Rotterdamse Keuken! 🏙

A goodbye letter for Rotterdam

As most of you know by now we are a Rotterdam-based newsletter. All the past Edits have been written in small student rooms in the neighborhoods of Scheepsvaartkwartier, Oude Noorden, Middeland, and Kralingen. This period is, unfortunately, coming to an end.

For four years I have been able to stroll around the hectic streets of Rotterdam. I came here to do a bachelor's that is now, after 4 years, almost finished. This means a new challenge sets upon the horizon and I’m going to swap this city with skyscrapers with a place that is roughly 15 times smaller, Wageningen.

Since food has played a dominant role throughout my life I was constantly in search of the best food and drink spots from the moment I lived in Rotterdam. Sometimes alone or with friends but most often with my co-writer and friend Stefan. Rotterdam is a remarkable city with a forever-changing landscape in the culinary scene and a consistent stream of new restaurants and food places. However, after four years I’m confident to say that I now know some of the best food spots in Rotterdam and around. Will I share this? We’ll see…

Stefan on the hunt for an orange wine…

So where are we going with this huh? Well, with the end in sight of my time living in the beautiful city of Rotterdam, it’s time to put this amazing multicultural city in the spotlight. Today we are going to discover where it all began and retrace the steps of some Rotterdammers and typical Rotterdamse dishes that left their mark on the Rotterdam cuisine.

History of Rotterdam

The history of the Rotterdamse cuisine starts around 1850 when Rotterdam grew into a true metropolis because of its location. Antwerp was the major port city of Europe for a vast period of time. Around 1850 Belgium became separate from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands however the Dutch decided to levy toll on the ships to and from Antwerp. This resulted in the birth of a new port city…Rotterdam!

Rotterdam around 1850

Rotterdam was already a port city and was heavily used by the Dutch in times of the VOC. However, with the closing of the port of Antwerp Rotterdam grew rapidly. Around 1864 the port of Rotterdam became modernized with new waterways, channels, and machines. The old ports of Rotterdam are still in existence however it isn’t in use anymore.

Zalmhuis

Fishing was the main activity before the modernization of the port. The tradition of fishing held on even after the modernization, however, it also made its transformation. For example, around 1863 the Zalmhuis was built by Adriaan Dekkers. It became a covered market for the sale of salmon, pollan, herring, and other sweet water fishes. The building still exists today, however, it has fulfilled a new purpose as a flashy cocktail bar and restaurant.

Zalmhuis

The years that followed aren’t very spectacular. Rotterdam kept on growing quite steadily. Around 1877 the first train was installed in Feijenoord that ran over an aerial railway right through the city center. In 1920 the impressive City House was built on the Coolsingel that is still in use today.

The Dutch Chinese

During these years one groundbreaking happened in Rotterdam that made a big impact on the culinary world of the Netherlands. With Rotterdam becoming an international port, migrants came. One of the first group of migrants to adapt to the Netherlands were the Chinese. This resulted in the opening of Cheung Kwok Low in Katendrecht, the very first Chinese restaurant in the Netherlands. In the years that followed the Netherlands saw a lot of Chinese restaurants opening their doors. Today, Chinese restaurants have taken an iconic status in the Netherlands because of the food they serve. It is a mix of Chinese, Indonesian and Surinamese dishes.

A Dutch family dining at a Chinese restaurant

After the Second World War Rotterdam saw a revival in the culinary world. The city was (almost) completely bombed to the ground in 1940 by German bombers. Citizens had lost their homes and often work. The city had to start all over again, new roads had to be built, new buildings were constructed and the port had to be brought back to its former glory.

During the rebuild of Rotterdam, Rotterdam lived in poverty. Typical Dutch dishes like ‘stamppot’ (endive, potatoes, and smoked sausage), captain’s dinner, and ‘hutspot’ (potatoes, carrot, and union) were often featured on the plates of Dutch households. However, in Rotterdam, a new and rather unique sort of poverty food rose in popularity. So unique, some Dutch people don’t even know it.

More than Milk

Uierboord or Koeietiet or Volksfricandeau or Arbeidersbiefstuk became very popular around 1950 in Rotterdam. Uierboord is a meat cut that comes from the udder of a cow. The main reason why this became popular was because of its price point. The udder is usually seen as waste and so it comes very cheaply. The meat was very expensive at that time, only one-fifth of Rotterdammers could actually afford meat. With the rising popularity of Uierboord, meat was back on the menu.

The udder would serve multiple functions, such as topping for a sandwich or it would serve as main. For the topping, the meat was thinly sliced, seasoned with pepper and salt, and finally placed between two slices of bread. For dinner, you would treat it the exact same way as a normal steak, bake it in a pan with a lot of butter.

Uierbroord being prepared in a pan.

After 1950 the popularity of the dish drastically decreased. This might be due to the overall taste of the dish, it’s very fatty and not that tasty. In addition to that, you run the risk of making your whole house smell like boiled milk… Not that pleasant.

However, in 1990 Uierboord made its return! Multiple restaurants in Rotterdam started to feature the ingredients in salads or as a sort of carpaccio. Because of its history, it had created a sentimental and emotional value and people began chasing that. Quite recently it was even featured on live television where the two Rotterdamse chefs Job & Perry showed how to prepare Uierboord.

In proletarisch
Rotterdam

gold uierboord
als godenspijs

waarvoor men met
een pannetje

bij de slager in
de rij stond

maar als slacht-
afval in feite

voor de varkens
was bestemd

Jules Deelder - Rotterdamse Kost

A Tropical Breeze

Around 1975 another important event happened for the culinary world of Rotterdam:

“What are you going to do there with those crazy Dutchmen?” the teacher from the training college in Suriname had asked her. Irene is on her way to the Maasland psychiatric hospital in Rotterdam, which is bringing over a group of fifteen sisters from Suriname. After arrival they all buy a warm coat. All nurses remember that first cold. Just like the horror that hardly anyone has a shower.

And the awful food of course. Over-cooked, floral, unseasoned. Out of poverty, Irene sometimes buys a pig's tail. And once a chicken. She keeps it in her room for a few days before slaughtering it – from the feathers she makes a pillow that she still sleeps on. She cooks it with rice and a stolen cabbage from the vegetable garden. The management does not think it is a good idea to slaughter chickens in her room. But the food smells so good that she can cook for everyone one more time in the kitchen.

After the Second World War, the Netherlands counted around 3000 Surinamese migrants. In 1980 this number became 145.700. More and more Surinamese dared to follow the footsteps of Irene, who was one of the early adapters. Rotterdam was the city that saw the most migrants arriving due to its thriving and continuous growth, Rotterdam was the city of opportunities.

After a number of years, the Surinamese started to settle, and just like the Chinese, they started their own business. Saturday markets started popping up on West-Kruiskade where tropical products like cassava, cowpea, baka bana, okra, and sopropo could be found. Surinamese shops, (Toko’s) made sure the streets of Rotterdam were constantly filled with aromas of curry powder, dried hake, and salted meats. You could close your eyes and wonder yourself strolling in the streets of Paramaribo.

Your typical Toko

A Hairdresser and his Kebab

However, the most famous dish of Rotterdam wasn’t created before the year 2003 by Nataniël Gomes, owner of a barbershop on Schiedamseweg. He would often pick up lunch at the neighbor which was the kebab shop, El Aviva. Taking the advantage of the fact that he was a regular customer, he created a unique lunch dish for him only.

The ingredients: french fries, kebab, melted cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, garlic sauce, and sambal (a spicy sauce). This calory bomb became known as ‘kapsalon,’ the Dutch translation for a hairdresser. Other people began ordering it and within no time it was available in every kebab shop in the Netherlands. Today, it has become a truly classical dish to eat after you went out. Nothing beats eating a kapsalon at 4 am on the curb with only drunk people around you.

The ‘Kapsalon’

De kapsalon
- zowel de grote

als de kleine -
komt oorspronkelijk

uit Rotterdam
Het is een ultra-

vette hap waar een
hond geen brood

van lust maar een
Turk wel páp

Jules Deelder - Rotterdamse Kost

Rotterdam in 2022

Modern Rotterdam brings a great variety of foods and drinks. High-end restaurants serve the purpose of bringing experimental concepts to your plate like FG Food Labs, Tres, and Héroine. If you don’t want to spend too much there are still plenty of unique places to go around, for example, De Matroos en Het Meisje, Old Scuola, and Fermin.

However, where the Rotterdamse Culinary scene truly shines is in my opinion the cheap authentic places. These are also my very favorite places to go to. 54% of the city's citizens originate from another country, and 170 different nationalities live in Rotterdam. This results in an insane amount of different restaurants and shops. You name a country and I can almost guarantee you will find a restaurant in that country in the city.

This is where the challenge of the past 4 years lay. Figuring out which places serve the BEST authentic recipes. The only way to do this is by eating… a lot. (un)Lucky for you, I have already done this and thus made a short list of some of my favorite places.

• Tensai Ramen

• Gamasot, Korean BBQ

• Panzero, Puglia’s fried pizza

• Eethuis Jasmine

• Pistache Halab, Syrian grill

• Radjoe Art, Surinamese

• Sunset Café, classic café

• Cate Dak, Chinese noodles

• Kampong Express, Malesian

If you find yourself in Rotterdam and wish to receive the full list, leave a comment with ‘Yes!’ and I will gladly send it to you!

For now, thank you Rotterdam!