Herman van Ham (16 April 1931 – 2 August 2012) was a Dutch

head chef A chef de cuisine (, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that leads and manages the kitchen and chefs of a restaurant or hotel. A chef patron (feminine form ''chef patronne'') (French for ''boss chef'') or executive chef is ...

. He worked in the

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

red ''

Hostellerie De Hamert Hostellerie De Hamert was a restaurant in Wellerlooi in the Netherlands, most famous for its asparagus dishes in spring. It is a fine dining restaurant that was awarded one Michelin star in 1963 and retained that rating until 1989. GaultMillau awa ...

'', in

Wellerlooi Wellerlooi (; li, De Loj ) is a village in the Dutch province Limburg. It is part of the municipality Bergen. This church village is located between Nijmegen and Venlo, on the eastern side of the Maas Wellerlooi lies in the heart of National P ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, when it earned his stars in the period 1963-1989. 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. 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), ''Asperge Paus'' (Eng.:Asparagus Pope) and ''Mister Asperge'' (Eng.: Mister Asparagus). 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 Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born ) is King of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht as the oldest child of Princess Beatri ...

. 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.) Earlier, in 2008, his collection was on display in ''Aspergemuseum De Locht'' Herman van Ham died on 2 August 2012, after an illness.

Awards

1963–1988 * Prix d'Escoffier de l'Alliance Gastronomique Néerlandaise/Alliance-Escoffier Prijs: 1988 * Chevalier de Confrérie de l'asperge de Limbourgondie * Eremedaille in goud Oranje Nassau * Chevalier de Chaîne des Rôtisseurs.

Books

* ''Het aspergesboek : heerlijke gerechten met de koningin der groenten''; Wiel Basten and Herman van Ham, M & P, 1989 * ''Het aspergeboek''; Herman van Ham and Wiel Basten, Van Dishoeck, 2005 * ''Het aspergekookboek''; Herman van Ham and Wiel Basten, Van Reemst, 1998Worldcat - Het aspergekookboek
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ham, Herman van 1931 births 2012 deaths Dutch chefs Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants People from Skarsterlân