Tilt

Tilt is fortunate to have clients all around the world and to be able to travel to experience the best and most unique food opportunities that exist on the planet. After being introduced to the Dutch consulting practice of KPMG in May, we have been staying connected and hoping that we could find a way to partner up on a few projects. Our new client and friend, selected a wonderful location for the discussion – De Kas Restaurant.

This space is out of this world or rather ‘on the farm’. With a beautiful and picturesque stage, set in the in middle of Frankendael Park in East Amsterdam, this used to be a working production facility for growing food for blue collar workers in the late 1920s through the Great Depression. When scheduled to be demolished in the early 2000′s Gert Jan Hageman took it upon himself to develop a spectacular restaurant concept.

The dining area is situated in and around a variety of different food production areas. Mostly for show, but nonetheless useful, there are two major growing areas at the front of the building at the entrance which leave little to the imagination about where the food will be eaten. It is great from an education standpoint to recognize what it takes to provide you with the food that you are eating.

Walking into the room at night must have a very different appreciation than what one would have during the day, but regardless you are overwhelmed with sense of space. Vaulted ceilings surround and are even higher than you can  imagine. The lighting is minimal and simplistic, making the glassware and people’s eyes twinkle. My client mentioned that there were several very well known faces in the audience that he recognized from the Amsterdam elite community. While I didn’t pick up on that component, I did feel like we all looked like stars under the endless ceiling.

A preplanned menu is always my preference – way less decisions to be made and we were fortunate to have a conscious and thoughtful chef who took my allergies into consideration (some of which didn’t translate perfectly, but the gist of it was clear and I was able to eat almost everything on my plate). The taste profile was a mix between what I would know of traditional Danish food blended with Norwegian and French cuisine. The scallops (which are shown below) were my particular favorite. The presentation was embedded into some sort of fairytale, with the shell acting as the stage and the radish and spinach leaf looking the part of the props. Fabulous.

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Last week in Amsterdam I got a taste of world cuisine. Currently I am fascinated with the flavor profiles of a mix of different cultures and in building the Tilt Cafe, this little spot of heaven was a must in my line of sight. So, I trekked through the foot of snow, the wind and the continuation of the storm for a quick 20 minute walk to a restaurant called Dish. Global Kitchen in West Amsterdam on Overtoom Street.

I would love to have this place in my retirement. Small, simple, basic and fun for all ages. There is really nothing special or signature about the layout. You walk in and up to the counter for order and purchase to take away or you can order and sit in the space if you rather. When you walk into the space, you step up from the front counter to the seating area, step down to the kitchen.

There are cakes and espresso available to purchase at the counter. Beer and wine are also available, and you can rest on a window stool if you wish. My favorite element is an stainless steel industrial juicer that is constantly running next to a very open service area for employees to use.

There is a community table and really fabulous can lighting. Total square feet is small and including the kitchen is around 1000 sq ft.

Everything feels comfortable and worn. Thousands of seats have graced the same seat I am sitting in which makes for a nice story. The community is very kids focused. They have a community neighborhood center next door and some good shopping areas up and down the street that make this a very popular area – albeit a little on the higher end.

My meal is excellent and tasty. Mixing salad with a coconut milk sauteed whole mushroom dressing. Just absolutely delicious. Sweet, spicy and a little touch of nutmeg or something winterish. You can certainly smell the kitchen going and the smells are coming up the stairs, filling the seating area. Embarrassing as it is to admit, but I had the same thing twice because it was so delicious!

The staff is friendly, but very non-chalont. They are helpful and understand everything on the menu. To a person with food allergies… they took extra care. The menu itself is a board with a screen printed logo, 2 rings and a bunch of laminated pictures. It is broken into categories of food profiles based on location and there are images that relate to that country. The general vibe is very Amsterdamesque – i.e. way too cool for school!

Interesting that people that you meet along your life and have similar thoughts and experiences as you. From my colleague Murali Krishnan who has been to Dish before: “I ate everything that was quintessential Amsterdam…and in all honesty DISH was the only place that fit my complicated profile. Meal was simple yet the complexities were subtle. There is something that they are doing right.

The simplicity, the decor, the complex lunch menu…I liked it. The guy that I spoke to was friendly but nonchalant (that is the overall vibe I got from amsterdam). ”

So, if you are in Amsterdam, stop by Dish and have a global treat. I promise a tasty experience.

On Monday President Obama, along with his wife Michelle, signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act into law. Tilt works with K-12 school service on a regular basis in both the US and the UK markets. While Jamie Oliver has made a dent in the educational aspect to K-12 dining on a PR side, there is a lot to do regarding actual presence, food quality and general opinions on what is good vs. what is healthy based on the standards that our students believe today.

Unfortunately, while there is no triangular food even found in nature, Doritos have hit the flavor profiles of many with the understanding that you can get a complete meal out of eating a bag – diary and protein (cheesy flavor), carbohydrate (corn chip base) and fat (the whole thing). Actually, most schools country-wide sell pizza on a regular basis as well since it completes all these profiles in order to meet meal reimbursement needs; top off the pizza with meat and it is a full-on complete meal. It is a little scary.

This Act begs to change the relationship that kids have with food and to start positioning dining in schools as the primary nutrient-filled meal of the day. Learn more about this by going to the site, looking up info on Michelle’s Let’s Move! Campaign site or by watching the White House Chef Sam in action:

Here is Michelle’s email note:

Everyone knows that a child’s health is ultimately the parents’ responsibility. Everywhere I go, I meet parents who are doing their best to keep their kids healthy by cutting down on desserts, serving more fruits and vegetables and trying to teach their kids to eat well and stay active.  But kids spend much of their day at school, and for many children, school meals are their main source of nourishment.  So it’s critical that all the hard work parents do to keep their kids healthy isn’t undone by the foods in the school cafeteria or the vending machines in the hallway.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act is a big step in the right direction.  Here are just a few things this legislation will do:

• 115,000 more students will have access to school meal programs.  This bill will also cut red tape and paperwork, making it easier for parents to enroll their children in these programs.
• Nutritional standards will help ensure that our kids have access to healthy food options.
• Communities and schools will receive assistance in setting up local farm-to-school networks to ensure that more fresh local foods are used in school meals.

Getting the proper nutrition has a major impact not just on our children’s health, but on their performance at school.  Students who get the nutrition they need perform better in the classroom and miss fewer days of school.  And lunchtime is a great time to teach our students important lessons about healthy eating that will last them a lifetime.

Article for Beanstalk by E. Rachael Baird

The air is warm and the sun gets brighter as the day peaks. It is the end of summer and laughter can be heard all over the neighbourhood as the kids of Dunster Street ride their bikes from end to end in a race. A chicken squawks from the corner of the back lot and neighbours wave hello as the signature ventilation caps turn slowly in the gentle breeze and we are all reminded that we live in BedZed. It is the ideal neighbourhood.

I have just moved here and already I feel welcomed. In the seemingly transient lifestyle of London, there is a respite for those who want to get to know their neighbours and have a community-style life. As the pilot project of Bioregional for a planned community, this 50 home neighbourhood in Hackbridge in Surrey is based off of the One Planet Living Principles and is a sight to see. My friends from the US typically refer to it as the Teletubbie homes because of the Disneyesque styling of the exterior with the lush plants that are almost unnaturally healthy looking. I can confidently say, that every component of the design has a purpose and is fun to look at, which makes it twice as good!

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