A column by Erloom: why eat local?
It surely hasn't escaped your notice: from May through September, you settle down in a picturesque outdoor setting in Hilvarenbeek, Brabant, where renowned chefs from both home and abroad prepare lunch and dinner. Under the name Erloom, they receive one clear instruction: source your ingredients from local farmers and cook on-site over an open fire.
We are big fans of pop-up restaurant Erloom, so we grilled them. This week: why is local food actually so important?
For us, buying local is not a marketing term, but a conviction. Because if Brabant has so much beauty to offer, why would we choose products that have traveled thousands of kilometers? That is not only bad for the climate, it is also simply unnecessary. For us, local starts with knowing what you are serving. Who cultivated it, how it grew, and why it is on your plate right now. Every dish has a story that we would love for you to taste.
Take Tuinderij de Es in Haaren, our largest vegetable supplier. They have been working with respect for the soil, the seasons, and everything that grows since 1981. When you walk around, you immediately understand why we source our produce here. The land does the work, and we follow. Exactly as it should be.
It works the same way in the kitchen. Every week, Luc creates a vegetable schedule: what is at its best right now? From that, he selects four vegetables for the chef of the week. Asparagus in May, tomatoes in August, never the other way around. The menu emerges from the land, not from an idea on paper. And yes, that requires flexibility. Because nature cannot be planned. Sometimes you have to switch gears, sometimes it surprises you. That is precisely what makes it exciting.
Our farmers are therefore not suppliers, but partners. The basics arrive on Tuesday, and on Friday there is room for something extra: herbs, flowers, something unexpected. Those short lines make the difference. The idea is actually very simple: respect what is there. Just like with nose-to-tail, but with vegetables. Not just the perfect or the easy, but everything the land provides.
What do you notice about that as a guest? That no week is the same. That you are truly eating the season. That flavors are more intense, purer. And yes, sometimes a dish changes at the last minute because nature decided otherwise. But that is precisely where the charm lies: the land cooks along with us.
We are proud of what Brabant has to offer. And we are more than happy to let you taste it.