142 143 All of these plants have the potential to enhance biodiversity, reduce our dependence on imported goods, and introduce bold new flavours to our gastronomy. It’s about embracing the multicultural plant society that nature offers us and making it part of our culinary identity. In considering your philosophy, it occurs to me that educating people’s taste for new experiences, and thus change, comes through the kitchen, and therefore that cooks have great responsibility. Besides your dishes, there must be other channels or tools that are necessary to communicate your ideas. I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunities I have, to share these ideas through podcasts, interviews, television, and, most recently, my first cookbook. These platforms allow me to reach a wider audience and bring the conversation about botanical gastronomy, responsibility, sustainability, and biodiversity beyond the walls of De Nieuwe Winkel. But the single most important condition that makes all of this possible is that we must ensure we are the very best at what we do. That’s the key to having real impact. If we were just a friendly neighborhood restaurant, no one would be talking about this. Excellence creates influence. When a restaurant is recognised at the highest level, people listen – not just diners, but also farmers, producers, and even policymakers. That’s why our focus is always on making plant-based cuisine not just sustainable, but undeniably delicious and world-class. If we can prove that botanical gastronomy can stand shoulder to shoulder with the very best kitchens in the world, then change follows naturally. So yes, I use every channel available to share these ideas, but in the end, the most powerful tool remains the food itself. If we can seduce people through taste, we don’t need to convince them with words. That’s where the real transformation happens. In this era of transformation – of political, climatic, and social transitions – I cannot help but ask (secretly hoping for a word of comfort) one of the acknowledged pioneers of sustainability in his field to predict what botanical gastronomy will be like in ten years. A decade is a relatively short period when it comes to major transitions. If we look at the great social shifts in modern history – whether it’s the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, or the civil rights movement in America – these were long processes. The pioneers who initiated them rarely lived to see the full realisation of their vision. And yet, when we look back, we tend to think of these changes as inevitable. But they weren’t. They happened because people committed themselves fully to making them happen. Nothing about progress is automatic: it requires moral ambition, dedication, persistence, and often a willingness to push against the norm. The same applies to botanical gastronomy. In ten years, we won’t yet be at the point where it is the default. But I do believe it will have secured its place as an undeniable part of the culinary landscape. Right now, plant-based cuisine is still something that sparks debate, something people feel the need to argue for or against. I expect that in a decade, it will be far less controversial, simply part of the natural evolution of how we eat. What excites me most is the thought of what kind of incredible food will emerge once the world’s greatest culinary masterminds will start focusing on plant-based gastronomy. We are only at the beginning, and already we are discovering new flavours, techniques, and possibilities that challenge everything we thought we knew about cooking. If more top chefs around the world will dedicate themselves to this shift, I can only imagine the extraordinary, delicious food that will follow. Because in the end, the best way to transform how people eat is not by telling them why they should, but by making it irresistible. And this kind of pedagogical practice – more than anything – will drive real change.
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