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Contraste Food Identity independently researched
Food Identity independently researched Researched

Contraste

A waterside wine restaurant in Hoogmade where a daily-changing chef's menu is built around the kitchen garden and matched glass for glass by the sommelier.

The essentials, at a glance

AllergiesNot published Ask the kitchen ahead
Documented practices
Independently
researched
Local sourcing
Seasonal cooking
Low waste
Sustainable meat/fish

Style
Fine dining
Cosy
Cuisine
Dutch
International
Good to know
Terrace
Recognised by
Dutch Cuisine Slow Food·Alliance of Cooks

The delicious details

Contraste is a wine restaurant on the water in the village of Hoogmade, run by chef Kenneth Tjong Ayong and sommelier Paulien van Wieringen. There is no menu card: guests are served a chef's menu that changes with what the kitchen garden and the seasons offer, each course matched to a wine chosen by the sommelier.

The setting is a relaxed, waterside dining room and terrace that can even be reached by boat, with unhurried, personal hospitality at its heart. The cooking leans on honest ingredients from named regional producers and the restaurant's own vegetable garden, with whole-animal, low-waste preparation running through the kitchen. It is a place built around pairing food and wine with care, close to where the ingredients grow.

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

Contraste works to a single daily chef's menu, so each visit follows the harvest from the garden in Hoogmade and the best of what regional suppliers bring in. Vegetables from the kitchen garden lead many courses, alongside carefully sourced meat such as Groene Hart beef and Livar pork, and seasonal fish with a preference for bycatch. Each course is served with a wine pairing selected by the sommelier.

Cuisine
Dutch
International
Impact score
How this restaurant rates
4 - Recognised

Contraste brings together documented practice across several areas of responsible kitchen work. Much of the menu is built on local and direct sourcing: named regional producers supply the meat, cheese and fish, from Groene Hart beef through village cheese farms to seasonal fish from IJmuiden, and the restaurant grows its own vegetables in a garden in Hoogmade.

The cooking follows the seasons closely, with a chef's menu that changes as the garden and the year move on. In the kitchen, a low-waste approach uses whole animals and whole vegetables to keep what is discarded to a minimum, and animal products are chosen with care, including welfare-focused Livar pork and fish landed with a preference for bycatch.

The restaurant is a member of Dutch Cuisine and part of the Slow Food chefs' network, both of which recognise a commitment to local, seasonal and responsible cooking.

The impact dimensions
Local & direct sourcing✓
Seasonal cooking✓
Low waste & circular practices✓
Sustainable animal products✓
Social impact
Plant-forward menu

Extensive direct sourcing from named regional suppliers including Groene Hart beef, Livar pork, fish from IJmuiden and vegetables from the restaurant's own garden in Hoogmade.

The restaurant names numerous specific regional producers: Groene Hart Rund beef via a local butcher, Livar pork, wild game from Pieter van Meel, cheeses from village cheese farms in Hoogmade and Rijpwetering, fish from Nico Waasdorp in IJmuiden, and coffee from a Leiden roaster. The restaurant grows its own vegetables in a garden in Hoogmade. The restaurant's detailed sourcing page is corroborated by its Dutch Cuisine membership and Gault&Millau coverage.

Strongest sourcecontraste.nl ↗

The chef's menu changes daily with what the kitchen garden and the season provide.

Seasonality is central to the concept. There is no fixed menu card; the chef's menu changes regularly with what the kitchen garden and the season provide. This is corroborated by the restaurant's Dutch Cuisine listing.

Strongest sourcecontraste.nl ↗

The kitchen works nose-to-tail and whole-product with a no-waste methodology, using entire products rather than convenience bases.

The restaurant describes a no-waste methodology using entire products nose-to-tail, with a garden-harvest-driven menu framed as less waste, more surprise. This is a clearly described practice.

Strongest sourcecontraste.nl ↗

Locally raised Groene Hart beef, welfare-focused Livar pork, Dutch wild game and seasonal bycatch fish are chosen with attention to provenance and animal welfare.

Animal products are chosen with attention to provenance and welfare: locally raised Groene Hart Rund beef, welfare-focused Livar pork (taste as a reward for good care), Dutch-sourced wild game, and seasonal fish from a named fishmonger with a stated preference for sustainably caught bycatch. No foie gras is found on any menu. Named quality programmes (Livar) and a bycatch preference are documented.

Strongest sourcecontraste.nl ↗

Fair-trade coffee sourced from a Leiden roaster; staff-wellbeing coaching aimed at calmer kitchen and warmer hospitality.

Fair-trade coffee sourcing and a staff-wellbeing coaching programme aimed at a calmer kitchen and warmer hospitality are documented.

Strongest sourcecontraste.nl ↗

Vegetables from the kitchen garden are prominent across the chef's menu, which changes with the season.

Vegetables from the kitchen garden are prominent and often lead the chef's menu, and local seasonal produce is emphasised.

Strongest sourcecontraste.nl ↗
Sourcing signals
✓
Own-grown produce
✓
Direct named-farm sourcing
✓
Fair-trade commodities
✓
Low-impact beverage program

On-site vegetable garden in Hoogmade supplies seasonal produce that drives the chef's menu.

Direct sourcing from Groene Hart Rund via local butcher, Livar pork, wild game, named cheese farms and fish from IJmuiden.

Fair-trade coffee sourced from Borgman in Leiden.

Organic and biodynamic wines prioritised with European sourcing; specialty coffee and herbal teas from regional suppliers.

Visit & practical info
Address, price, and more
Address
Kerkstraat 22, 2355 AE Hoogmade, Hoogmade, Netherlands
Open in Google Maps ↗
Price
€€€
Format
Chef's menu by arrangement
Hours
MondayClosed
TuesdayClosed
Wednesday18:00–22:00
Thursday18:00–22:00
Friday12:30–15:30, 18:00–22:00
Saturday12:30–15:30, 18:00–22:00
SundayClosed
Style
Fine dining
Cosy
Good to know
Terrace
Web
contraste.nl
Reserve a table
Reviewed by My Treats
Last reviewed 27 Jul 2026
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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.
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.

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
—
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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