May 19, 2009

White asparagus season is upon us

Filed under: Food & Drink by Orangemaster @ 8:58 am
cocktail_wim_lex_02jpg

While the media is busy digging up stories about Eastern European workers who are being exploited to pick this cherished Dutch vegetable, I’d rather remain positive and present our new found audience with the delicious Willem Alexander Asparagus Cocktail (link to the step-by-step recipe).

This mouthwatering appetizer was created by chef Herman van Ham of restaurant De Hamert in Arcen, North of Venlo in the province of Limburg, where said Eastern European workers are working themselves into blisters for little money. The cocktail was named after the Dutch crown prince, William Alexander.

Here are some wine suggestions to make that cocktail count even more:

– Champagne or Cava.
– A decent Sauvignon blanc
– A decent Riesling or Gewürztraminer

Eet smakkelijk! (Bon appetit!)

Tags: , , ,

May 9, 2009

Twenty thousand visitors and counting – a milestone

Filed under: Architecture,Food & Drink,General,Weird by Orangemaster @ 3:29 pm

2723510088_7414f54581

We once set ourselves a goal of reaching 20,000 unique visitors a month (no one shot posting about something woohoo and then back to 6,000 or something) and thanks to everyone out there, we did it!

But first, about this photo: this is Gibeau Orange Julep ‘stand’ in Montréal, Québec. It serves orange julep, hotdogs and the likes. It’s a huge orange and the weather has a Dutch thing going for it.

As for what got 24oranges this far besides nicely pressed content, two words: Twitter and Flickr.

1) 24oranges is on Twitter and is getting lots more mobile phone and PDA visitors.

2) 24oranges is on Flickr. We share the photos we take ourselves and are proud to say that other blogs and sites use our photos.

Of course, the recent addition of 24oranges to Globalpost will definitely count for something soon.

Cheers!

(Photo by Bah Humbug, some rights reserved)

Tags: ,

May 6, 2009

Humour more important than sex, food, money

Filed under: Food & Drink,Shows by Branko Collin @ 9:17 am

Najib Amhali is the country’s funniest ‘stand-up’ comedian, followed by Herman Finkers, according to a poll held by Intomart for Comedy Central. The two comedians switched positions in the Netherlands Humoronderzoek 2009, with Finkers leading last year, writes NOS Headlines (Dutch). Hyperactive comedian Jochem Myjer came in third, and fourth André van Duijn, who is the most famous Dutch comedian with a 98% recognition score.

What I call stand-up here is for lack of a better English word. Although stand-up comedy Anglo-Saxon style is performed in the Netherlands, the most popular theatrical form of comedy and the one performed by Amhali, Finkers and so on is called cabaret or kleinkunst, which typically means one, two or a small group of persons on a large stage telling jokes, complemented with songs and serious moments, all the while sticking to a story line.

The funniest TV show was held to be De Llama’s, which is funny indeed because the show stopped last year.

The Dutch appreciate family friendly jokes the best. Jokes about minorities or jokes that are insulting are held in the least regard. According to the report that Intomart will release in about a week, people also indicated they feel humour to be more important than sex, good food, or economic security. Only health and family are considered to be more important.

The following is Jochem Myjer showing that he’s quite capable of impersonating eight different people in two minutes:

Tags: , , , , ,

April 24, 2009

Unique photo book of restaurant El Bulli

Filed under: Food & Drink,General,Photography by Orangemaster @ 9:18 am

elbulli

American Dutch, soon to be professional photographer Lori Lens-Fitzgerald published an online photo book about her very special visit in April 2008 to the world’s top restaurant (out of 50), El Bulli in Roses, Spain.

As Lori explains, “every year 2,000,000 people request reservations and only 8,000 people get them. One of my friends was lucky and had two extra spots. I took photos of every course (American tourist that I am!) and made a book.”

El Bulli is a three-star Michelin restaurant, run by Catalonian chef Ferran Adrià . It is mainly known for its ‘molecular gastronomy’, a mix of ingredients that you’d never imagine in your wildest dreams and a whole row of small dishes (25 to 30), with instructions on how to to eat them.

(Photo: Lori Lens-Fitgerald)

Tags: , ,

April 23, 2009

Political party wants to ban vegetarian cookbook

Filed under: Animals,Food & Drink by Orangemaster @ 12:46 pm
anti-meatjpg

Henk Jan Ormel, parliament member for the CDA (Christian Democratic Appeal), said yesterday on Dutch radio (Radio 1) that his party wants to forbid the publishing of a vegetarian cookbook of the Voedingscentrum (Dutch Nutrition Centre). He claims it is propaganda for the non-eating of meat (?) and also said that the profit of this book (already assuming it’s going to be published regardless) should be put towards a campaign that explains ‘the social use’ of animal testing.

I once read from Belgian animal activists that the EU is working on a system that will allow companies to compare notes on animal tests already done so they don’t have to inject that shampoo into the rabbit’s eye like 50 times and get the same result.

But for the love of God or whomever, it’s just a cookbook!

(Link: vleesmagazine.nl, Photo: veggieunwrapped.com)

Tags: , , , ,

April 9, 2009

Obama and fried chicken, Heineken logo rip-off

Filed under: Food & Drink,General by Orangemaster @ 11:16 am
obama-chick

heinekenjpg

Forget the fried chicken story: there’s no real Dutch angle to it, unless you want to celebrate the 400-year friendship between The Netherlands and New York City, although it’s a stretch. It’s a Brooklyn restaurant called Obama and people protested in front of it because implying that African Americans eat fried chicken is racist. Do they serve watermelon for desert?

Look at the logo of this Obama fried chicken joint: do you see the resemblance or is my coffee playing tricks on me? That red star caused enough problems for Heineken, are we going to go on a commie witch hunt soon, too?

(Link: vleesmagazine.nl, Photo by Paul Lowry, some rights reserved.)

Tags: , ,

April 3, 2009

Traditional herring feast endangered

Filed under: Food & Drink,General by Branko Collin @ 12:20 pm

Lack of sponsors may cause the Vlaggetjesdag (Flag Day) festivities of Scheveningen to be cancelled this year, or to be shortened to an actual day, reports Algemeen Dagblad (Dutch). On Vlaggetjesdag the coming home of the herring fleet is celebrated in Scheveningen. Organiser Arie Kleijn is uncertain whether he can raise the half million euro the 62nd edition of the event would cost. Pledges usually come in at the start of the year, but this year he’s got nothing.

The commenters at Algemeen Dagblad seem to be happy with the disappearance of Vlaggetjesdag. They question its scale (small), the quality of its entertainment (second rate celebrities) and its cost (half a million for a few stalls?). They also reminisce about the old Vlaggetjesdag, when rather than receiving the fleet, the day was meant to celebrate the departure of hundreds of luggers adorned with many flags. Despite the critical attitude of the vocal readers of Algemeen Dagblad, Vlaggetjesdag rose from 62nd to 29th most popular national event last year, and brought 250,000 visitors to the village wedged in between The Hague and the North Sea.

Tags: , , , , ,

March 15, 2009

Bus stop betrays your weight

Filed under: Food & Drink,Gadgets by Branko Collin @ 12:15 pm

Fitness First, a global health club chain, fitted a bus stop at the Weena in Rotterdam with scales and a display that shows you your weight. The big question buzzing around the Web is, is this a funny gimmick or an unacceptable shaming device? The campaign was designed by ad agency N=5, and the video report is by NOS Headlines.

Via Gizmodo.

Tags: , , , , ,

March 8, 2009

Dutch expat misses typical food in Germany

Filed under: Food & Drink by Orangemaster @ 12:07 pm
antje

This week I came to work in Munich and stayed at 24oranges’ third blogger, Eric. Eric is Dutch and has been happily living in Munich for four years. Germans keep asking him what he misses about his native country and it usually boils down to food.

What did I pack in my suitcase as a gift? Conimex Indonesian products from the supermarket. Dutch food is quite bland, which explains the Dutch’s prediliction for Indonesian food. (Indonesia is a former Dutch colony.)

Eric also misses the junk food ‘friet speciaal’, French fries with mayonnaise, ketchup and onions and ‘dropjes’ (black, sweet or salty liquorice sweets), the latter I also brought.

Also, the chunks of Dutch cheese sold at the store are way too small and the major brand is called ‘Pikantje van Antje’ (seen above retro version), the German symbol for Dutch cheese in Germany, served with German beer of course.

Tags: , ,

March 5, 2009

Restaurant sends Michelin star back

Filed under: Food & Drink by Branko Collin @ 10:42 pm

Restaurant In de’n Dillegaard in Nuth, in the South of Limburg, has decided to hand in the Michelin star that it has had since 2004. The owners, Michel and Susanne Kagenaar-Stevens, want to turn the place into a less formal affair. Writes NRC:

“Many people associate Michelin with expensive, posh and formal,” says Suzan Kagenaar. “It creates certain expectations. We had been thinking for a while about going back to our roots, to a less formal atmosphere. The financial crisis has hastened our decision.”

Part of the problem, Kagenaar says is that there are too many Michelin star restaurants in the South Limburg region. There are five restaurants with one star and two with two stars. “This means that regular customers alternate between the [Michelin] restaurants and it takes longer before they return to us.”

Photo: In de’n Dillegaard.

Tags: , , ,