Herman van Ham

Herman van Ham (16 April 1931 – 2 August 2012) was a Dutch head chef. He worked in the Michelin starred Hostellerie De Hamert, in Wellerlooi, the Netherlands, when it earned his stars in the period 1963-1989.

Herman van Ham
Born(1931-04-16)16 April 1931[1]
Nijehaske, The Netherlands
Died2 August 2012(2012-08-02) (aged 81)
Wellerlooi, The Netherlands[2]
NationalityDutch
OccupationChef
EmployerHostellerie De Hamert
Known forMichelin star
SuccessorBertus Liefting[3]
Partner(s)Riek Schoester
Children1 son, 3 daughters

In 1952, Van Ham started working at De Hamert as an assistant. Soon after that he took over as head chef and stayed till his retirement in 1988.[4]

Herman van Ham specialized in asparagus to such an extent that he had several nicknames related to this. He was named as De Ongekroonde Koning van de Asperge (Eng.:The uncrowned king of Asparagus),[5] Asperge Paus (Eng.:Asparagus Pope)[6] and Mister Asperge (Eng.: Mister Asparagus).[7] One of his famous asparagus dishes was the "Cocktail Prins Alexander", a combination of chicken, asparagus and oranges, created in 1967 in celebration of the birth of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange.[8][9]

After his retirement, Van Ham started collecting asparagus dishes. His collection went on display in Keramiekcentrum Tiendschuur Tegelen in 2012 under the name "Het keramische bedje voor de asperge." (Eng.: The ceramic bed for the asparagus.)[10] Earlier, in 2008, his collection was on display in Aspergemuseum De Locht[11]

Herman van Ham died on 2 August 2012, after an illness.[12]

Awards
  • Michelin star 1963–1988[13]
  • Prix d'Escoffier de l'Alliance Gastronomique Néerlandaise/Alliance-Escoffier Prijs: 1988[14]
  • Chevalier de Confrérie de l'asperge de Limbourgondie[15]
  • Eremedaille in goud Oranje Nassau[16]
  • Chevalier de Chaîne des Rôtisseurs.[17]

Books
  • Het aspergesboek : heerlijke gerechten met de koningin der groenten; Wiel Basten and Herman van Ham, M & P, 1989[18]
  • Het aspergeboek; Herman van Ham and Wiel Basten, Van Dishoeck, 2005[19]
  • Het aspergekookboek; Herman van Ham and Wiel Basten, Van Reemst, 1998[20]
gollark: Generally I prefer devices I can operate somewhat one-handed, and have a laptop (+ terrible mostly broken 5-year-old tablet I got from someone else) for anything fancy.
gollark: It was somewhat hard to find a decent phone below 6" or so when I was looking recently (yes I am using inches for screen size, yes the metric system is generally better, do not kill/laser me), when the standard a few years back was 5" as basically the biggest you would get.
gollark: It's weird, since people's *hands* aren't getting bigger.
gollark: Alternatively, at least a nuclear-powered watch, so I can avoid the hassle of changing the battery every 7 years.
gollark: RTG-powered phones really *would* be convenient.

References
  1. (in Dutch) Rouwkaart
  2. "Herman van Ham overleden". Dagblad de Limburger (in Dutch). 4 August 2012. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  3. Huygens, Stan (6 May 1989). "Een heerlijke spijs voor lekkerbekken". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  4. Leonards, Rik (6 August 2012). "Herman van Ham overleden". Misset Horeca (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  5. "Hollandse asperges produkt koude grond". Limburgsch Dagblad (in Dutch). 17 April 1991. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  6. Klompenhouwer, Huub (12 May 1990). "Asperges sporen absoluut niet met onze zuinige volksaard". Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  7. "'Aspergepionier' Herman van Ham overleden". Horeca Entree (in Dutch). 6 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  8. Leonards, Rik (6 August 2012). "Herman van Ham overleden". Misset Horeca (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  9. "Herman van Ham overleden". Dagblad de Limburger (in Dutch). 4 August 2012. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  10. (in Dutch) Het keramische bedje voor de asperge.
  11. (in Dutch) Aspergeschalen
  12. "Limburgse aspergekok Van Ham overleden". Dagblad De Limburger (in Dutch). 6 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  13. "Kasteel Wittem en De Hamert leveren Michelin-ster in". Limburgsch Dagblad (in Dutch). 23 February 1990. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  14. "Chef-kok van 'de Hamert' onderscheiden". Limburgsch Dagblad (in Dutch). 12 November 1986. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  15. (in Dutch) Herman van (de) Ham(ert) Interview with Herman van Ham. Better source requested.
  16. (in Dutch) Rouwkaart
  17. Huygens, Stan (29 December 1992). "Smullen op Curaçao". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  18. Worldcat - Het aspergesboek : heerlijke gerechten met de koningin der groenten
  19. Worldcat - Het Aspergeboek
  20. Worldcat - Het aspergekookboek
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