What Has Become of the Dutch Hospitality Industry?

Hello,

I have been working in hospitality for several years now, both in the Netherlands and in Austria, and I have started noticing something that bothers me more and more. The Dutch hospitality industry, particularly casual restaurants and the mid range segment, is becoming one big copy and paste formula.

I truly realised this when I wanted to go out for a meal myself. You look around, check a few menus, and see the same thing everywhere. Not just on the menu, but inside the restaurants as well. The layout, the tables, the chairs, the entire picture. It feels as though everyone is following the same formula and nobody dares to do anything different anymore.

Take lunch, for example. In the Rotterdam area, it barely matters where you sit down. Everywhere you go, you will find a Caesar salad, sometimes with chicken and sometimes with salmon, a steak sandwich, a croquette served on bread, and the classic Dutch lunch platter. I can understand those dishes. They are what people come for.

But then there is the tuna sandwich. Tinned tuna mixed with mayonnaise and some finely chopped vegetables, often without being properly seasoned, and they charge sixteen euros for it. Eggs Benedict is everywhere too, but it is rarely prepared well. Sometimes, you would be better off having breakfast at a good hotel.

The bar snack menus may be even worse. Karaage chicken, gyoza, tempura prawns, nachos and calamari. It is the same everywhere. Those gyoza are bought for a few euros, after which five of them are sold for almost ten euros. In the mid range segment, sushi and poke bowls are added to the menu, always with the same variations: beef, salmon, vegetarian and spicy tuna. There is nothing wrong with any of it, but it is exactly the same everywhere.

The main courses are not much better. A piece of red meat, a schnitzel that arrives already breaded, or a ribeye that has been sliced too thinly and left on a dirty grill for too long. It all falls just short. That is because everyone is trying to do the same thing, but as cheaply as possible.

That, in my opinion, is one of the biggest problems. Everything has to be purchased as cheaply as possible and sold at a high price just to achieve the desired margins. Ultimately, however, this comes at the expense of quality. The products become worse, and you can taste it. You cannot keep cutting costs and expect the quality to remain the same.

Then there is the staff. In the Netherlands, hospitality is no longer treated as a skilled profession. You work every public holiday and spend long days on your feet, all for minimum wage. You can hardly expect to receive tips anymore either. People pay for everything by card and rarely round up the amount.

In Austria, I have seen a different approach. Hospitality is treated as a proper profession. People are paid well, which attracts better employees. People who genuinely want to do the work and who take pride in what they do. You notice that difference everywhere.

In the Netherlands, you often see owners who are unwilling to invest in good people. They do not want to pay for quality, so they do not receive quality in return. You then find yourself running a kitchen with two people and a menu containing thirty or forty dishes because that is apparently what the “shared dining concept” requires.

I have experienced it myself. You look at each other and think: what are we doing? All you are doing is trying to survive.

There is nothing inherently wrong with shared dining. But if you are going to do it, do it properly. Do not simply throw twenty different small dishes onto the menu so that everyone can find something they like. Make sure that everything you serve is right.

Now you sit down with four people and start ordering. Every dish costs between ten and fifteen euros, you want to try everything, and before you know it, the bill has reached a ridiculous amount. On top of that, you may have to wait another twenty minutes because the kitchen cannot handle the number of orders.

As a result, value for money has genuinely deteriorated. You pay more but receive less. Meanwhile, everyone hides behind the word “concept”, as though that excuses everything. But if your concept has not worked for two years, perhaps it is time to take an honest look at whether the problem lies with you.

Craftsmanship still exists, but you have to search for it. Occasionally, you find a restaurant where someone genuinely makes an effort, where a skilled host is running the floor, and where you are served a fish dish that is not simply another standard option, accompanied by a beautiful sauce and a good wine.

Those places still exist, but they are becoming increasingly rare.

That is the heart of the problem. Being a chef in the Netherlands is no longer treated as a skilled profession. Working in front of house is no longer treated as a skilled profession either. It has become something people simply do on the side for a while. As long as that remains the case, everything will continue to look the same.

Perhaps we have all gone along with it to some extent. The easy option, the safe option and the promise of quick money. But if you ask me, we have lost something along the way.

And I am certain that I am not the only person who sees it that way.

Whether you agree or disagree, let me know. Then we can talk about it. Because ultimately, everyone simply wants to enjoy a genuinely great meal out again.

Julian van Brakel