Désirée Verkaar - woord én beeld

Désirée Verkaar (1978) - a dutch journalist, author and professional photographer

Désirée Verkaar (1978) is a Dutch culinary journalist and author of cookbooks.

Torn between wanting to become a chef in a restaurant or a writer, Désirée decided to combine her two passions and write about food. After studying journalism, she started as a freelance writer specializing in food and travelling. She is fascinated by the culture and history of dishes and food products and loves to discover new flavours, see inspiring places and meet people with a true passion for their products, varying from a tomato farmer to the cellar master of a prestigious cognac house.
Désirée’s culinary travel reports and columns have been published in Dutch newspapers and magazines such as Wining & Dining and Taste!. Before the age of thirty, she already has three books to her name and is co-author of another eight books including ‘Pesto & tapenade’ and ‘Food 4 friends’.

Désirée is studying since 2007 photography at the Dutch School for Photography and wine and is working on her first novel.

Books by Désirée Verkaar:
Ketchup cookbook (2006)
Cooking with soy sauce (2007)
Everything you need to know about Pasta (with Stefano Manti, 2007)

Désirée on the ‘Ketchup Cookbook’:
“The book started out as a bit of a joke. But once I realized what a remarkable history lies behind this everyday product, I started to get really enthusiastic. Everybody I know has a bottle of ketchup in their cupboard and, as I discovered, many use it as the secret ingredient in their favourite dishes. I thought it would be fun to give people some more ideas to use ketchup in a creative way. For example, the acidity makes it perfect for marinating. With chef Thea Spierings, we even created some really posh recipes like duck breast with fig ketchup and stoneleeks. It’s really surprising what ketchup can do!”