Inter Scaldes *** | Kruiningen (NL)

Dishes provide pleasure, rather than show off. In this age of hoo-ha, entertainment and Instagram, Jannis Brevet impresses with seemingly simple cooking!

Manoir Restaurant Inter Scaldes is located in the village of Kruiningen in the Dutch province of Zeeland in the southwest of The Netherlands, bordering with Belgium. Although Zeeland is one of the least populated provinces, apparently it’s the most culinary one! With no less than 7 Michelin starred restaurants, holding 11 Michelin stars, Zeeland has the most Michelin stars per capita of all Dutch provinces. Inter Scaldes is named after its magnificent surroundings. Situated in the river Schelde delta on reclaimed land, on the peninsula of Zuid-Beveland, between the Oosterschelde and Westerschelde (known as the estuaries of the river Schelde]. Inter Scaldes translates as between de Schelde.

Kruiningen is just a few miles away from Yerseke, the shellfish capital of The Netherlands. We went to Oesterij. the best renown oyster and mussel farm, where we tasted some of there exquisite oysters and mussels for lunch, overlooking the oyster pits. We also spent the night in Yerseke, in beautiful B&B – Petit Hotel Sint Anna, housed in a former Roman Catholic Church.

Inter Scaldes first opened as a restaurant in 1968 and is Michelin starred for the last 4 decades, receiving it’s first star in 1977, the second in 1984 and the third star in 2018.
Since 2001 Inter Scaldes has been run by husband and wife, Jannis (chef) and Claudia (maitre d’) Brevet. They took over from the first owners and another husband and wife team, Maartje (chef) en Kees (maitre d’) Boudeling.

Maitre d’ Claudia started her career in the hotel industry and specialised as a wedding planner. When working at Greenpark Hotel Leischendam, she met Head Chef Jannis Brevet.
At that time Jannis already earned his spurs at several German restaurants, Das Tantris* in München, Die Schweizer Stuben in Wertheim, Alb 31* in Ettlingen and Le Marron* in Bonn. Subsequently the couple worked together at Het Koetshuis in Rhenen, before starting their own business at restaurant Helianthushof in Uden. That restaurant was awarded with a Michelin star in 1998. The next step for Claudia and Jannis was to take over the then two Michelin starred Inter Scaldes in 2001.

Inter Scaldes is open for lunch and dinner on Wednesday to Sunday. Besides à la carte, there is a Specialities Menu, which is offered with 5 courses (at €155) or 8 courses (at €225). On Friday and Saturday evening, the 5-course menu is not available.

We had dinner last Sunday and had the 5-course Specialities Menu. We also had the wine pairing, with half glasses for me.

With our apéritif we were served three very elegantly presented mouth pleasers. A delicious crispy Parmesan cylinder filled with avocado crème. Lovely Dutch shrimps with sea buckthorn, mandarin and hazelnut. And a tasty beetroot with rose, pineapple crisp and buttermilk. Absolutely joyful!

By the way, charging €16.50 for a G’Vine Gin and €6.50 for a standard 200 ml bottle Fever-Tree Indian tonic is pushing it a bit!

A final amuse arrive. For me a signature amuse of beautiful North Sea crab with fresh chive oil, a creamy yoghurt sprinkled with coffee. That coffee flavour was unusual with the crab, but worked ever so well. Delicious!

For Joanne, as should doesn’t eat cold fish, a Borsjt with tea of roses. Borsjt is a soup, with beetroot as the main ingredient, of Ukrainian origin. The earthy flavour of the beetroot nicely enhanced with a rose tea.

Different choices of bread: white, in-between and brown, served with a smooth Beurre de Baratte. Which is a French butter from Bretagne. It’s made the old-fashioned way, churned by hand in a wooden churn, rather than extracted with a centrifuge.

The first course was a slow-cooked octopus, thinly sliced as a carpaccio. Great soft texture and wonderful taste. Served with salty and lightly spicy sea banana, a touch of lavender and crisp Granny Smith apple. Love the cucumber freshness in the dressing. A gorgeous and harmonious pairing of flavours.

For Joanne an alternative first course. Scallop with a layer of coffee. Served with sea beet (also known as wild spinach), Puy lentils, balsamic vinegar and a foam of sauerkraut. Lovely rich coffee sauce, almost chocolaty. Delicate, yet bold, deliciousness!

The next course was the sensation of the evening. Smooth Peking duck foie gras with old port wine reduction, covered with a foam of popcorn and Parmesan. And that was only in the bowl!

The foie gras dish was completed with a brioche with white sesame seeds. An apple and passion fruit compote to counter the richness of the foie gras. And last but not least a foie gras mouse topped with a Parmesan crème, as smooth as whipped cream. This was like being submerged in foie gras heaven. Pure indulgence, banging on the door of divine!

Unbelievably succulent sea bass, on peas and avocado with a touch of mint. Menton lemon, tomato and artichoke, almost with an Asian touch, topped with grilled tomato and vegetables. A lively sauce crémière (cream sauce) to add a layer of comfort. Immaculate balance in this perfect harmony of flavours.

Zeeuwse hare (Zeeuwse means from Zeeland and polder is the Dutch word for reclaimed land), coated with walnuts, Taggia olive and sumac (red berries with a fresh, tangy flavour). A delicious parsley puree adding gentle freshness. Brussels sprouts filled with epoisse cheese and silky mash with epoisse as well. A deep-flavoured hare sauce completes this utter delicious dish. Not too gamey despite all the bold flavours. Clever and astonishing perfection!

We shared a cheeseboard, with epoisse, Dutch blue, a creamy white and a hard cheese. Served with a slice of nut bread. Normally it’s served with only cheese and the bread. Seems a bit poor to me. Would like to see some chutney, grapes and some crackers. On request they served some of the apple passion fruit compote, from the foie gras dish, with it.

No pre-dessert, but dessert came in two parts. On the plate a nice composition of chocolate, eucalyptus, Bourbon vanilla, yuzu. Ocoa 70% was used, a “new generation” chocolate with a pure and intense taste of cocoa and a hint of acidity, thanks to the new and unique method of fermentation : the Q fermentation. Excellent dessert with refreshing touches balance the chocolate richness!

The second part of the dessert was an orange brandy snap covering mascarpone, bamboo and buddha’s hand jelly. Buddha’s hand is an unusually shaped fingered citron variety whose fruit is segmented into finger-like sections, resembling those seen on representations of Buddha. The sweet citrusy flavours working wonderfully in this dessert. Smashing the brandy snap with your spoon added satisfying crunch to the lovely creaminess below.

A very elaborate display of friandises. Three huge macarons, with rose, basil and mango flavours. Marshmallows with rose (hardly visible on the top white plate). On the small rectangular plate we have two chocolate bonbons, a pistachio cake and a tartlet with passion fruit. Nine little squares of Gran Marnier chocolate. And in the bowl house made nougat and salted caramel. Not all easy to share though, especially the macarons. Would be better to make two small ones instead of one large. But all delicious and displaying good craftsmanship of the pastry chef.

Service was genuinely classy, The front of house team is very welcoming, knowledgeable and well-organised. Including sommelier Geert Rutten, who took over from sommelier Koen van der Plas, when he moved to Restaurant Kasteel Heemstede last July. Claudia Brevet is a true hostess, the way she makes you feel at home, manages her team and the way she discreetly offers reading glasses, when she sees you struggling with the menu!

Patron-Cuisiner Jannis Brevet is an outstanding chef, showing off his skills on anything seafood. The octopus, coquille and sea bass being proof of that. But the absolute stars of this dinner were the astonishing hare dish and the orgasmic foie gras. Utter perfection!

In this age of hoo-ha, entertainment and Instagram, a lot of top restaurants want to deliver that wow-factor, with smoke and mirrors on the table and culinary tricks in the kitchen. Not at Inter Scaldes though. Dishes aim to provide pleasure, rather than show off the clever and inventive chef. Jannis Brevet impresses with seemingly simple cooking, with an invariably recognisable main ingredient on each plate, expertly paired with perfect condiments and garnishes.