3 - Endorsed
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De Baeckermat, a farm restaurant and shop in the Zeeuws-Vlaanderen polders, draws its cooking from local sourcing, seasonal rhythms and named circular practices.
Sourcing sits closest to home: potatoes are grown on the family's own land and served in both the restaurant and the shop, vegetables come direct from farmers in the region, and the wider assortment is drawn from Zeeland and Flanders through a short, traceable chain. The kitchen follows the growing year rather than a fixed card alone, with a monthly seasonal suggestion menu built around regional vegetables and seasonal arrivals such as mussels and asparagus.
Waste and resources are handled through named partners. Business waste is separated with Renewi across paper, plastic and food streams, and the restaurant reports that 92 percent of all its waste is recycled. Plastic straws have been replaced with straws made from reed and wheat straw supplied by Straw by Straw, and the hygiene paper is Satino Greengrow, made from elephant grass grown locally by Filip Baecke of Cradlecrops. Two Agril rapid chargers serve electric cars and a solar powered station charges e-bikes at no cost. The grounds carry a bee hotel, plantings for wild bees, a pond for amphibians and a bat cellar.
The restaurant is listed by Dutch Cuisine, the Dutch charter for regional and seasonal cooking, and by the Dutch Vegetarian Association at bronze level.
The impact dimensions
Low waste & circular practices
Sustainable animal products
Own potatoes and direct farmer sourcing anchor the menu across key categories.
Local and direct sourcing is the founding idea of the business. The restaurant grew out of the Baecke family grain farm at Westdorpe and operates a van boer tot bord model in which potatoes come from the family's own soil and vegetables are bought direct from farmers in the region.
The Dutch Cuisine charter corroborates this sourcing posture independently, describing the farm shop as a collaboration of regional farmers working a short and transparent chain. Menu language is consistently regional, citing Zeeland and Flemish ingredients, with seasonal Zeeland mussels.
Monthly seasonal suggestion menu turns with the growing year; core menu changes seasonally.
Seasonality is a stated organising principle corroborated outside the restaurant's own channels. The Dutch Vegetarian Association describes a menu that changes with the season plus a monthly seasonal suggestion menu built mainly from local seasonal vegetables, and names seasonal arrivals including mussels, asparagus and strawberries.
92 percent waste recycling via Renewi across streams; reed and wheat straws, grass-based hygiene paper; EV and e-bike charging; onsite biodiversity.
The restaurant maintains a dedicated sustainability page describing specific, named practices. Business waste is separated with Renewi across paper, plastic and food streams, and 92 percent of waste is recycled. Plastic straws have been replaced with reed and wheat alternatives from Straw by Straw, and hygiene paper is Satino Greengrow, made from locally grown elephant grass.
Two Agril rapid charging points serve electric cars, and a solar powered e-bike charging station for 12 bikes was installed in July 2024 and is free to use. Onsite biodiversity measures include a bee hotel, plantings selected for wild bees, a pond supporting amphibians and a bat cellar.
Strongest source Restaurant submission
Zeeland mussels and regional meat are core to the menu, but no named butcher or fishmonger is identified.
The kitchen serves meat and fish as core offerings: ribs, steaks, pork, beef and carpaccio, alongside seasonal Zeeland mussels and fruits de mer. The sourcing picture narrows beyond generic claims, meat is described as region specific and the mussels carry a named species with genuine regional provenance, but no butcher, fishmonger or farm is named.
Strongest source Restaurant submission
Family-run collaboration of regional farmers on a short, transparent chain; partnership with local makers.
Social themes appear through the supplier relationship and business structure rather than a named programme. The Dutch Cuisine listing describes the farm shop as a collaboration of regional farmers built on a short and transparent chain that strengthens the viability of the countryside. The restaurant is family owned and run by two sisters across generations, and stocks work by local makers alongside food.
At least 30 percent of every menu category is vegetarian or vegan; dedicated plant section with seasonal vegetable suggestions.
The Dutch Vegetarian Association lists the restaurant at bronze level, defined as a menu carrying at least 30 percent vegetarian or plant based dishes in every category. The menu carries a dedicated Vegetarisch en Vegan section, so vegan options are on the standing card, and the seasonal menu consists mainly of local seasonal vegetables. The restaurant is also listed by Dutch Cuisine, whose charter carries a vegetable-led proportion principle.
Sourcing signals
Potatoes are grown on the family's own arable land and used in both the restaurant kitchen and the farm shop; the business began as a potato farm and the practice continues two generations on. Herbs from the restaurant's own garden are also used.
