Melvin de Lange: owner of brasserie and event location Fort 5

Fort 5 is a new food hotspot and event location in Kunstfort Vijfhuizen. This location has been owned by Qeet for six months. The mission of Qeet, and therefore also of Fort 5, is to provide a different experience at the table based on local flavors and often vegetarian cuisine. Melvin de Lange is, together with three partners, co-owner of Qeet Noord-Holland. He talks about the unique concept of Fort 5.

Melvin de Lange: “We work with local flavors from the neighborhood. Did you know that food and drinks travel an average of 30.000 kilometers before they are on your plate or in your glass? It really comes from everywhere. Our mission is to limit that to 30 kilometers. That's quite a statement. We want to achieve this by working with local entrepreneurs as much as possible. Our standard is vegetarian cuisine, but if we use fish or meat, they are animals that have had a good life and exclusively from the Netherlands, North Sea or Dutch rivers.

Fewer food miles

Qeet wants with Fortress 5 making an impact in the food chain. “We are of course just a new link, but we really want to contribute something. That contribution starts with yourself. Working with local products in the catering industry is not new, but we really want to make it happen: we say it and we do it. In this way we continuously challenge each other. You won't find avocado on our menu. Lots of other tasty dishes with products from the region. In this way we can drastically reduce the number of food kilometers. People come back to us. That also says something.”

Expanding from Vijfhuizen

Qeet started in Utrecht. Melvin: “We have a foothold in Utrecht and we wanted to expand that. This location was for sale, which is how we ended up in Haarlemmermeer: as entrepreneurs in a pioneering municipality. Our link with the municipality is entrepreneurship. We are discovering North Holland from this fort in Vijfhuizen. That means building a whole new network of local entrepreneurs and partners.”

Blue entrance door of restaurant 'T Fort in Vijfhuizen

Unique historical location

“It is a location with a story, with history. That's exactly cool. This has existed since 1870 and is part of the Defense Line of Amsterdam. Now we are breathing new life into it with events and our brasserie. We give something new to the history that took place here. We want to show that to our visitors.”

All kinds of events and good food

“We are a bit more businesslike and, in addition to private individuals, we also focus on events, such as conferences, meetings and company parties. The brasserie is actually new to us. It was already part of Vijfhuizen. That's why we kept it. And it's fun to experiment with this.”

Super hospitable business

“Why should people especially come to Fort 5? Our food and drinks are not standard, we do not have a standard brasserie menu. The flavors are slightly different. You have to taste that. Another reason, if you don't know it yet, is to experience that vegetarian food is very tasty. We also make a difference in that. Of course you can come here for your event or meeting. And we are super hospitable entrepreneurs. The people who work here are proud of that!”

Bright future

Qeet wants to expand in the future. “Trying to find more places in North Holland with a story and then rolling out this concept there. We are looking for cool locations to broaden our mission. These could be churches, for example, but we are open to all locations with a story. We are going to renovate the terrace here in Vijfhuizen. We are preparing the menu for spring and summer and we are working on public events for the region. We organize a lot to show ourselves in Haarlemmermeer. We are driven and really looking forward to it!”

Qeet shares local flavors!