Eileen's Garden

From garden to plate

This summer, we visited the garden of our test chef, Eileen van den Hooven, and brought the season back with us.

Where flavor begins

Eileen didn’t plan to become a gardener. She moved to Zaandam during COVID, found a house with a small garden, and fell in love with it. She joined the waiting list for an allotment plot. Two years later, she got the call and chose the largest available plot.

She sometimes regrets it, but most of the time she loves it. The allotment is a community where neighbors share seeds, swap knowledge, and learn from one another. Eileen learned from the Gardener’s World TV show, the internet, and the people in the surrounding plots.

Her biggest enemy? Slugs. They eat everything.

But what keeps her coming back every summer is the moment a seed becomes something you can eat.

I planted this seed. I nurtured this seedling. I made this from scratch. That's really rewarding.

What a garden teaches you

Having a garden changed how Eileen cooks, not in theory but in practice.

At the supermarket, you can buy courgettes in December. Eileen doesn’t do that anymore. When you grow your own food, you cook with what’s ready. You stop fighting the seasons and start following them. Right now, we’re in asparagus season, so that’s what’s on the menu.

It also changed how she thinks about food: where it comes from, how much effort it takes, and how much the soil itself matters. Healthy, diverse soil produces better plants. Better plants make tastier food. That connection doesn’t disappear when the vegetable leaves the garden. It ends up on your plate.

The earth gives us all these things, but we need to give something back.

Dishes inspired by this summer

A day in the garden

In summer, Eileen is constantly in the garden. Her streaming services go on pause. Her phone stays in her pocket. The garden demands presence — and she’s learned to give it willingly.

It’s mindful, she says. It takes her out of everyday life, out of work, and out of whatever else is going on. There’s something about putting your hands in the soil that resets everything.

That same energy is what she brings back into the kitchen — and the reason she welcomed the Food Curation team to experience it firsthand, in search of inspiration for the summer menu landing on your plate.

You don't need a garden to start

Eileen grew vegetables on a tiny balcony before she ever had a plot. One small harvest. Maybe enough for a single meal. She loved every bit of it.

Her advice: if you have a balcony, a windowsill, or any space at all — grow something. Tomatoes, herbs, whatever fits. It’s worth it in ways that are hard to explain until you’ve tried it.

That’s the spirit behind this collaboration. Not just a summer menu — a reminder that food has a life before it reaches the plate. And that life is worth paying attention to.

A sneak peek into the garden

Our team went into the garden so you don’t have to wonder where your lunch comes from. They visited Eileen’s garden in May to understand where the season starts before deciding what lands on your plate.