Jaap Korteweg launched The Vegetarian Butcher back in 2007. The Rotterdam-based multinational Unilver took over the brand in 2018 and now there is a pop-up restaurant De Vleesch Lobby at the Hofbogen.
The restaurant will be open for lunch at Raampoortstraat 16 for eight weeks. The lunchroom is opened on the occasion of the National Week Without Meat. At the restaurant, visitors can find inspiration and be introduced to innovations in the plant-based transition.
The Vegetarian Butcher already opened this concept in The Hague in 2018. The Vleesch Lobby refers to its ambition to elevate plant-based meat to the new standard. To make the transition to the new meat easier, there is a top selection of De Vegetarische Slager products on the menu. From vegan chicken nuggets to burgers and from vegan meatballs to Auf Wieder Schnitzels. This makes it one of the few restaurants in the Netherlands in which vegan meat has the main role.
You can just enjoy your favourite meat dish
For eight weeks, chefs ‘hack’ meat dishes from existing restaurants with the new meat. The weekly menus are based on the popular cuisine of the Netherlands, with special weekly specials. Chefs can experience how a wide range can be used in menus. The Vegetarian Butcher thus opens the doors for both chefs and all other meat lovers.
”Meat lovers sometimes feel that eating more plant-based means giving up their favourite dishes,” says Alexandra Knoef, Brand Manager of De Vegetarische Slager in the Netherlands. ”De Vleesch Lobby as a restaurant proves the opposite. Thanks to the new meat, as a guest or chef you don’t have to leave anything out. You can just enjoy your favourite meat dish. That is what we want our visitors to taste and experience. We hope that it can bring about a change in the restaurant culture in the Netherlands, but ultimately also in the mindset of meat lovers.”
Besides the distinctive menu, there is a place for sharing developments, inspiration, and knowledge about the plant-based transition. There will be workshops and other sessions.
The Vegetarian Butcher introduces vegan minced meat
Guests can also become acquainted with the newest product of De Vegetarische Slager: the vegan minced meat. This premium minced meat is made to imitate the experience of raw minced meat. It can be shaped into almost any desired meat dish. The malleable Minced Meat is therefore made for every (home) chef who likes to give his or her own twist to dishes: from lettuce skin to meatball, and from culinary to quick bite. It can all be an ounce more during the Week With Meat.
De Vleesch Lobby is open Monday to Saturday from 12 – 8 PM. The meals can also be ordered via UberEats and Gorilla.
