‘Before you know it you end up in showbiz. That’s not necessarily fun’

Paris or Rome?

‘Rome. It’s like walking into an open-air museum. I’m not a fan of such a hop-on-hop-off bus, but in Rome you should absolutely use it, there is so much beauty to see. Paris has become a kind of, er… Ziggo Dome, with countless events. That doesn’t make the city any nicer. And Paris is paved. A taxi ride is really not pleasant and people are quickly irritated if you can’t figure it out with your French.

‘For Dish Is Europe I visited six European capitals, the program is my own idea. I’m making it with my husband, Philip, he’s the producer and director. In September we will make six more episodes for 24Kitchen. We don’t just do what we feel like, otherwise we would visit more cities in Italy and Spain. The mix has to be good, we also show the food culture in cities like Copenhagen and Prague.’

RTL Boulevard or 24Kitchen?

With a sideways look at the PR woman of 24Kitchen: ‘RTL Boulevard. I want to teach as many people as possible about food and its sales market Boulevard is larger than that of 24Kitchen.

‘Even as a girl I was interested in cooking. We always cooked and ate extensively at our home, it was an easy way to communicate within our family. The kitchen was the safe place in the house. And I looked around. Until I was 11, I lived in East Amsterdam, where the doors were open everywhere. Or I walked into small Curaçao or small Suriname nearby. It was a melting pot, with many different flavors.

‘I have sometimes postponed breaking up with someone because his mother was such a phenomenal cook. My father was also a good cook, but he left when I was 11. I missed his dishes. Then I started working at a greengrocer. I spent the money I earned on food. No, not on earrings or clothing. I preferred to buy prosciutto or gorgonzola.’

Instagram or TikTok?

‘It was announced last month Miljuschka is the largest magazine brand on social media, we have over 1.5 million followers. It is not a profitable business, the costs are spiraling out of control. The videos alone cost a fortune.

‘I find it really disgusting to talk about myself as a brand, but hey, I understand that it’s part of it. We serve 360-degree media, which means print with a magazine and our own publishing house, television, social media and a website. If, like me, you want to share your love for food on the largest possible scale, you need to be everywhere. Now only radio.

‘It’s not surprising, all that interest. People eat several times a day and many people love good food. It makes me nervous sometimes, all that attention. In December, half of the Netherlands is on our site, looking for dishes for Christmas. Over the years I have learned that failures in the kitchen are not always my fault. Sometimes things go wrong in the preparation or people don’t read the recipe properly.’

TMF or On the way to tomorrow?

‘TMF. There I learned to make television and write scripts and to look at myself critically. That’s when I laid the foundation for what I do now. My first role as an actor was not in On the way to tomorrowbut in The Red Thread, a series from the EO. I played Moses’ niece.

‘It didn’t make me miss my shoes. I went to school in Amsterdam South, and later at the Vossius Gymnasium. In those circles, TV was considered pulp. People did have a TV in their home, but it was usually hidden.

‘One day I was picked up off the street in Amsterdam to do a casting. If you look nice and have a bit of a mouth, that will happen quickly. Before you know it you end up in showbiz. Not that that is necessarily fun. People in showbiz are generally quite pleased with themselves. These are often people who ask for attention. Do you like me? I want so badly to be liked. Do you see me? Oh, I’m getting applause, can you hear it? Those aren’t my kind of people.’

Healthy eating or exercise?

‘The problem is that I not only like healthy food, but also bad food. Sports are nice sometimes. Once I get comfortable with it, it can be very meditative. But it’s not in my routine. There is always something I find more useful to do.

‘I just have to do something to keep my cholesterol levels low. I like the way I look, but my health is important. I employ people, I am responsible for them. I get checked once a year. The last check was not good, my cholesterol was way too high. And then there is only one thing to do: exercise and change my eating habits. I think I can still eat everything, butter, cheese, everything, but I have to cut down. I’m someone who thinks every time she walks past the refrigerator: nice, just a slice of cheese. I have to stop that.’

Stars on the canvas or The Masked Singer?

‘I thought it was really stupid that I was there The Masked Singer immediately went out. Then do it Stars on the canvas, although the interview with Özcan Akyol was intense, it was about my childhood as Willem Holleeder’s niece, among other things. You can take a painting home with you at the end, which is nice.

‘Bee The Masked Singer they just didn’t like me. I was a witch and I wore an ugly suit and an ugly mask. I was very unappetizing to see. Shoemaker, stick to your last, I thought later. I’m not a singer either.

‘I’m not saying this to brag, but I get a lot of offers from TV shows. I almost always say no. At Who is the mole? I did participate, yes. I had never seen it before, but I was in the middle of a super miserable renovation at the time. Philip really wanted me to do it, so I said yes.’

The Naked Chef or Jamie Cooks Italy by Jamie Oliver?

‘A hero. I’m 38 and he’s been in the business for 25 years, I grew up with him. He is a good colleague, no, not a friend. People in showbiz are quick to say that, but I’m not like that. I interviewed him for the first time about nine years ago, for 24Kitchen. After that I met him somewhere every year.

‘I really wanted to have him on the cover of my magazine. That man is so crazy busy, it only worked after 2.5 years. I was so happy with it. I had chosen not to work for my children’s first four years. It was the most beautiful period of my life, but my world became very small. One of the things I was looking forward to was when his magazine was delivered. I didn’t train as a chef, but through his magazine I learned a lot about cooking and developed my own taste.’

‘Jamie is sincere, pure and honest. He was the first to talk about food on TV so infectiously that you immediately wanted to run to the store to prepare his recipe. He really loves food and wants to ensure that people maintain the right balance. For him, the work is more than just doing business and raking in money. That counts for me too. Are struggle I recognize it well. Never stop, never sit still, always think.’

Soft serve or cheesecake?

‘Two of my favorites. At the moment it’s soft ice cream, I have a huge weakness for that. Maybe I shouldn’t say it because it’s advertising, but hey, I’ve turned down enough commercial deals with them. The best soft ice cream is from McDonald’s. I prefer to fill a milkshake cup and then order coffee with it. I’ll throw that in there. And then spoon it up with that cookie. So good.

‘I’ve known cheesecake since I was a child. My mother (Astrid Holleeder, ed.) made it as extra income during her studies. That was a very good trade, cheesecake was still an unknown phenomenon in the Netherlands. She got around Amsterdam by bike. Me in the front, the cakes in the back.

‘Over the years I have become something of a cheesecake queen. The history is phenomenal. Cheesecake originally comes from ancient times, not from the United States as many people think. It was only introduced there during the Second World War, by Jews who had fled. In one of his writings, Plato already talked about cheesecake. One day I’m going to write a book about it, I just have to work up the courage.’