| Great chefs draw inspiration from the Dutch masters |
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| bread, cheese and beer |
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Courtesy Rijksmuseum Amsterdam |
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Bread, cheese and beer
In one of his historical pieces, Voltaire (pseudonym of François-Marie Arouet, 1694 - 1778) tells an amusing anecdote about the Golden Age in Holland. Because of his bad digestion ('I was born without a stomach'), the French philosopher was obsessed by food. Perhaps that is why eating customs play a leading role in this story. 'Work and sobriety were their guarantee of freedom. As the Spanish Marquis de Spinola and president Richardot were travelling to The Hague in 1608 to negotiate a cease-fire with the Dutch, they saw along the way a group of eight or ten men disembark from a little boat. The men simply seated themselves in the grass and produced for themselves a packet of bread, cheese and beer. The Spanish ambassador watched, then asked a farmer who these gentlemen might be. They were, the farmer said, the Deputies of the States-General, 'our sovereign lords and masters'. Upon which the Spanish ambassador turned to his companions and said: "Such people cannot be defeated. It is better to make peace with them."' And indeed: the cease-fire agreed upon later was to last for twelve years.
This is only one example of the many humorous and informative articles about food in the Golden Age that make this book so rich.
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