Since last Sunday night/Monday morning, there has been a lot of disbelief and sadness at De Kandelaar. During one of his favorite activities, the straw harvest, Marc died in an accident. We are deeply saddened. We will miss him, dear husband and buddy of Mariska, a very proud father of Marlies and uncle to Kaylee, a helpful brother-in-law for Joris and Lisette, a wonderful son-in-law of Jos and Maria. We will miss his drive, his professionalism and great enthusiasm for our farm.

We will say goodbye to him privately on Tuesday 24^th August.  It is possible to follow the farewell service via this livestream. You can leave condolences here.

Due to this intense sadness, our Bed & Breakfast is closed for the time being. We hope for your kind understanding and consideration.

At the beginning of May it was announced that we were one of the winners of “Dronten’s best idea”! Following this win, we will start to organise workshops and birthday parties in our cheese factory. In particular for children from low-income families and children from primary schools in Dronten. We would like to teach and inform everybody about the origin of our food from their immediate environment. The children will take a look at our calves, cows and of course all the other animals we keep at the farm. Then they get to see a film about cheese making, followed by making their own cheese! They will have to be patient as it needs to store for three weeks first before the children receive their “own” cheese at home to enjoy. If you would like to know more about the possibilities of a workshop or organise a birthday party, please send us an email.

Tulip Route Flevoland has now come to an end. In recent weeks it has been very busy at De Kandelaar. Many visitors to Tulip Route Flevoland also visited De Kandelaar to take a look at the farm and the cheese factory. Our farmhouse cheeses and cheese platter-to-go were a great success. In the coming period we will work hard to replenish the stock. If you are looking for a particular flavour, please let us know and we will make your cheese to order.

Finally, work continued on the land as well. The potatoes have been planted, the sugar beets and corn have been sown and the first cut of grass has already been mowed. With the current rain fall, it will not be long before the first plants become visible. Fingers crossed for a nice summer!

 

 

What a wonderful week we have had!   After the cold and the freezing weather, there was beautiful spring weather with a lovely sun.  Immediately that means more work on the farm.  Our contractor Frens applied our cow’s manure to the land. Let the grass grow!

But there was much more activity at De Kandelaar, because we participated in “Rondje Zuyderzee” (Tour of Zuyderzee). Jurgen and Bert Jan van Zwaan at Outdoor Sports had set out a wonderful puzzle tour in Eastern Flevoland – adhering to all the COVID regulations.  It is a super fun initiative for young and old.   Upon registry you received the route and at De Kandelaar you could also take part by throwing tennis balls in a milk can.  Plus, of course, you could take a look at our new cheese factory.  It was great to meet so many nice people from our region.  Our “on-the-go” cheese platter has proven a big hit and we even ran out of cheese on the last day.

Have you not yet participated in this fun puzzle tour and you also want to get hold of the only “Rondje Zuyderzee” cheese platter?  This trip will be organized again this weekend, so sign up quickly! More information can be found here.

De Kandelaar’s residents wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year with hopefully lots of fun and activities.

In November, the last sugar beets were cleared and the land was plowed. The beets are waiting in the yard to go to the Cosun factory next week. Despite the fact that it is not that busy in the winter period, we have not been idle.  We are working hard on our new plans.  We want to add more value to our beautiful milk product.  Lisette, Joris’ girlfriend, works in a large cheese factory and that’s how her hobby in cheese making started. What could not be better than being able to offer our guests a delicious piece of cheese made from our own milk.

So recently, we started to study cheese making and started looking for cheese molds, large pans and everything that is required to make a delicious cheese. Marc has made a beautiful press table.  At the moment, we are tasting our first batch of cheese and it tastes delicious!  Meanwhile, the storage is starting to grow with pounds and kilos of cheeses, including cheeses in the shape of a heart.  Perhaps an idea for a nice cheese platter at Valentine’s Day.  We are still in the testing phase, but it will not be long before cheese from Flevoland is available at De Kandelaar!

This month, 12.5 years ago, we officially started a Bed & Breakfast. After a thorough renovation we created 4 bedrooms with en-suite. Recently, De Kandelaar B&B was again awarded with 4 tulips by the Bed & Breakfast Nederland organisation.

Walk-in day

In the last 5 years, Mariska has also worked as an advisor for Optidee.  All the beds in the Bed & Breakfast have the wonderful bedding from Optidee; from the comfortable mattress cover with fitted sheets to pillows with beautiful and comfortable pillowcases.

On Saturday 26^th September, we are organising a walk-in day from 10:00 to 16:00 where everybody can get acquainted with the latest Optidee products.  Each visitor receives a ticket which gives a chance to win a wonderful Optidee article.

 

 

Jubilee

This month our Bed & Breakfast is officially 12.5 years ‘old’.  In the early years we were a member of “Friends on the bike”. There was an increasing demand for rooms with an en-suite (a private shower and toilet). To this end, we renovated the former office building of the test farm. In recent years we have welcomed many visitors from the Netherlands but also abroad.

Farm

Meanwhile, work on the farm is in full swing thanks to the beautiful weather. The onions are harvested and stored in the shed. The harvested land is immediately enriched with solid compost and sown with grass. It will stay busy the coming period, because the maize will soon be chopped, the potatoes can soon be harvested and the tulip bulbs will be planted in October.