I nominate the Vlaamsch Broodhuys for the quality and variety of the bread they make, but also, and above all, because alongside the product, they understand that a shop formula based around bread is perfectly suited to a society run amok.

Not everything has to be different or new. Some products are “timeless” because they address a fundamental human need – a need that arises out of who we are at our innermost core. These products transcend the satisfaction of time-bound needs. Bread is a perfect example. And bread appears to have fallen victim to market-economic thinking. Supermarket shelves are full of “factory bread”. Nowadays, it’s often no more than a vehicle for various toppings meant to disguise the tastelessness of the bread itself. But things don’t have to be this way, as the Vlaamsch Broodhuys points out in its website information. “The Vlaamsch Broodhuys uses traditional wheat varieties, Breton sea salt, vitalized spring water and, most of all, time. This is the basis of honest, tasty, nutritious bread, according to our baker-owner, the former top chef Dimitri Roels. His passion is baking bread that tastes like bread should.”

The Vlaamsch Broodhuys is a place to come back to your senses. The belief that love and attention for the product can achieve this, however naive that might sound, really speaks to me. I find it so impressive that “time” can be encapsulated in a product and hence experienced. Of course, this is a reaction to the consumerism we see all around us, but the stamina required to truly make the most of an idea like this is testimony to an immense individuality. The Vlaamsch Broodhuys is not only a bakery/shop but also a place to have breakfast and lunch. The decor isn't very exciting, and it certainly isn’t cutting-edge. But I think the decision to subordinate it to the products on offer is a very appropriate one. It puts all the focus on the bread itself and the preparation of meals.

In the last two years, the formula’s been rolled out to new locations in other cities. Rotterdam has had a Vlaamsch Broodhuys for a year now. The most impressive thing of all is that, in spite of the Vlaamsch Broodhuys’s commercial success, the quality of the bread hasn’t suffered. A formula only succeeds when you keep the focus on the core, the product portfolio, and safeguard the essential values of the range. When you eat Vlaamsch Broodhuys bread, for just a few euros you experience how satisfying life can be and how much beauty Mother Earth, in all her simplicity and humbleness, has to offer us. Experiencing the quality of the bread through eating it permits you to sit still and enjoy life for a moment. When you have a good foundation, you can build on it.

I would like to extend my deepest thanks to all our bakers and bread ambassadors for the support and effort they provide every day. It is partly thanks to their great dedication that the Vlaamsch Broodhuys has become what it is today.

Dimitri Roels