The daily diary of a wandering restaurateur in Europe
August 3 - Luxembourg to Amsterdam

Another day on the road, but only four hours this time . . . and no motorway rest stops! We made it to Ijesslstein, a suburb of Utrecht about 20 miles south of Amsterdam. Just before we left, I got a book order from a guy in Amsterdam and when I mentioned that I would be coming to Holland in a few weeks, he suggested we get together for dinner. I had no idea what to expect -- either from him or of the dinner, but it sounded like a good idea. So with map in hand and armed with directions from our hosts, we bravely headed for Amsterdam to meet Thomas Schmitt at the Amstel Hotel before heading out somewhere for dinner.

As it turns out, he is a restaurant concept guy who does a lot with hotels and particularly with upscale concepts. The Amstel is the premier hotel in Amsterdam and had recently completed a $40+mil remodelling. Thomas had come up with the concept for La Rive, their fine dining restaurant . . . so that is where we had dinner. Well, they were all showing off for Thomas (and for us) and were we wined and dined! The chef and the manager arranged the menu -- about ten courses (I forget) with five different wines (I remember!) Absolutely superb!

Before the final dessert course (yes, there were two), we were taken on a tour of the kitchen. They have crammed a lot of production into a relatively small space and through the use of special refrigeration and freezer units, manage to crank out 500 covers a night of from-scratch items and do it very smoothly. Among the ideas that have worked well for them is temperature-controlled storage for their white wines, a private dining room in their red wine cellar and a chef's table in the kitchen. Reservations must be made months in advance for the chef's table and it is a heavy ticket, even before the wines are selected!

It may turn out that Thomas and I collaborate on some projects either here or there. You never know what you're going to get!

For photos of the Amstel Hotel, click here.
For travelogue-like photos, click here.


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