An evening of stories, flavours and medieval magic
22/10/25
In September, the centuries-old corridors of the Dom filled with something that had not been heard there for centuries: the gentle murmur of a banquet, the clinking of glasses, the whispering of stories. During Diner in de Dom, we brought Utrecht's Dom Tower to life, not with light or sound, but with taste, smell and imagination.
At the heart of our project The Mysterious Corridors of the Cathedral, we didn't want to tell history, we wanted it to be tasted. What did the Middle Ages taste like? What did the city dweller, the monk, the traveller who passed the tower eat? And what does that say about us, about how we deal with food, nature and tradition today?
A culinary journey through time
The evening began simply, with buckwheat and flowers, a dish that paid homage to the ground we stand on. What was once a humble crop became an ode to the power of simplicity. This was followed by clotted nuns, a nod to medieval playfulness, in which egg and spices found an unexpected harmony.
With wrongelen, wey and the caes, we revived a forgotten craft: making cheese, fragrant and fresh with flowers and green herbs. Warmoes, once a proud product of Utrecht's city gardens, coloured the plates with its rich leafy vegetables.
Potagie, the medievalist's daily meal, was given a sophisticated twist with eels and spices. And then the Anjou pigeon appeared: noble, powerful, and imbued with tales of commerce, status and taste.
Finally, we ended with a sweet memory: blanc manger, once a symbol of wealth, now a playful finale full of red fruit and almond, a bridge between centuries.
Wine, beer and herbal infusions with a story
Each dish came with a story in a glass. Sparkling wines, spicy beers, and drinks that harkened back to monastic traditions. Even without alcohol, we travelled through time: via hypocras with its warm spiciness, apple-lavender full of freshness, or mustel, a mysterious drink that once marked the transition from juice to wine.
Simplicity, provenance and connection
What made this evening special was the origin of our ingredients. Almost everything came from our own soil. Only eggs, eel, pigeon, seeds and almonds came from elsewhere. As in medieval times, we ate from what the land gave us, a conscious choice, an ode to local soil and seasons.
We wanted to remember what it means to eat with consideration: for provenance, for craft, for the earth. In the dark corridors of the Cathedral, that realisation became tangible: with every bite, every smell, every glance at each other.
More than a dinner
Dinner in the Cathedral was no ordinary dinner, but a fusion of art, heritage and gastronomy. An encounter between past and present, between man and monument. What were once just stones became a living story.
Watch the mood video of the evenings here
Thank you for being there. May the echo of these evenings go home with you, like a secret whispered through the centuries of the cathedral.
