SuppliersI can’t speak for the whole of Holland, but in the south it’s not easy to source very good quality ingredients, or indeed anything that’s not considered “normal” by Dutch standards. Over the years i have come across some great places where you can buy all kinds of local/seasonal/organic produce, and so to try and gather them all together i have included them on this page. 
One of two coffee houses in the same street, but the only one worth mentioning. If you’re passing here i recommend a Cappuccino Extra with a double shot of espresso; just what you need on a Saturday morning… You can also follow the lovley ladies who work there on twitter: @KaldiTilburg. They have an excellent selection of tea which my wife loves, although she prefers that *other* coffee house to get a white hot chocolate. WILLEM II STRAAT 68 5038BJ TILBURG 
Open since 1906, this is the most exciting butcher in the area. When you walk in there are rings of house smoked sausages, legs of smoked ham and pork belly; the smell is intense and makes you immediately hungry. Essential things to try: ontbijtspek (smoked belly pork), rauweham (cured and smoked leg of pork), zure zult (not sure, brawn nlike). Excellent beef and veal. If you’re there in the Autumn, you can buy some of the best homemade blood sausage i’ve ever tasted. Lejeune BV Slagerij Jean Willem II Straat 84 5038BJ Tilburg 013-5423894 @SlagerijLeJeune 
A much more modern butcher, everything is very good including cured products but not quite as upmarket as Lejeune. Best things to buy here; huge chunks of pork; belly, hams, legs, trotters, ribs and so on. Limousin beef, notably the oxtail is excellent but sometimes the rest of the animal is not hung for long enough. Beethovenlaan 265 5011 LH Tilburg Boxtel Market (Friday mornings, 08.00 – 12.00) “The chicken lady” (i must find out her actual name), sells excellent fresh poultry; label rouge chicken, quails, poussin, guinea fowl, duck. Also many frozen game animals. During the Autumn she always has fresh, locally shot game including pigeons, ducks, venisson, rabbit and hare. 
It’s a farm where they rear lambs and slaughter them. Lamb is available fresh if you can get in at slaughter time, otherwise frozen. I don’t get there very often since it’s out of my way, but they really do stock all parts of the lamb. Hoeve De MertelBiezenmortelsestraat 8 5074 PD Biezenmortel (gem. Haaren) http://www.hoevedemertel.nl Order online: http://beefensteak.nl – all kinds of meat, excellent beef from Belgium, Scotland, America. Delivered vacuum packed and frozen in polystyrene boxes. Not very environmentally friendly. 
This butcher can order anything, and i’m not joking. I’ve had everything from foie gras to Crépinette, veal cheeks, shins, tails and brains. This is also where i got the whole pig for my spit roast. Van den Eijnden Keurslager Oosterhof 4, 5283 BV Boxtel 
A recent discovery for me; 10 different natural flours, 6 of which are organic. The Spelt flour seems to have an unusually high gluten content. Also the organic white flour is naturally strong. Yellow maize is excellent here. Kerkhovensemolen Langvennen-Oost 120, 5061 DR Oisterwijk. http://www.kerkhovensemolen.nl/meelproducten.htm I’m always skeptical of fruit and vegetables in Holland; the vegetables always seem to have been held at a very low temperature for a long time, onions especially are often rotten inside. I’m yet to find a really good vegetable shop around Tilburg, the ones which exist are often dual purpose; selling only a small amount of fruits and vegetables compared to salads, spreads and so on. As a rule, i try to get to the Saturday market in the center of Tilburg, here are several stalls selling excellent fresh products, including a very good organic stall. There are also seasonal temporary stalls for asparagus, strawberries etc. |
I love food; cooking it, eating it and having prentious and mildly competative conversations about it. I also play guitar and enjoy the occasional glass of wine or seven. Based in Tilburg, NL, this blog follows my adventures in food and cooking, trying to eat well in a land where you can buy a horse paste sausage from a vending machine. For quality suppliers in and around the Tilburg area, see my page on Suppliers. CHICKEN AND RED WINE? Click here for my post on roast chicken and red wine |
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