Café Gilde is open at OT301
A kitchen by the people for the people
Behind OT301’s graffiti-sprayed entrance lies its hidden garden (or smoking area, depending on your mood), which can be seen through Café Gilde’s wide-reaching windows. Sitting inside the café, I’m surrounded by warm amber-yellow walls and enjoying my lunch: a Tempeh broodje paired with greens, carrot cream, and crunchy nuts. Not only are the dishes fresh and seasonal, they change every week, offering a versatile and fully plant-based selection of breakfast, lunch, and borrel.
Working at Het Gilde are Bob and Cat, a duo with seasoned experience and a love for being in the kitchen. The dishes come at a comfortable price whilst remaining charmingly unique. Bob tells me that he enjoys blending savoury and sweet flavours together, a signature style that is apparent in his Mustard Macchiato, which tastes like a bittersweet sip of autumn.
With a soft launch in July and an official opening to the public in September, Het Gilde is a co-operative association which invites guests to enjoy a hearty meal at an accessible rate, and offers members a kitchen space to use. You’ll find Bob and Cat holding the reins during opening hours at Café Gilde; outside of this, it functions as a volkskeuken, or community kitchen, allowing third-party organisations to host ‘kitchen takeovers’ at OT301, giving them a space to chef away autonomously and split their earnings together.
Whilst values of affordability and creativity guide the duo, food waste reduction also plays an integral role in the weekly menu. For instance, Cat and Bob tell me that they reinvent dishes by combining different ingredients in the menu in a bid to minimise waste.
C: “Food waste is an important thing we try to prevent. We use our imagination and keep reinventing things. Food waste is the worst thing, it’s something that I try to be cautious about”
Most importantly, as the name of the café suggests, Het Gilde (The Guild) works as an association which is by the people, for the people, uniting all through a shared love of cooking and feeding guests. Yet, differing from the guilds which formed in the middle ages, there are no hierarchies in this kitchen. The chefs share a mutual trust hailing from their seasoned knowledge and a bond based on the idea, Bob explains, that ‘we all cook for ourselves and for others’.
If your food could speak, what would it say?
B: “It would kiss you before speaking to you”
Visually, the café feels more like a community space than a restaurant, whilst still offering the rich flavours you may find in an expensive bistrot. Cat tells me about how she wanted to create this energy of ‘Mi casa su casa’ at Het Gilde. And, as I walked through the door, it did feel like stepping into someone’s living room, with the added comforting aroma of herbs and spices. There are comic books, card games, and even a play station available; Cat shared with me, that just like in a living room, ‘you can just be there and enjoy’.
The values of Het Gilde are displayed in their logo, which features a key representing Autonomy; a laurel leaf for Creativity; and open hands signifying Ubuntu. I recognised this first value of autonomy when Bob encouraged me to prepare my own tea in the kitchen, which I eagerly sipped throughout the interview. More seriously speaking, Bob describes his position as freeing; he touched on the importance of working for yourself, being able to decide on budgets and menus as an independent team. For volunteers and members, autonomy in the kitchen also means being granted the trust to know what you are doing and having the initiative to choose how you want to set things up and use the space.
How is the value of Ubuntu channeled in your practice?
B: “Other than the creative freedom in tailoring our ingredients for specific occasions, Ubuntu means that we prepare food on the basis of togetherness and sharing”
The logo’s open hands refer to the association’s social work and collectivity through the art of food and cooking. The value of Ubuntu, which originates from indigenous African philosophy, cherishes interconnectedness between humans, their environment, and spirituality, and brings in collective responsibility with accountability, and reciprocity. “I am here because you are here. They are really values that speak to our core,” says Cat. “Everyday we go home and we learn things, it is intense in a sense, but I’ve never felt so happy at a job, to see the joy of my food in others.’
As I turned to the list of specials, titled ‘Vegan Girls’ Club’, the café’s creative charm was reinforced. Craft and care are displayed not only through a unique combination of dishes, but even in the personal design of the menus, where all dishes are hand-calligraphed by Bob himself.
C: “For me, I see this project like a baby. I’m very passionate about food and what I’ve been doing. I’ve been pouring my heart out and my favourite part, really, is really being in the kitchen and making food from scratch. The best part of it is cooking with your heart. That’s why I want to serve and feed. Food is kind of like dancing together”
In sum, I’d recommend taking the time to enjoy a meal at Het Gilde (or simply tasting the superb Mustard Machiatto), for anybody looking to enjoy a meal seasoned with personality and love. Its location serves as an added bonus, with the OT301 building offering plenty of delights, such as the Ventilator Cinema and 4bid Gallery. Why not take the opportunity of combining a hearty lunch with a visit to the movies or the art space?
If you’d like to be part of a kitchen community which encourages both independence and togetherness, I highly recommend becoming a member of Café Gilde.
And, if you’d like to be part of a kitchen community which encourages both independence and togetherness, I highly recommend becoming a member of Café Gilde. Their membership deals are €19/pm in return for discounts on food and space rental, as well as a “democratic say in how the company is run”, says Bob.
C: “You’d come and you’d be fed. It’s like one hand washing the other one. You’re welcome to come and enjoy as a guest but also welcome to help, as a community.”
For those coming to enjoy the fully vegan menu of the week, Café Gilde is open from 12:00 on Tuesdays (until 17:00), Thursdays (until 18:00), Fridays (until 20:00) and Saturdays (until 21:00). Timings may vary depending on the events schedule at OT301.
Cafe Gilde on Insta