Sure, I am Always Talkin’ Food, but I teach NT2 (Dutch as a second language) on the side. Mainly to young foreigners who came to Amsterdam for or with love and intend to stay. For privacy reasons the names in these columns are fictitious.
Why most of my students choose to live in Amsterdam, apart from the fact that they followed their true love here, is because of its laid-back lifestyle with (cargo) bikes instead of cars and a bruine kroeg on every street corner.
But although they like the Dutch way of living, there is one thing they absolutely do not understand. It’s something they swear they will never adopt, even though they will all do the inburgeringsexamen (citizenship exam) to become a true Dutchie.
Here is where they draw the line.
At Dutch birthday traditions.
’Ongelofelijk’ (incredible), Gretta from the US calls them. In her country, to honour you on your birthday someone bakes you a cake. But here in the Netherlands things are quite different, she had to discover to her dismay.
No one had prepared her for this.
Hans from Germany: ‘The Netherlands is probably the only country in the world where you have to treat others to cake on your own birthday.’
Approving laughter swells in the classroom.
’That's called trakteren,’ I explain when the laughter dies down. ‘And in return for this piece of cake you get presents. Fair deal, no?’
Hans shakes his head: ’Not at my work. A greeting card. Maybe.’
’Plus: you have to treat your hockey team, your padel buddies and even your own family members to cake too.’ Gretta again.
’But when others have their birthday, you’re the one who gets cake, right? Give cake once, eat free cake all year,’ I try to ease their birthday pain.
Nobody agrees.
What Hans finds perhaps even worse, is that the cake comes from a shop. ‘Dutch people buy a cake. You really can't do that in Germany. You have to bake it yourself. There’s no other way.’
’That reminds me,’ I tell him. ‘Wasn’t your birthday soon?’
’Yes Hans, trakteren!’ it sounds as if from one mouth.
Food lingo
Treat - trakteren (verb)/ de traktatie (noun)
Birthday cake - de verjaardagstaart
A piece of cake - een stukje taart (literally)/ een makkie (metaphorically)
Brioche - de brioche
Let them treat brioche
Frankly, cake is not my thing. Let me eat brioche. This French favourite of Queen Marie-Antoinette was up until recently a rare thing to find in Amsterdam. Now several places serve homemade brioche with either sweet or - the way I prefer it - savoury toppings. A new bakery run by two Parisians, the first briocherie in town, sells this eggy, buttery pastry under the very apt name Brioche. Revolutionary good.
Brioche, Bilderdijkstraat 164-HS Amsterdam. Open: Wed-Fri : 8 AM-5.30 PM, Sat-Sun: 9 AM-5 PM