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| Balloons and bunting |
Daffodils and roses are already blooming in Amsterdam's quietly raffish Oude Pijp district (think Shoreditch with canals and bicycles rather than end-to-end traffic and crowds). Our gently aimless Saturday morning stroll past Sarphati Park is suddenly transformed: we have stumbled unexpectedly into the balloons and bunting of Bilder and De Clercq deli's first anniversary party, a celebration of their big new idea. In business, the first year is when new ideas either wither and die, or put down roots for a robust future: it seems B&dC are well on their way, given the packed, good-natured support in the café and browsing the deli shelves.
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| The novel food stations |
B&dC is not your usual deli: its USP, its new idea, is the "meal station". Across the store are a dozen or so of these separate stations, each dedicated to a particular dish, and each containing a recipe card and all the listed ingredients in appropriate quantities. A cheerful assistant explains (while she dispenses anniversary snacks): choose your menu and then simply load up the ingredients which are laid out ready at the station and in its mini-freezer - and there are well-matched wines available to reduce decision making even further. Large, colourful images of plated up meals stand above each station to draw your eye and stimulate your culinary imagination - and your appetite. B&dC source as much as possible locally, though their recipe vision is international: Thailand and Indonesia, The Middle East and Singapore are represented in addition to Europe.
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| The station for Thai Mussels |
Each recipe card is designed for two, though it is easy to multiply up for a feast; it costs between €5 and €7 a head. So if you are in a hurry or haven't planned ahead, the hard part (ie: deciding what to cook and sourcing the ingredients) has already been done. Sounds like a brilliant idea!
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