Hertog Jan

The environment

When you first pull up to Hertog Jan, you have to take in the scenery. The restaurant stands in place of the barn that stood before it, surrounded by a garden that has all the flowers, vegetables and herbs you‘ll see throughout the dinner. When you first walk in, you‘re asked if you would like a cucumber water (which is flavored with several herbs as well) while you take a walk through the garden. The garden and the produce that comes out of it is central to the dinner; every seat in the house allows you to overlook the garden as you eat.

Appetizers

We were given four appetizers before our first course, which we enjoyed while sipping our champagne. First, there was a wispy potato crisp. The next is hard to describe, but if wontons skins were made of pork, this would be that. The third dish was a potato puree with coffee and cheese. Last, we had a raspberry meringue filled with foie gras which sat on top of a Coca Cola caramel.

The first courses

We start the first course with a medley of tomatoes with goat cheese, sprinkled with cardamom. This was followed by a composition of salmon, which was smoked, and accompanied with herb oil on the side and squash flowers filled with salmon roe. Next was a piece of eel and goose liver in a pool of miso sauce. Then there was an eggplant that was covered in salt cod eggs, which had been dried and then grated. The last of the first courses was an assortment of vegetables, crunchy yet cooked. The cauliflower notably tasted (deliciously) like butter.

The main course

The main course was the star of the show. Three pieces of Wagyu beef perfectly cooked, accompanied with a vegetable plate which also included a piece of beef fat that melted in your mouth.

Dessert

1Dessert is hard to describe. First, a server comes with a light green ball which smashes when he drops it into your bowl. It was cool (in presentation and temperature) tasted strongly of mint and herbs. The shell pops in your mouth (like pop rocks), making this a fun one to eat.

Post-dessert

To finish up this dinner, you have two dollops of chocolate in a mousse form with a fruit sorbet. There are dollops of various fruit sauces to accompany the dessert, which is light, airy and amazing.