Joris Bijdendijk

RIJKS

Joris Bijdendijk’s parents had a vegetable garden and a beautiful orchard with walnuts, apples, and pears. With his parents, he used to leave Amsterdam for the weekends to spend some time there, so fresh and local produce was part of his childhood – for example, Côte de Boeuf with caramelized carrots: from the garden straight to the plate. 

Joris apprenticed with Ron Blaauw and was educated in the Netherlands and France by the Pourcel brothers. Under Blaauw’s wings, he developed rapidly. In only six years Bijdendijk was promoted to the position of kitchen chef. He also worked as a chef at the fish restaurant Bridges in Hotel de Grand in Amsterdam.

Dutch heritage

The RIJKS restaurant, where he is now the Chef, opened in 2014 in the Philips Rijksmuseum wing. It serves products from the Dutch soil but does not shy away from international flavors – after all, they have also been giving shape to Dutch cuisine for centuries. He describes his cuisine as Low food.

“Our focus is the products of our beautiful suppliers. That’s where it all starts. So we start with the product and then we see what kind of creative and tasteful stuff we can make with it. And we try to change at least one or two dishes once every two weeks.”

Joris Bijdendijk

The Low Food

In January 2019 the first edition of the Low Food Symposium was held to celebrate all the wonderful and successful initiatives that have sprung up in the Netherlands in recent years. Low Food is an initiative by Joris Bijdendijk, Joris Lohman, and Samuel Levie. It is an open platform for new ideas and insights. Low Food believes that food culture lies not in the past but in the future.

Instagram: @jorisbijdendijk
Restaurant website: https://www.rijksrestaurant.nl/
Restaurant address: Museumstraat 2, 1077 XX Amsterdam, Netherlands