Meet Gijs, owner and co-founder of Abbot Kinney’s and that is coconut yogurt. It has nothing to do with dairy (for the vegan people among us), but it is incredibly delicious as a breakfast with a bit of fruit and muesli or as a dessert in the evening with a bit of melted chocolate. What do you think of that? Gijs lives in Amsterdam, loves to visit restaurants, and his dream is to have “his” coconut yogurt on the menu everywhere. Seems like a nice goal to me.

Where in the world is your favorite restaurant?

‘L’Estacade in Bordeaux, France. A fantastic restaurant, built on a pier on the banks of the Garonne in the heart of Bordeaux. Besides an excellent menu with delicious local products prepared in a sublime way, the restaurant has the best view ever. The most wonderful place to enjoy a lovely dinner with a good wine from the region while the summer sun slowly sets over Bordeaux. Pure magic.’

And who would you really like to have dinner with? It can be anyone.

‘Michael Pollan. He is the best investigative journalist in the field of nutrition and the entire food industry. If anyone has managed to convince me that change is needed in the way the world population is fed, it is him. This man is fascinatingly good at his work, writes great books, and knows how to challenge the (food) world in an objective way. I see a lot of myself in him for wanting to explore everything in detail with a natural curiosity. I think I will need several dinners to bombard him with all my questions and ideas…’

Where do you prefer to sit in a restaurant?

‘Either prominently at the bar in a good burger bar, or in a cozy little corner at the back with my girlfriend.’

What do you always hope is on a menu?

‘Abbot Kinney’s Coconut Start of course! Delicious as a breakfast, fantastic as a dessert, or used as a dressing in a salad. The possibilities are endless! Okay, my guilty pleasure is actually Kimchi, the healthiest addiction you can have, acquired during my studies in Korea. It is made from fermented Chinese cabbage with red pepper. I recommend everyone to try it once!’

Do you find your way on the wine list?

‘I still have a lot to learn here, I think. I love a full-bodied red wine or a softly sweet Gewürztraminer. But actually, I am mainly a huge beer lover. I am always looking for something new on the menu that I don’t know.’

Starter or dessert?

‘Oh, tough. I definitely love surprising appetizers or some finger food, but I am really a fan of good fresh ice cream as a dessert. One of the reasons we are launching a new ice cream line with Abbot Kinney’s: the Coco Frost. I didn’t expect it, but with our dairy-free coconut yogurt, you can really make mega delicious ice cream. I haven’t seen anyone who didn’t eat a whole cup right away!’

What fun project are you currently working on?

‘As mentioned, we are currently launching our Coco Frost, but secretly I can tell you that we are bringing a fantastic delicious yogurt variation to the market with Abbot Kinney’s within two months. Purely plant-based and just as creamy as the Coconut Start. Additionally, with our new production location, we can grow significantly and we are expanding hard in Belgium, Germany, and probably we will also move on to Scandinavia.’