How the “Koppert Cress system” works, from the research of qualitative excellence to studies on flavor architecture. All about the brand that makes top players in the restaurant industry discover vegetable.
*Contained for promotional purposes
More than 20 years have now passed since Rob Baan founded Koppert Cress in 2002, by taking over the first greenhouse with a vision completely ahead of its time. He took this as a way to change how people looked at vegetables, in a land where meat clearly prevailed in the food supply. Moreover, his idea early on was to make sure that products and production cycles were natural, healthy and sustainable, and with a nutraceutical perspective.
What may seem obvious today, was not at all obvious then. The Westland area in southern Netherlands has historically been devoted to horticulture and greenhouse cultivation: this is due to a climate that is particularly mild for these latitudes, without excessive temperature fluctuations, and a large supply of water. Not only that, because its location is also particularly strategic from a logistics point of view, thanks to its proximity to Rotterdam. Speaking of logistics, it is followed not directly by Koppert Cress, but through operators who specialize in import-export and can optimize shipments.
We had a chance to visit the Koppert Cress of today, a company that has been able to project the avant-garde of that time into a decidedly interesting dimension. To get to know it, starting from a headquarters marked by every possible expedient and in perfect coherence with one of the founding pillars of its philosophy, which is sustainability. As, for example, through an ingenious hydraulic scheme that allows the complex to be heated and cooled using water from the canals, thanks to the layers of clay and sand that allow it to be stored and used as needed. Again, the cresses that spring from a substrate of cellulose obtained from trees also grown according to sustainable principles.
Before delving into a definition that lies at the heart of this system, and is also a meaningful concept of its own, namely that of aromatic architecture, it is worth pointing out that behind Koppert Cress, and its products, there is a complex machine that defines the excellence of its quality level. As Katia Piazzi, the Italian face of the company, tells us, “The plant needs the seeds, it starts right from their production, which is done by sister companies (one of Rob Baan's two partners is engaged in Taiwan in this field). No synthetic chemicals are used, everything is concentrated and very small, so the seed has to be of high quality. The seeds are all pure, not genetically modified. Rob has traveled extensively and, over time, has created a team of hunters, seekers of particular plants around the world that are routinely used on certain territories. Species that are perhaps obvious for one geographic area, but that have never been seen in Europe and are potentially of interest to chefs. So you import the seed and recreate ideal habitats, temperature and humidity, the right context, in short; in any case, before you start with the production of a new plant there is quite a long period of testing." What happened with the development of the only European vanilla, brought to market after nearly a decade of research.
In Koppert Cress, which takes its logo from cress, work is done on leaves, inflorescences, shoots, down to the cress itself, with its soft stem and concentrated flavor. The range of options available to the kitchen is quite impressive, but it is particularly worth noting that this variety represents precisely the underlying theme of aromatic architecture. Because, before being a colorful decoration that is appetizing to the eye, the products that Koppert Kress provides are real ingredients. Meaning flavors and effects capable of intervening substantially in the gustatory elaboration of the dish, thus also part of its structure. It is definitely enlightening for a restaurant professional to attend a demo session, even better if it is here at Monster, in the super-equipped kitchen where resident chef Eric Miete, who is stable in the company and in close contact with a pool of chefs from all over Europe, operates.
We tasted new, out-of-the-chorus and certainly successful pairings: it was hard to imagine the impact of an oyster drowned in coffee, yet with Oyster Leaves and Blinq Blossom, a flower variety with an appearance that makes it resemble crystal, juicy, fresh and brackish in flavor, the result left us speechless. Or a crispy gyoza served on cardamom leaf with the citrusy taste of sansho leaves, mango and shiso cress. Crispy with an intense flavor reminiscent of cumin, shiso purple in tempura, with beet tartare, tahooon tops with the delicate flavor of roasted hazelnuts, and finally the sweet-sour touch reminiscent of corn from Emerald seaweed powder. Just a few examples of how a detail, handled properly, can really turn the performance of a dish around, a detail that should, of course, be mentioned while describing it.
