Pure Vegetables by Han and Saskia Lammers

Who's behind it

Han and Saskia Lammers started PUURgroenten in 2012 in Middenmeer, in the middle of the Wieringermeer. Han handles cultivation, seeding and harvest; Saskia handles sales and development of new varieties. What started as a trial with a few square meters has grown into a cultivation of around 180 plant types, from bok choy and Japanese radish to amaranth, cilantro, tong ho and perilla. They also grow seed potatoes on ten hectares in the same polder. A small team of seven cuts everything by hand. They deliver to restaurants and catering companies and to Michelin kitchens; Ciel Bleu in Amsterdam is one of the places that orders from them.

What really makes it different

The vegetables grow on water, not in soil. The seed germinates on trays of coconut and potting mix and then goes onto floating plates in the greenhouse, with water roots below and air roots one to two centimeters above so nothing rots. The water is supplemented with nitrogen, phosphate, potassium and trace elements, precisely dosed. Two things that gives you. The flavor is consistent, season after season, because the plant is under the same conditions every time. And there's no sand or soil in it, so you barely need to rinse. Planted today, harvested and cut right before delivery, so you get a leaf that's still firm on the plate instead of limp after a day's transport. Because cultivation is continuous and not tied to one harvest moment, Saskia can collaborate on a variety you've tasted somewhere and want to put on your menu.

How you set yourself apart with this

This is not garnish for show. The micro and mini vegetables carry the flavor of the mature plant in a fraction of the format, so you put character on the plate without filling it fuller. A few violets or a shiso leaf give color and a tone a guest remembers, and that costs one action at service. Build a dish around what's fresh this week and your menu moves with the cultivation instead of with the standard wholesale list. Ask what's being cut right now and you cook with vegetables that were still growing the same morning. That story tells itself at table, without you needing to add a word.