Maker · Vegetables
Frank de Koning: Demeter vegetables from open field
Nearly twenty tomato varieties, three aubergines and an heirloom cucumber, all on open field under glass. Frank de Koning grows biodynamically in Brielle and Tinte: Demeter-certified, no synthetic fertiliser, no chemicals, no grow lights. Flavour that comes from the soil, not from the tap.
The story
Who's behind it
Frank de Koning started his nursery in 1989 and converted the business entirely to organic in 2000. Today the cultivation is Demeter-certified: biodynamic, working according to the principles of Rudolf Steiner. The business sits on Voorne, with three locations in Brielle and one in Tinte, plus its own shop in Brielle.
It's not hobby-scale. In winter about fifty people work there, in peak season from mid-April to early October that rises to one hundred and twenty. Much of the harvest is sold before planting, through the grower association Nautilus. Some stays in the Netherlands, the rest goes to Germany and England.
What really makes the difference
Cultivation revolves around the soil, not the tap. No synthetic fertiliser, no chemical pest control, no grow lights. Instead, compost and manure, mandatory crop rotation and annually the biodynamic preparations. The soil is not turned but enriched in winter, so plants stand strong and build their own resilience.
You notice it in the surroundings of the greenhouses. Sparrows nest there naturally, around the greenhouses stand indigenous flowers that attract natural pest enemies, and there are pollarded willows and fruit trees. It's a cultivation that works with the system rather than against it.
The yield is broad and aimed at flavour, not uniformity. Nearly twenty tomato varieties, three types of aubergine, an heirloom cucumber with firmer flesh than the standard, and pepper in red, yellow, green and pointed. Open field vegetables that ripen slowly, with flavour to match.
How to set yourself apart
This is vegetables whose origin you want on the card. "Demeter" and "biodynamic" are not mood words but verifiable certifications, and Brielle is nearby: you're telling a concrete story about a grower on Voorne, not an anonymous greenhouse.
Play it out with contrast. Put the cherry wild mix unadorned on a plate and let the varieties do the work. Grill the two aubergines side by side and let guests taste the difference. Use the heirloom cucumber where a standard cucumber would turn watery: in brine, in a quick pickle, or raw next to something fatty. That way you're not just selling a dish, but also where it comes from.
Chef’s tip
Ask for the cherry wild mix if you want a colourful plate without paint: the varieties range from sweet to sour and form, so one small bowl does the work of four individual tomatoes. Serve unadorned, just good oil and salt.
How to use it
Ideas for your menu
Tomato salad of one variety per plate
Let the wild mix speak for itself. A different variety per guest, cold, with salt and oil.
Grilled aubergine, two types
Gold de Légume and Nasu Gold side by side on charcoal, difference in bite and creaminess on one plate.
Heirloom cucumber, lightly fermented
Firmer flesh than standard, keeps crispness in pickle or quick brine.
Warm pepper from the oven
Red and pointed mixed, slowly roasted until sweet, with garlic and thyme.
For your menu
“Biodynamic vegetables from Frank de Koning Nursery, Brielle. Demeter-certified, grown on open field without synthetic fertiliser, chemicals or grow lights.”
Products from Frank de Koning
What we carry from this maker
Tomaten Cherry wild mix bio
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