Landgoed Eemwijk on the Vliet in Voorburg is nowhere short of space, yet we meet the entire catering family 'Pavarotti' Bogaart, 11 men, in the kitchen of the main building. The chairs close together. Eating breakfast together every weekend is a tradition, a cosy respite from running fourteen businesses that are open seven days a week, from morning to night.

Pavarotti New Kijkduin

Entrepreneur René Bogaart (Big Horeca) and his wife Sandra look around proudly. Sitting there are their six children Don (25), Bo (24), Joe (22), Mitch (21), Kim (19) and Pam (15), two of whom have trailers. Don and Robin Bogaart also have their baby with them, Bear. Many of the eighteen dogs of the house also frolic around, surprising you under the long dining table by constantly bumping into your legs. A hound dog lays its sweet, old head on your lap.

The Bogaart family in their home in Voorburg, with from left to right: Pam, son-in-law Joris, Bo, Kim, Sandra, René, Mitch, Joe, daughter-in-law Robin with baby Bear, and Don.

To the left, a Chihuahua slobbers from an oversized water bowl; across the way, baby Bear's electric toy hums. And almost invisible between bread, toppings, plates, cutlery, cups and glasses is a completely useless speech recorder. So lots of writing down, with the right. And lots of petting animals, with left and right.

Two hobbies

Yet the expected cacophony of sounds remains absent. Father René (54) likes to talk and talks easily, and no one shouts through it. He interjects. "We are a growing organisation and then you get your head slightly above the ground. And the shame then is that everyone thinks something of you. I can honestly say that we have two hobbies, and that is our family and our work.

We are just very ambitious. From a very young age, I had a desire to have a big family and operate many hospitality businesses. Besides, I see hospitality as a top sport and that's the reason I don't drink alcohol or smoke. When I met my wife, we were both 21 at the time, I said: I like you very much, and still do, but my ambition is to work in the hospitality industry, so that means all weekdays, weekends and holidays. And I would love to have a big family."

The Piglet

Sandra said yes to both wishes. Otherwise, René Bogaart had seriously gone 'a door down'. "We started party café 't Biggetje in Leidschendam in 1995. From the beginning we have been successful, but we have always worked very, very hard. Also the children. And they have a package that others think: I don't have that in it. But with us the rule is: one team, one mission."

"But nothing was compulsory," the children say. Their father was not strict either, they feel. René: "In fact, three of our six children were at the Hotel School but did not finish it because they said, 'Dad, I just want to learn from you and just work with you'."

And they knew damn well what they were getting into then. After all, René Bogaart's parents and grandparents had also been in the catering business, and his children were not brought up according to a set plan either, but according to the hustle and bustle of the day. "And I have to be honest, they have become strong kids. And flexible. We have it good, but again, we all work very hard for that."

Pavarotti

Pavarotti Kijkduin is the new shoot on the business tree, even bigger and more spectacular than the other establishments in the region, with 650 seats at boulevard and beach level. It is an Italian restaurant with a wine bar and an ice cream parlour.

The popular ice cream parlour.

The emphasis is on "open, honest, quality and small prices". Thanks to a multi-million investment, you will also find a fresh pasta laboratory, four karaoke rooms with different themes (Après ski, Temptation Island, Glitterclub and La Dolce Vita) and a unique aquarium with two tiny sharks as an intermediate stage of some kind of survival programme.

Pavarotti Kijkduin has an aquarium with tiny sharks.

Bogaart: "I'll be in all 14 cases, but now mainly at Pavarotti Kijkduin, until it runs completely. And it's going very well. Every new business is like another birth. I'm a people person, standing at the door every day. We come to introduce ourselves to guests, it has to be an oasis of friendliness. And the kitchen is open until midnight every day. It's unique that you can still order pasta or pizza that late, isn't it?"

'Pavarotti Kijkduin's kitchen is open until midnight every day'

His total company has 950 employees. "We were able to restart very quickly after corona, because I hadn't laid anyone off, had continued paying salaries as usual. With hindsight, people call that smart of me, but I just followed my gut. And you shouldn't just pay staff well, you should also train and motivate them by rewarding them, not punishing them. And when someone joins us, we say, 'Welcome to the family.' The guests experience it the same way."

Whether René Bogaart - 'I am 54 but feel like 27 - will start even more businesses? He would love to conquer the whole of the Netherlands with the Pavarotti concept. But his wife Sandra now also wants more time for the two of them. "And there will be no more dogs either," she warns at the table to all the children, who often brought home outcasts, including once a pig, which is still there. So the Bogaart family is at something of a crossroads. "But the goal is for everyone to be happy," says father René.

Hospitality family

After the photo session in the living room, almost everyone looks at their watches. They have to leave. There is work to be done at 14 locations and upstairs in the office. Baby Bear does not yet know that he too was born into a real hospitality family. In a prepared bed? No way, that's just going to be hard work. And that has never killed anyone. René Bogaart's grandmother lived to be 102. And both his parents are still alive.

www.pavarotti.nl