Ministerial canteens in The Hague will be serving only Dutch food this week in an attempt to promote the country’s homegrown products, the Telegraaf reported on Monday.
But apart from potatoes from Zeeland and boerenkool, the (H)eerlijke Hollandse Hap (good honest Dutch grub) week also includes Hungarian goulash soup, Thai curry soup and Greek filo pastries, the paper said.
According to junior farm minister Jean Rummenie, the dishes may not sound Dutch but they are “made with all Dutch ingredients”, including Dutch bell peppers instead of Spanish ones, and Dutch beef rather than meat imported from South America.
“We hope to set a standard and challenge everyone to follow our example. Locally produced seasonal food is cheaper and more sustainable,” he said.
The campaign is the result of a motion tabled last year by far right MP Jeanet Nijhof-Leeuw, pushing for more visibility of Dutch produce and products by labelling them with Dutch flags.
Agriculture minister Femke Wiersma said it would take time and effort to convince professional caterers and supermarkets to focus on locally produced food.
She said she hoped that initiatives such as the Blue Food Centrum in Den Oever, which is promoting sustainability by processing locally caught fish, would also help.
At the moment, some 90% of fish is exported while fish from far-flung countries is being imported.
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