Koen speaking: the beating green heart of Stadsjochies 🌱
22/01/26
Walking through Stadsjochies' garden, one sees a seemingly peaceful place. But behind that tranquillity lies a world of planning, care and attention. For five years, Koen has been an indispensable link in that. As cultivation manager, he keeps an overview of everything that grows, blooms and is harvested.
“The garden is never just a garden. Everything that happens here has a purpose.”
From seed to plate
Koen is the one who keeps the overall picture. Every week, and actually every day, he looks ahead: what needs to be harvested, which tasks have priority and how do we make sure everything is ready for the kitchen at the right time?
Every morning starts with a team meeting. Together they discuss what is needed in the garden that day. Koen makes clear task lists so that everyone knows what needs to be done. From raising young plants to protecting crops against diseases or insects: nothing is left to chance.
Every Monday morning, he walks a round the entire field. He looks closely at each crop. If he sees anything unusual, he acts immediately. Sometimes by himself, sometimes together with the team. Everything is registered, so the quality remains high and the soil healthy.
Indispensable products from your own garden
Everything that grows at Stadsjochies has value, but some products are really indispensable, according to Koen. The cresses, for instance: available all year round and always surprising. In addition, leeks, beetroot, potatoes, tomatoes and courgette flowers are fixed pillars. The easiest to grow? The Jerusalem artichoke. “You put that in the ground and it does almost everything by itself,” he says, laughing.
Why working at Stadsjochies is so special
What Koen appreciates most is the freedom and trust. There is room to work with good resources, to contribute ideas and to create the most beautiful garden possible together. And of course: the team. “We really work together here. With our hands, outside, every day.”
Cooperation with the kitchen plays a big role in this. Cultivation does not exist without the restaurant, and the restaurant does not exist without cultivation. Everything that grows is used. Nothing goes to waste.
A special moment every year: eating in the restaurant with the cultivation team. Tasting what you have worked for for months. And being proud of what the kitchen makes with those products.
The calm of winter
Winter is not a standstill, but a respite. Days are shorter, everything grows more slowly. It is a period of tidying up, planning and looking ahead to the new year.
Thanks to the greenhouse, some of the work continues. Vegetables can continue to grow there and new plants are raised early. Many winter harvests are actually an extension of earlier seasons. Brussels sprouts or Jerusalem artichokes grown in summer and autumn are harvested in winter.
“You don't grow in winter, you lengthen,” he says.”
Working circularly with Bokashi
One project Koen is currently particularly proud of is Bokashi. Residual flows from the garden are fermented and returned to the soil. This keeps the soil healthy and alive.
The effects are subtle but sustainable: less compost procurement, stronger soil and ultimately healthier plants. Exactly what Stadsjochies stands for.
What's on the plate now?
In winter, sprouts and greenhouse-grown leafy vegetables are mainly seen in dishes: chard, rocket, pea shoots and kale. In addition, many products from earlier seasons are fermented so that they can also be used in winter.
And of course: the cresses. Always present, although the range of cresses changes with the seasons.
Looking ahead
With new colleagues on the way and a close-knit team that continues to grow, Koen looks forward to the year ahead with energy: “We are doing this together. And you feel that, every day.”