Column: Italians in Olanda

'Guarda, oh my! Look, what a geese!' says Roberto. geese? What is special about that, I think at first. But when I look around me, I see that there are indeed a lot of people walking around in the meadows of North Holland.

I had never noticed that, but our Italian friends see something like this immediately. Everything in the Netherlands is new to them. Roberto spent a few days in Leidschendam years ago, but for Antonica it is the first time, not only in the Netherlands but abroad at all.

The idea for this trip came from Cora and Marco, the Dutch who bought a house near us. Every year they organize a benefit dinner in the Netherlands for a development project in Ethiopia (see Hands4Home) and now that they have learned the cooking skills of Antonica and the wine of the Beyond Pavese got to know them, they thought it would be a great idea if this year's benefit dinner was a real Italian one dinner could become.

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Roberto and Antonica were immediately enthusiastic. And so did we, because they absolutely made us come along. Only to the Netherlands, without speaking the language or even English? No way. Of course we had no objection to this (we like to sacrifice ourselves when it comes to Italian food and drinks) and in no time we fantasized an entire program with not one but three included, dinners: one for the benefit and two for family and friends. Because to take our Italian culinary experts all the way to the Far North for a single performance, no, that would be a shame.

I have no idea how many hours were spent on preparation. Most of the time was lost talking, preferably by discussing again what we had already discussed 3 times, an old Italian but perhaps also universal human custom.

How much wine, let's see, 40 plus 20 plus 15 men, a bottle each, that makes…, and what wine, how much white, red, sparkling wine, from which wine company? Will it all fit in the car? And how do we get that stock safely past Swiss customs? The maximum amount allowed per person is 5 liters (6 bottles) and we amply exceeded that quantity. Detour through Austria? Have a load of boxes sent by official route? Doubting, dubbing, thinking, planning. You know what, let's have a chat.

In the end we were lucky that another regular guest, who happened to visit us very early in the year, was willing to take a good portion with him. He was also used to the checks at the border, so he didn't squeeze him so easily when he was plucked from the line of passing cars by a uniformed officer.

His experience was that the customs officers for a bottle (or a box) were quickly prepared to condone exceeding the amount of drink. Fortunately, because in the end everything that had to come (including another 6 extra boxes of wine) only just fit in the car. Meat, sausages, cheeses, rice, a cutting machine, our dog, almost everything had to come from Italy. Because only truly Italian products meet the requirements that Antonica sets for its ingredients (don't worry, our Joia was not slaughtered). The result is there so we are not complaining.

Despite the full car, Roberto was not very confident that we had everything with us. 'Chi sa che troviamo lì! Who knows what we'll find there (in NL)!' he said to me during the busy and chaotic meeting about the shopping list at their home. Nico, Antonica and Cora were in full discussion and Roberto and I watched and listened intently. At one point we heard in the cacophony the phrase 'Se lo trovi lì, lo compri là. If you find that (ingredient) here, you buy it there.' Roberto looked at me in horror. This could never go well. During the whole visit to the Netherlands we kept repeating this absurd aphorism to each other with a laugh.

It all worked out, of course. Of course something was missing, the Sardinian carasau bread, also called music paper, was still in Italy, but it could be purchased at a neighboring Italy specialist store. For a very hefty amount, yes. Antonica was shocked and displeased with the prices she (there) dared to ask for products made in Italy (leaves) were much cheaper. A simple salami for 50 euros the kilo? Never! Meglio non spendere soldi lì, ma comprare là!

Of course we also had a few days free for a tour along some touristic highlights of the Netherlands. The Zaanse Schans, Volendam, Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam. Nico proudly showed our Italian friends his great-great-great-grandfather's weaver's house while I rested in the bed…se guardate lì, mi sdraio là – if you take a look there, I'll lie here for a while).

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Antonica recognized the ancient looms as the same ones still used to weave rugs in some villages in Sardinia. In Volendam, we pushed Roberto and Antonica into a photo shop where they were reluctant to have themselves photographed in old Dutch clothing.

In Amsterdam the cigarettes were blown out of Roberto's mouth (the storm Ciara passed over the country) and we (yes, us too) were amazed at the enormous amount of bicycles parked at Central Station. And all those crane, cranes! At least here in the Netherlands a lot of construction was going on. Roberto impressed us with his expertise: he was able to list the height, reach and maximum load of each crane. How did that happen? Well, Antonica whispered to us, when they first met he dragged her to every possible fair where construction equipment was displayed. A very different idea of ​​romance than we expect from an Italian…

While Antonica marveled at the beautiful canal houses during the obligatory cruise, Roberto counted the many Teslas that were charging along the water. As always, time was far too short and we only saw a fraction of The Hague and Rotterdam. But who knows, maybe we'll do it again in the coming years because it made the Italians want more.

tasted? Yes, even the Dutch eating habits had the approval of the Italians, who were known as culinary very difficult, conservative and chauvinistic. Roberto and Antonica tried the kale with sausage, the Chinese (Roberto's daughter didn't know what she heard when we told them we were going to eat Chinese. Neither did Roberto by the way), the bitterballen and croquettes with fries, the sausage roll and even… the salted herring!

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They liked almost everything, although the smoked sausage and the sausage roll were a little less for Roberto (the slavinken, on the other hand…). The wine in the few restaurants we visited, on the other hand, was a total letdown. 30 euros or more for a red Italian wine that is no better than a supermarket wine of 2 euros? Roberto couldn't get over it. Good thing we imported a hundred bottles ourselves!

The trip to the Netherlands was a resounding success. The benefit brought in quite a bit of money and the Italian meals were very popular: 'another round of lasagna!', 'more risotto!', 'is there any meat left?' were the cries I heard as a dishwasher (what a terrible profession) during the benefit dinner behind my back through the kitchen.

And that Roberto and Antonica were able to appreciate the Dutch eating habits so much was a pleasant surprise for us, because we had been a bit worried about this. Uncalled for.

Se mangi lì, mangi anche là. If you eat here, you eat there.

🇮🇹 Reading tip: Want to read more fun stories about life in Italy? You can find it in the three parts 'Italiaanse Status' by Stef Smulders, available at bol.com.