-product cooking, stated as creative use of the entire product from head to tail rather than only its obvious parts. On packaging, suppliers are described as selected for reducing CO2, limiting plastic packaging and improving logistics, which reflects the suppliers' own practice rather than a named measure on the restaurant's own floor.
No energy measure, composting scheme, surplus-food partner or measured waste target attributable to the restaurant was found. The adjacent Mercure Hotel holds a Green Key certificate, but no certification was confirmed for the restaurant itself.
Strongest source Restaurant submission
Beef on the lunch carpaccio is labelled as Groningen beef; all other meat and fish are untraced, with no welfare labels, certifications or fishing methods named.
The animal range is broad and the sourcing signal behind it is thin. Beef on the lunch carpaccio is labelled as Groningen beef, a named region of origin with no named producer. Chicken roulade, veal croquettes, smoked salmon, smoked eel and red mullet all appear without a supplier, a welfare label or a fishing method.
No MSC, ASC, Beter Leven or organic certification is claimed for any animal product. Smoked eel warrants particular note: the European eel is a critically endangered species and no origin or sustainability qualification is given. Smoked salmon, a high-impact commodity, also carries no sustainability credential.
Strongest source Restaurant submission
Boer & Chef partnership supports regional farmers through fair returns; coffee roaster SMIT&DORLAS works to internationally recognised sourcing standards.
Social themes appear through the sourcing relationship only. Boer & Chef is a named cooperative whose stated purpose includes fair returns for regional farmers, and the chef frames the partnership as good for the planet and for local farmers. Coffee has come from roaster SMIT&DORLAS since September 2023, described as working to internationally recognised codes of conduct that support farmers worldwide.
Both are supplier-side framings of a purchasing decision already credited under sourcing, and neither is corroborated outside the restaurant's own channels. Nothing was found on employment practice, staff development, or community projects.
Strongest source Restaurant submission
Two of five dinner starters are vegetable-led; one of three mains is vegetarian; the rotating special is marked as available vegetarian. Lunch offers three vegetarian options among six savoury items.
Vegetables carry real weight without being the centre of gravity. On the dinner card, two of five starters are vegetable-led (red beet tartare, roasted tomato broth), and one of three fixed mains is vegetarian (halloumi with ratatouille). The rotating chef's special is marked as available vegetarian. Lunch is stronger: three of six savoury items are vegetarian or vegan (hummus with grilled vegetables marked vegan, buffalo mozzarella, vegetable croquettes).
Plant-forward intent is acknowledged through Dutch Cuisine affiliation since 2023 and the stated priority on vegetables and regional produce. Vegetables are not the structural foundation of most dishes, and the vegan offer is limited to a single marked lunch item.
Strongest source Restaurant submission
Sourcing signals
✓
Direct named-farm sourcing
Bakker Bio in Munnekezijl (biodynamic vegetables, pumpkins) and Meinardi in Sappemeer (asparagus, strawberries) are visited by the kitchen team and reached through Boer & Chef, the northern short-chain cooperative aggregating over fifty regional suppliers.