Tand Hague is a lovely city, but you also dream of travelling to exotic places or going far back in time at a castle. And then you want to eat from silver platters. You count your money, study the globe and follow all the cooking programmes. The latter is what Jim Boctor, the young chef of restaurant Sophie in the basement of Castle de Wittenburg. And it is already waiting for you. Not in Mexico, not in Thailand, but just around the corner, in Wassenaar: on top of a castle and with dishes from all over the world. Who needs Schiphol?

Kasteel de Wittenburg was always a private setting with captains of industry, in possession of an exclusive membership.

That travelling and feasting was already done for us in the nineteenth century by Sophie Adrienne Baroness Sloet van Oldruitenborgh and jonkheer Helenus Marinus Speelman, who had the Wittenburg built in 1899. The showpieces of their tours can be seen throughout the castle, while the dishes in the à la carte restaurant named after Sophie (since 2018) are enriched with products from many countries.

The Wittenburg

Since De Wittenburg (with ten hotel rooms) has been successfully accommodating meetings and events, director Ralf Meppelder and his staff have their next goal: to make it even clearer that anyone can drop by. For a glass of wine, a lunch, a drink, a dinner. For the same money as in the big city, but with so many advantages: nature, space and quiet, grandeur, free parking.

Jim Boctor

Jim Boctor already had a lot of cooking experience (Kurhaus, Sociëteit De Witte, The Harbour Club) when he was asked in 2021. He still sounds happy and proud: "When are you going to be a chef in a castle?" Sophie's chef clearly has his own ideas and dares to try things out. "My dishes are quite robust with worldly flavours," he says. And fresh, of course.

De Wittenburg's menu is complete but manageable. Boctor: "The kitchen has four categories and four stations. Each chef can thus perform his own tasks perfectly." At this restaurant, you can "dine regally". "If you come here to eat, you also want to be treated like royalty. "Guests experience Sophie's world tour in culinary fashion, for example. With different themed menus, including Asian, Latin American and classic French. "We have dishes you don't see elsewhere. Like softshell crab tacos and pulpo-bavette skewers." Jordy van der Vegt, the cheerful maître d'hôtel, gets high praise from Boctor and Meppelder: "He has set up a fantastic, varied wine list. Eighty per cent of all wines can also be ordered by the glass."

Chef Jim Boctor (l) and Jordy van der Vegt.

Event manager Eline Tahaparij's successes also count. This year, as many as 60 exclusive weddings will take place in the castle and - in fine weather - in the lush garden. "The bride and groom-to-be are then allowed to try out a tasting menu six weeks before the party as a preliminary treat. Then they immediately know how they will be pampered on their big day."

De Wittenburg already had a garden and terrace overlooking the water, but now also has a lower terrace directly on the water with a chic vibe. Think Côte d'Azur, taste Saint-Tropez. Champagne, rosé and oysters. Courtesy of 1899: 'Once upon a time there was a baroness...'.

www.wittenburg.nl