Hof aan Zee

From the large parking lot (paid parking), we cross the walking path to reach restaurant Hof aan Zee. During the season, you find yourself among beachgoers, as the beach is close by on the other side of the dunes. That is also the foraging area where owner-chef Marcel Meijer and his team gather wild herbs and flowers. A serene calm prevails in the kitchen; everyone is busy preparing a component of a dish. One by one, the sous-chefs come out to explain each dish. We are impressed by the quality of the ingredients, such as Kalix löjrom and the very fine orange fish roe from the maren, a salmon-like fish from the Gulf of Bothnia. An expensive top-tier product that we see generously featured in a layered dish of sunflower seed muesli, egg yolk cream, pickled shallots, cauliflower florets, and creamy potato mousseline. Please insert the spoon to the bottom of the bowl so you can taste all the layers mixed together. Delicious. Kudos as well for the way the large langoustine tail is prepared. Pan-fried on one side in a cast-iron skillet and still slightly raw inside, allowing the delicate flavor to shine optimally. Mangalica pork lardo rests over it like a blanket. The wine, poured by the lovely hostess and sommelier Irma Goedbloed, is a pale yellow Mâcon-Uchizy Bourgogne by Raphaël Sallet. Floral with beautiful floral notes and light saline hints that pair excellently with the fish. Hof aan Zee is growing and flourishing, and that completely justifies the steep price.

At the foot of the broad dunes near Dishoek beach on Walcheren in Zeeland lies the small post-war Nordic-style farmhouse Hof aan Zee. At this lovely location, Chef Marcel Meijer serves a Zeeland cuisine based on Nordic in...

The location of Hof aan Zee, a pleasant restaurant housed in a Scandinavian post-war reconstruction farmhouse, is beautiful right at the foot of the dunes near Koudekerke. These farms were established after the Second World War to revive agriculture and livestock farming, and this particular one was a gift from Scandinavia. Chef Marcel Meijer has embraced Nordic cuisine, so everything fits together perfectly. Once again, we are pleasantly surprised by what the kitchen has to offer. Every dish is exquisitely seasoned, and leftovers find their way to the plates in creative ways. We start with the appetizer, a local catch: the pieterman (stone lobster). Cold-smoked and lightly cured, then sliced thinly. Draped over paper-thin slices of raw zucchini. Dressed with rose vinegar and smoked olive oil, accompanied by a quince kombucha. Wild garlic capers—flowers of wild garlic pickled in a sweet brine—and red horn seaweed add a lovely flavor. The presentation is stunning. Just as flavorful is the savoy cabbage, cored and pan-fried in butter. A 'tea' is brewed from the core and other scraps of the cabbage, then reduced into a robust sauce, to which whey from the butter-churning process is added. Delicious, but what truly elevates this dish is the venison salt. It is made from scraps of smoked and salted venison that are dried out. These are then grated into flakes and used as a seasoning. We find this clever use of leftovers absolutely ingenious. And it tastes great too. Anything foraged locally makes its way straight into the kitchen. For example, wild rose leaves are used to brew a kombucha. It can be enjoyed as a beverage, but also works wonderfully in sauces. We indulge in a refreshing dessert of rhubarb sorbet topped with slices of rhubarb preserved in rhubarb kombucha. Beside it sits a creamy diplomat cream (a delightful discovery) made from whipped cream and heavy cream, infused with hay. Semi-liquid and incredibly delicious alongside the bright rhubarb elements. Beneath the dessert lies an almond crumble made from chunks of almonds coated in caramelized sugar. Creative and sustainable cooking is practiced here, and it’s wonderful to see: the joy radiates from every plate.

Just 500 meters from the North Sea, chef Marcel Meijer and hostess and sommelier Irma Goedbloed have established a beautiful restaurant. It is housed in Irma’s former family home, one of the so-called “relief farms” constructed after World War II and the 1953 flood disaster with support from Scandinavian countries. The interior is deeply inspired by Scandinavia, featuring abundant wood, sheepskins, and a concrete floor. Marcel’s fine dining cooking style shares a similar affinity. Nordic cuisine is the order of the day here. Fermentation, drying, and smoking take place in-house, and they collaborate closely with local organic farmers and fishermen. Many techniques were acquired by Marcel and his team in Scandinavia and are now being applied in Zeeland. Waste is minimized, and there are plans to establish a food forest. The dishes served are colorful without being overly decorated. Every cooking technique is executed flawlessly. We taste tender and crispy, salty and fresh. The juices available to accompany the meals are vegetable-based and unsweetened. The amuse-bouche of crisp mushroom sablé with goji berries, topped with creamy mackerel rillette, holds great promise. La Louvetrie, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine from winemaker Jo Landron, a fresh and lively wine, is an excellent pairing for the starter of cucumber and marinated shrimp tartare served alongside a broth of lacto-fermented green vegetables and dill oil. We taste the sea in all its facets. Charcoal-grilled monkfish glazed with black garlic is a genuine flavor explosion. Accompanying it is finely sliced grilled savoy cabbage in a sauce based on beurre blanc and koji water, garnished with grilled wild garlic leaves and a few super-tender mussels. The dessert of goat yogurt ice cream with shepherd’s purse and puffed buckwheat with honey is equally delightful. Hof aan Zee is becoming a culinary destination for enthusiasts of pure, progressive cuisine delivered with a highly welcoming approach. Welcome to Lekker.