The Dutch and their Appetites. Changes in Eating Habits in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

In the opinion of foreigners the Dutch, unlike the Belgians, have never progressed very far in the culinary arts. They also seem to have earned a reputation for their lack of refinement and appreciation of culinary pleasure. Dutch restaurants do indeed exist, but in the past they often functioned merely as places where people could fill their stomachs if they couldn't do so at home. It would be more than a century before a Dutch restaurant finally earned foreign recognition in the shape of a three-star rating in 2001 This remarkable event may signify that a fundamental change has taken place in the way the Dutch relate to their cooking and their stomachs. This piece considers the questions what changed, how it happened and what brought it about, and who made the major contributions.