According to mayor Sharon Dijksma, top catering is indispensable. “It is important for the city to have an attractive business climate, for international companies for example. You do this not only with a good living environment and good schools, but also with this type of catering.” Moreover, the restaurants are crowd pullers, which also benefit other entrepreneurs.
According to Dijksma, Utrecht’s top catering industry is too modest. Where it is a matter of course in Amsterdam and Rotterdam that there are top restaurants, Utrecht may also radiate that. “We are certainly not inferior in quality, we just tell it less.”
The mayor himself is trying to change that. She brought the prestigious Gault & Millau guide to Utrecht and organized a meeting with nine catering entrepreneurs and the Utrecht Economic Board. “That was a kickstart to unite companies and to ensure that they do interesting things together to promote the hospitality industry in Utrecht.”
One of the major stumbling blocks is the staff shortage. As a result, Maeve can no longer serve lunch on Thursday and Friday, for example, and Restaurant 273 is only open four days instead of five. “The market is competitive, there is a lot of work and a shortage of workers,” says Dijksma. In that respect, according to the mayor, the sector should look more closely at itself and offer better conditions.