A bike ride to the supermarket

There are these faint memories you think of when you wake up and you're convinced it was all a dream - not much to bother with. Or even more likely, you wake up remembering absolutely nothing.

Luck or no luck, this didn't happen to be my case. As a matter of fact it was the first thought I woke up with: how would stroopwafels and chocolate go together? (The chocoholic I am I admit it's not hard for me these kind of things.)
Taking action, I slipped out of the bed, showered, ate breakfast and stepped onto my bike a few minutes later. I decided I'd go to the Lidl, a cheap grocery store, and buy some stroopwafels and chocolate to experiment with. Tourism detail: the Lidl is situated close to the Haagse Markt, a traditional outdoor market where people from all kinds of backgrounds meet and sell their stuff. It's a pleasure to be there although it didn't turn out to be the best place to learn Dutch, Tracey found out. Whenever she tried to buy something while speaking Dutch ("Hoeveel kosten deze tomaten?") the answer was always in English, no exception. Bummer!

So back home I started experimenting, putting melted chocolate (white/dark/milk) all on one side of the stroopwafel and then letting it sit in the fridge for a few minutes. Not much later it was confirmed that the very first test was a hit ... it was a go. Probably better that I didn't know I would do this same kind of experimenting for the whole 6 months after that ...

5 minutes to midnight - minutes with consequences

People keep asking, "how did you get the idea of starting a business with chocolate and stroopwafels?" First off, it wasn't something I had planned for. Yes, I was about to leave my job, my country, my family and friends in order to move in with my - then still - girlfriend in New York (not a punishment BTW!). But to say I was looking for an entrepreneurial adventure is an overstatement - in fact I was quite happy having found a temporary job with the UN, just before I would leave the Netherlands. It provided some sense of stability and acceptance I guess.

The last 6 months of my stay in the Netherlands (The Hague, to be precise) my girlfriend Tracey came and lived with me, as a matter of last-battle conditionality I had been able to impose. Truth is I didn't feel like schlepping to New York not knowing when, if I would get back to my country without having her experiencing what sinterklaas, appelstroop and gezelligheid all meant. We were lucky to live in this cute "Hofje", not far from the center of the center. How could I know that would be more space then we would be able to live in for the first three years in New York?

So one night in February '06, not too long before our final departure - it must have been a few minutes to midnight - a last thought crossed my mind before falling into a deep sleep: what would I miss most of my country, foodwise? Stroopwafels, I pondered, and chocolate - good chocolate. Funny, I thought, what would happen if you'd combine these two? That's when I fell asleep.

You have no idea how often I've cursed this last question, but there it was: the start of the Dutch Moon Cookies.