Destination Veluwe, Netherlands
Voted the finest area of scenic beauty in the Netherlands, Veluwe is an area of outstanding natural beauty made up of heathlands, forests, sand drifts and lichen steppes. It is home to the Dutch ‘Big Five’: foxes, badgers, roe deer, wild boar and red deer, as well as hundreds of other mammals, birds, reptiles and insects. The second-largest collection of Van Gogh’s artworks collected by Helene Kröller-Müller can be found in the middle of De Hoge Veluwe National Park. Whether you enjoy walking, riding, cycling or simply taking in the atmosphere in one of the beautiful towns and villages, Veluwe certainly won’t disappoint.
Cuisine in Veluwe
The culinary draw of Veluwe was growing even when Amsterdam and Rotterdam were still merely villages and it is now proud to have some of the most exciting chefs in the world call it home, including several Michelin starred ones. There is a very good reason that it is often known as Food Valley as the number of organic farmers and research institutes has led to a special quality mark, the Erkend Veluws Streekproduct, being developed for Veluwe regional products. The mark guarantees that a product and its raw materials all come from Veluwe and that all processing has also taken place there. This way the producers and farmers contribute to the quality of the landscape and ensure that delicious products such as honey, beer, wine, cheese and artisan bread are of the highest quality.
Sightseeing in Veluwe
The Royal House of Orange has chosen to summer in the Veluwe region for over 300 years and it's not hard to understand why. Beautiful palaces, royal gardens overflowing with colourful flora and fauna, fabulous restaurants, over 100 lakes and pools to soak up the summer sun and of course the chance to tick off the Dutch big five make it a smorgasbord of activities to see, experience and taste. There are museums and art galleries to keep the culturally minded in rapt attention and the great variety of the natural environment, in fact the largest continuous nature reserve in Europe, will speak to those wanting to discover everything that the abundance of nature in this region has to offer.
JRE Veluwe Chefs
With such high quality local produce it’s not surprising to find so many young up and coming chefs in the region. The allure of natural ingredients that play back into the health of the countryside is too good to miss out on. JRE is certainly proud to be partnering with several of them.
Liset Bom, owner of Restaurant Cèpes in Otterlo, which is located in Hotel de Sterrenberg puts a strong emphasis on local and quality produce where she combines French cuisine with Asian and Mediterranean influences in an elegant yet cosy atmosphere.