By far, the HHH is the BEST hospitality house for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. It is located in the Richmond O Zone where it took over Minoru Ice Rinks. The venue is large and very well laid out.

The lineups are long, the music is great, and the people decked out in orange gear makes the place a sure spot to check out for a good time during the Olympics.

It’s by far the most talked about venue in the past week and very well deserved. Their target was 50,000 people during the 2 weeks of the Olympics, but they have already surpassed that number in less than one week. And best of all, what you should come to the Holland Heineken House for is…THE FOOD!

Albron is the caterer for the Holland Heineken House; they are the second largest caterer in Holland and have brought with them mobile crate kitchens directly from Holland. Under the expertise of Chef Karel van Tiel, the 30 person team takes care of the fast food in The Plaza, the brasserie fare in The Lodge, as well as the exclusive Olympic Club for VIPs only. Each restaurant offers a different taste of the Netherlands.

I was fortunate enough to dine at the brasserie on Saturday when Holland won their first gold medal.

Congrats to Sven Kramer for the gold medal finish for the 5000m speed skating event. The place was packed with Dutch orange gear and ever flowing ice cold Heineken beer. The menu at the brasserie is Dutch food with a twist, using local Canadian meats such as salmon and game meats.

I had the Salmon Risotto balls which was delicious and very creative.

After dinner and several rounds of Heineken, we had the times of our lives partying until closing time.

I returned to the Holland Heineken House last night to see the exclusive Olympic Club before they set up for dinner. It’s amazing what they have done with the venue – you really forget that you’re in an ice rink! Here are some exclusive pictures of the Olympic Club (not open to the public):

Chef Karel talked about various Dutch dishes and how he likes to put a healthy or creative twist on local ingredients. He is very focused on healthy food and this attitude is shared by many in Holland.

Sauerkraut, potatoes and bread are a staple in the Netherlands. The cities by the coast have access to plenty of seafood and fish such as Kibling, which is similar to cod, so they make fish and chips out of Kibling along the north coast. Interestingly enough, the food in Amsterdam is centered around vegetables with meats used as an occasional treat. Because of a big Muslim population, pork is avoided. The Dutch love their cheese too…and bread. Bread is popular as a filler after a night of drinking – perhaps that’s why Amsterdam’s breakfasts are so good – as a cure to hangovers.

Onwards to the tasting, which included:

1. Erwtensoep – Split Pea Soup aka Snert
2. Bitterballen – A meat croquette (Kroket)
3. Hodgepodge – A vegetable croquette
4. Egg salad sandwich
5. Mash potatoes and saukraut wrapped in bacon.

YouCook will be providing recipes for Erwtensoep and Bitterballen: one healthy dish and one unhealthy but popular dish that everyone I spoke to misses dearly about Holland.

Bitterballen, currently the top seller at the Plaza at the Holland Heineken House, is served in a bun like a deep fried hot dog. It was originally made famous by Febo, a fast food chain in Holland where they deliver food through vending machines. Bitterballen are deep fried meatballs containing a mixture of roux and beef broth, and appear on all pub menus. I suggested that the next Holland Heineken House should also dispense Bitterballen through a machine similar to Febo.

Get some Bitterballen while you can – it goes perfectly with the $4.50 Heineken!

Since bitterballen is not very healthy, to balance it out, YouCook is also going to provide the Split Pea Soup recipe.

Thank you very much to Chef Karel van Tiel and the entire Albron staff for taking the time to talk to YouCook and for hosting the best hospitality house party during Vancouver 2010!