In 1953, Abraham Kef opened his store on Marnixstraat in Amsterdam. Abraham Kef was a pioneer. A flamboyant cheesemonger and storyteller with a great passion for raw milk cheeses from small producers. He organized regular tastings and shared his enthusiasm for distinct, unique flavors with the people of Amsterdam. This is how he managed to leave an indelible memory in the Amsterdam cheese landscape and far beyond with his French cheeses.
Today at Fromagerie Kef, we still work a lot with raw-milk, French cheeses, but now also with various local makers. In the end, it is products with a special story and a unique taste that make us most happy.
The Amsterdam based Senza Tea was started by Jeroen Veneman after he was baffled by the inferior quality of tea in the hospitality industry. Mostly still dust filled bags infused with flavouring agents. A dead shame, especially because loose tea leaves are eco-friendlier, are so much tastier and are, above all, healthier. Senza Tea has one very simple mission: Everyone should only drink tea made with loose tea leaves! The tea-sommeliers of Senza only choose the best tea leaves possible. These are imported and packaged in their own factory. We serve seven kinds of this delicious tea.
Smaragd Wines imports mostly organic and biodynamic wines throughout Europe to the Netherlands. Martijn Verkerk the founder earned the title of ‘Best Sommelier of The Netherlands’ in 2010. “A brilliant experience. But let’s not kid ourselves, the more you know about wine, the more you realise how little you actually know”, says Martijn Verkerk. His carefully chosen wines are always a pleasant surprise and spot on the mark. The farmers he works with strive to produce wines with as little intervention as possible. The wines they make tend to have a low alcohol-percentage, a good sour basis, optimal flavour expressions while containing minimum levels of oak. And this is why his wine-selection tends to be pure, elegant and powerful. The ‘Gocce di Marinella’, ‘Galets Dores’, ‘Clot del Roure’, ‘For Friends’ and the ‘MIM’ Cava are all wines selected by him.
Alessandro Piccolo had a passion for coffee from a very young age. He drank his first cup of coffee when he was eleven and it has become indispensable at the start of his day since. His dad used to regularly take him to Alessandro’s birthplace Sicily. The quality of the coffee in Sicily inspired him and expanded his love for coffee. After acquiring ten years of experience working for a major coffee brand Alessandro decided to start his own company in 2012. Piccolo Caffè is a small and exclusive Dutch coffee brand that uses 100% high quality Arabica beans. Start your day or finish off your diner with a cup of our very own Ysbreeker blend coffee. Or take a bag of Ysbreeker coffee beans with you to go to enjoy our coffee at home.