Maker · Snacks
Local Harvest: local taste makers with character
Every supplier puts the same croquette on your appetiser menu. Local Harvest brought the appetiser from about twenty small Dutch makers under one roof: organic, with beef that has a origin and a vegan line that actually matters.
The story
Who's behind it
Local Harvest is Machiel Laumans' network. He himself used to work in the kitchen of an appetiser bar in Amsterdam's Pijp and ran into the same problem as you: the big suppliers all offer the same croquette. He went looking for small makers who work the old way and brought their appetisers under one roof. Today he works with about twenty producers across the Netherlands. Everything that goes out he tastes first himself. The products are organic and made sustainably where possible, with recipes and techniques you don't find in industrial snacks.
What really makes the difference
The difference lies in two things: taste and convenience. The beef croquette is filled with meat from Dutch makers, not an anonymous mix. Beyond that sits a serious vegan and vegetarian line: oyster mushroom, truffle with celeriac, rendang, aubergine with artichoke. That's not an afterthought but a full second menu, where you serve your vegetarian and vegan guests as well as your meat eaters.
The second difference is on the ordering side. Instead of five suppliers for your appetiser menu you have one, with one contact and one invoice. The formats range from appetiser garnish of 16 to 30g to full fritters of 95g, so you cover the aperitif and lunch menu from the same address.
How to set yourself apart
Put down an appetiser board that doesn't come from the standard catalogue. Combine the classic beef croquette with the aged cheese crisp and one of the vegan appetisers, and you have a garnish your guests don't find everywhere. For groups with vegetarians or vegans you don't need a separate menu: the oyster mushroom croquette and rendang fritters stand taste-wise on equal ground with the meat.
And because the origin checks out, you can name it on your menu. A croquette with a maker behind it sells better than a croquette from the anonymous frozen box. That's exactly what you need as chef: an appetiser menu that's as thoughtful as your main courses, without costing you extra suppliers or extra work.
Chef’s tip
Alongside the classic beef croquette also put down the oyster mushroom ball and the truffle with celeriac. Two vegan appetisers on your board catch almost any crowd, without needing a second menu.
How to use it
Ideas for your menu
Appetiser board with character
Beef croquette, cheese crisp of aged cheese and a vegan appetiser side by side. Garnish your guests don't taste everywhere.
Vegan appetiser round
Oyster mushroom croquettes, rendang fritters and aubergine with artichoke. Full alternative, not an afterthought.
Lunch fritter on bread
95g beef fritter on sourdough, with mustard. Simple menu classic with a maker behind it.
Appetiser garnish at the aperitif
Mix of 16 to 30g bites from the freezer, ready in minutes for unexpected guests.
For your menu
“Croquettes and fritters from Local Harvest: organic appetisers from small Dutch makers, with beef and full vegan options.”
Products from Local Harvest
What we carry from this maker
Bitterballen 30g 80st
Bitterballen vegan 30g 54st
Rode curry bitterballen 30g, doos 32st
Prices and availability are in the portal. Not a customer yet? Become a customer or log in to order.
Taste it in your own kitchen
Book a no-obligation tasting with Niels. No contract, just tasting.