The Vegetarian Butcher
A Dutch Fairytale
Once upon a time, a girl lived in the Netherlands—it’s me. I am that girl.
I was living in The Hague, home of the International Criminal Court and other dozens of EU and International organisations, and home of the (sadly) short-lived restaurant of the Vegetarisches Slager.
You see, way before Beyond Meat was even a thing, a creative and entrepreneurial Dutchman (aren’t they all?) set up a small shop on the main high street in Den Haag with a vegan butchery and then a beautiful little restaurant on one of the city's very few canals.
I was an enthusiastic shopper, and I think I was a big customer.
Sometimes, I feel sad that the brand was sold to Unilever, but that is life, I guess. Back then, it all felt like a revolution.
I LOVED their products.
I do so today, too, whenever I can land my hand on them.
They are better than meat.
I remember the first time I had one of the veggie burgers.
I was at Scheveningen Beach, one of the beach clubs. It was a windy day, so I was there, lounging and asking for a burger. The waiter pointed to the vegetarian burger brand's wide offer, and the whimsical Art Nouveau graphics immediately captured my attention.
I could not believe my tastebuds and eyes when I tasted it.
They smartly added a paper-thin slice of pickled beet that bled into the meat as I was biting it: OMFG.
I started tasting every product: their fake tuna spread was better than real tuna, and their deep-fried bitterballen was way more delicious than the regular ones with mysterious meats.
Every product I tried was AMAZING.
Deep into my freezer was always a stash of emergency burgers and emergency “chicken” for an impromptu Caesar salad. For years, my lasagna was vegan - as I like broth-based béchamel better anyway, my minced “meat” was theirs.
And how good it all was.
I was elated when I discovered that Unilever makes a small selection of its products available at Continente supermarket in Portugal. I am more of a Celeiro and Pingo Doce supermarket gal, but I created an account for home delivery at Continente to get the Vegetarian Butcher home.
So deep is my love!
When they opened their little restaurant, I was delighted.
It was small but airy, and it used to be almost empty when I went at my oddly non-Dutch eating hours. It is sadly closed now, but I have fond memories of it.
Its advertisement was “Welcome to the Butcher of the Future”, and it was my first authentic gastronomic assessment of something vegetarian.
I assessed the restaurant, the menu, and the service.
Of course, I liked many things, and I remember that at the early age of Instagram, I emailed them to let them know what I liked and how they could improve (some welcoming service). They already served homemade kombuchas.
It was the future. And we did not know it.