3 - Endorsed
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The menu is rewritten roughly every three months so that dishes follow what is in season. The kitchen is entirely plant based, with no meat, fish, dairy or eggs used at all, so no animal products pass through it. Vegetables, legumes and plant proteins carry every dish on the card, with beetroot, cauliflower, asparagus and carrot treated as the centre of a plate rather than as a side.
The restaurant holds the Lekker Vega gold seal from the Dutch vegetarian association, which is awarded to menus that are fully vegetarian with at least half the dishes plant based. This kitchen goes beyond that mark and is fully vegan.
The impact dimensions
Low waste & circular practices
Sustainable animal products
Local suppliers for fries, plant-based cheese and craft beer from two regional breweries.
Two verifiable local supplier relationships appear in independent regional coverage: Patat & More in Zoetermeer, which sources small-scale grown potatoes from the Rotterdam region for the kitchen's fries, and ROEM in Zoetermeer and Kaapse in Rotterdam for beer. Both are documented in local business coverage, and the owner is reported as prioritising local sourcing where feasible.
The menu rests on international branded plant-based alternatives such as Beyond and Redefine Meat for its protein base, and no grower, market gardener or produce supplier is named for vegetables and legumes. The named local relationships sit below the scale 3 threshold of roughly 30 to 50 percent local or regional sourcing across key ingredient categories.
Menu is rewritten every three months to align with Dutch seasonal produce availability.
The restaurant publishes that the menu is rewritten every three months, a statement confirmed in regional coverage, where it is paired with specific seasonal dishes such as asparagus and cauliflower that follow the Dutch growing calendar. The menu change frequency meets the level 3 threshold of regular seasonal engagement.
Local coverage corroborates the seasonal approach and describes a kitchen building dishes around what is in season. No archived menu series or third-party tracking of the menu cycle is available to independently confirm the regularity. The evidence is concrete but self-declared, holding the score at level 3 rather than higher.
One documented waste practice: biodegradable disposables for the food truck and catering service.
The restaurant's food truck and catering service documentation states that everything is served on biodegradable disposables and describes the operation as against food waste. The owner positions a commitment to working with daily fresh produce and minimal waste.
This places one documented practice in packaging and a stated position on food waste, but neither is specified further: no waste partner is named, no separation or composting scheme is described, and no scope is given for disposables within the restaurant building itself. The 100 percent plant-based menu structurally removes animal products from the supply chain, though this is credited separately in dimensions four and six and is not itself a circular or waste practice.
Not applicable. The restaurant is 100% plant-based; no meat, poultry, fish or seafood appears on any menu.
The kitchen is fully plant-based by design and independently confirmed, so no animal products including meat, poultry, fish or seafood pass through any menu format: the restaurant dining room, the food truck, and catering services all operate with exclusively plant-based ingredients. The Dutch vegetarian association awards this kitchen the Lekker Vega gold seal and confirms a fully vegan menu. Dimension 4 does not apply, and the overall planet rating is calculated across the five remaining dimensions.
Strongest source vegetariers.nl
Owner's philosophy centres on wellbeing for people and animals; participates in local community initiatives.
The restaurant is named after Bhutan's ministry of happiness, and the owner's founding motivation is documented in regional coverage as rooted in a philosophy where both people and animals are better off. The owner is recorded as participating in joint initiatives with other Dorpsstraat businesses, including a local walking event, and describes a longer term vision to support a sanctuary for rescued animals.
These commitments are incidental and forward-looking rather than named, recurring social engagement with a partner organisation or documented employment practices, training programme or wage structure. The owner's personal philosophy appears public, but no structured, ongoing social programme beyond local community participation is documented. Level 2 reflects the presence of social themes without the specificity and depth required for higher scores.
Fully plant-based menu by design and identity; no animal products on any menu. Vegetables and legumes are central, supported by branded plant-based alternatives for comfort-food dishes.
The kitchen is fully plant-based by design and is the restaurant's public identity as Zoetermeer's first vegan restaurant, confirmed across independent regional press coverage and the Dutch vegetarian association's listing. No meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs or animal products of any kind pass through the kitchen. The menu is described as rewritten every three months to follow seasonal availability of vegetables and legumes.
The card pairs vegetables treated as the centre of plates, beetroot carpaccio, carrot cured as salmon, cauliflower, asparagus, hummus and paella, with comfort dishes built on branded plant-based alternatives such as Beyond and Redefine Meat. Vegetables and legumes are equally central to the menu's identity. Level 5 is met on founding identity, menu structure, and independent confirmation from the vegetarian sector.
Strongest source vegetariers.nl
