In a world where 'sustainable' is often just a marketing label, there are also people who really do things differently. People for whom respect for animals, nature and products is not a trend, but a given. Like chef Steven Klein Nijenhuis of restaurant Onder de Linden in Aduard and game butcher David Rutgers from Groningen. One cooks at star level, the other slaughters and sells only game. Together they make a fist against waste, overproduction and laziness in gastronomy.
A big shift for restaurant
'I do think that there is something seriously wrong with the climate', Klein Nijenhuis begins, while he prepares the cappuccino with whipped oat milk. 'I have no illusions and I am really not going to change all that, but I do like to show that it can be done differently.'
And he has been doing that for some time now with his restaurant Inn Under the Linden in Aduard. In 2016, he started the business there with his then partner. A successful restaurant, with a Michelin star. On the menu luxury ingredients such as wagyu, lobster and caviar. A year ago, he made a shift by stopping using those products, and beef and dairy. 'You can still eat very well without those products', he adds. 'Food has a very big impact on emissions, much more than people think, also much more than, for example, the car you drive.'
In addition, the decision to change course in a more sustainable way is also an economic choice. 'Yes, there is also a financial side to it. I want to distinguish myself, but everything is becoming more and more expensive.
From chef to butcher: a radical choice
David Rutgers worked for years as a chef in his own restaurant in the city of Groningen before he fully dedicated himself to his passion: game meat. 'At that time, hunters regularly came to my business with game and I immediately found that very interesting. In 2015, this building became available, then I sold my restaurant and started the Wilde Slager.'
The Wild Butcher is a unique butcher shop in Groningen where only game is sold, originating from its own region. Or as he puts it himself: it is a shop, a butcher shop, a tasting room and a school. The only place in Groningen where you can buy, prepare, feel, discover, touch, smell and taste game.
And where does Rutgers' fascination with wild meat come from? 'If you eat a piece of game, such as deer, and you eat a steak, you will never eat a cow again', he says firmly. 'To me, beef, pork and chicken just taste watery. Of course, you get used to it and I am spoiled now. And when you eat it for the first time, it may take some getting used to, but after that it is fantastic. Moreover, game is much meatier. And the best thing of all: those animals have of course had a wonderful life, and you can just taste it!'
'For me, game is the ultimate in meat,' he says. 'In terms of taste, in terms of sustainability, in terms of diversity.'
The hunters knew where to find Rutgers because he was soon offered a lot of game at his new location, complete with skin and hair. 'So that meant a lot of plucking and boning for me, something you can't necessarily do as a chef. But I did it a lot and had also learned a lot from hunters and farmers, and a bit from a poulterer. I was always looking for the tastiest piece of meat. I just started messing around and every now and then you fall flat on your face, but that's how you learn best.'
His meat comes from hunters who actively contribute to game management. No farmed animals, no trucks full of soy, no industrial slaughter. 'I know where every piece of meat comes from. Every deer, every goose has its own story. And I pass that story on to chefs like Steven.'
Rutgers knows he is not choosing convenience. Wild animals differ in size, fat content and structure. 'No two geese are the same,' he says. 'Sometimes difficult, but also the beauty. As a chef, you have to be able to think in possibilities.'
A Michelin star with roots in the North
Chef Klein Nijenhuis makes no secret of his love for the region. In his kitchen he works as much as possible with products from the neighbourhood, locally. As much as possible from the province of Groningen, but also the rest of the Netherlands, or even a bit of Germany, are included.
'Our focus is local, sustainable and less from far away. First look at what is available in the area. Because we hardly use meat anymore, we started using a lot more nuts. So we went looking for a company where we could get them from. There is a company in Gelderland that supplies us with that. Maybe that is not very close by, but it is always better than nuts that you get from California, for example, or who knows where.'
Furthermore, Klein Nijenhuis uses a lot of vegetables and herbs from its own garden in Annen. He gets his inspiration from that. 'You force yourself to be creative when you get inspired by what grows in nature. Of course, we work with a sowing plan and we know what will come out of the ground when. But still. A carrot from the Hanos always looks the same. With such a private garden, that can change sometimes and you sometimes have to switch if it turns out differently. You have to be flexible, but that's also nice.'
And of course Rutgers' game. Not only to reduce the ecological footprint, but also because he believes in the quality of the region. 'It doesn't necessarily have to be organic, which of course isn't possible with game, but it has to be honest. What grows and blooms here, that has to be on the plate.'
'I want to show what you can make here. With simple, common products. Without fuss. Just good food, that is also sustainable.'
No greenwashing, but awareness
Both men are outspoken about the misunderstandings surrounding sustainability. Rutgers: 'Greenwashing is everywhere. People think that local fish is sustainable, but almost no fish really is. And if a cow is local, but eats soy from the Amazon, how sustainable is that?' Klein Nijenhuis adds: 'Consumers are often confused. What is healthy, what is good for the climate? We try to tell that story via the plate. Eat less animal food, more plant-based. And if you do eat meat, choose game or chicken. That is better for the climate and for your body.'
The honest story on the plate
What chef and butcher share is a deep aversion to waste and laziness. 'We have drifted too far away from what food actually is,' says Klein Nijenhuis. 'People prefer to buy anonymous meat from a plastic container. But if you work with a deer that was still walking through the forest that morning, then you have to have respect and you automatically waste less.' Rutgers adds: 'You can't eat steak every day. But if you do eat meat, eat something good. Something with a story.'
Stories that stick
At Under the Lindens is that story already in the choices they make: deer instead of beef, local celeriac instead of imported avocado. Guests don't just get a plate of food, but a story. Not forced, but available when they ask for it. 'Everyone in the service and in the kitchen knows where the products come from,' says Klein Nijenhuis. 'So if someone asks something, we can explain it. And people like that. That you know what you're eating, especially if it's sustainable and local. And it is, there's a lot of demand for it these days. Local is just a great word. But if you're going to do something with it, do it well and don't just put a stupid story on your menu.
Rutgers also sees this in his shop. 'More and more people are interested. They want to know what they are buying and how the animal lived. And with me they know: this was shot, not bred. No transport, no stress. Moreover, I always know exactly where the animal comes from. Those lines are super short. A hunter who sells me bullshit does not have to come here again.'
Future without fuss
What unites the two is their no-nonsense mentality. No trends, just craftsmanship, taste and shared responsibility. 'In David I simply have a very reliable supplier', says Klein Nijenhuis. 'He is a craftsman and also very transparent, so I know exactly what I buy from him. And we pass on his story to the guest.'
Rutgers hopes that, partly due to the collaboration with Onder de Linden, more people will (re)discover game. 'I now sell deer, hare, goose, pigeon. Not everyone dares to do it, but it is honest meat. It is already there. We just have to use it well. And working with creative chefs like Steven is that they are not bound to a specific delivery period. With game, you never know when something will arrive, so you have to be able to switch.'
Green choices don't have to be complicated. Sometimes it just starts with one deer, shot in the province and processed by people who know what they're doing. And it ends up as a star-worthy dish on a plate in Aduard.
The Green Choice
Want to read everything about the Green Choice? The Green Choice is a project in which Groningen hospitality entrepreneurs, chefs and local producers work together to make sustainable food routes visible. By means of portraits, interviews, videos and cooking demonstrations, the journey of local products - such as grains, potatoes, game and shrimps - from producer to dish is visualized. The project stimulates the short chain, strengthens regional cooperation and offers inspiration for both professionals in the hospitality industry and conscious consumers. De Groene Keuze is an initiative of the Northern Netherlands Economic Cooperation Foundation supported by the Province of Groningen en Municipality of Groningen
© 2025 ESNN Foundation
Text: Tanja Tuinstra
Photography: Jasper Bolderdijk
Video: Twan Siertsema
