This collaboration finds its roots in the story of Dikhoeve itself, a farm with a long tradition and deep devotion to its animals. Alex Kuiper is the ninth generation farmer in Ransdorp, a small village just outside Amsterdam. The farm has never pursued large-scale expansion. Instead, it has remained small, organic, and committed to keeping the animals outdoors as much as possible. Today, Alex’s partner Annemie continues the craft, producing dairy with care and intention.

From April to October, the cows live entirely outdoors, day and night. They are milked in the meadows, in a mobile milking stall known as the weidewagen. The fresh milk is then brought back to the farm, where it is either processed straight away or cooled for later use. Once, the weidewagen was a familiar sight across the Dutch countryside. But as large-scale farming took over, it gradually disappeared, replaced by tie-stalls and cubicle barns, systems that often required calves to be dehorned. At Dikhoeve, a different path is chosen. Even in winter, milking remains true to tradition: the weidewagen is brought onto the land, where the cows calmly walk through twice a day to be milked.

Find the full story in the Róhe Cookbook: thirty classic Dutch recipes, reimagined for today, created in the kitchen of Huis de Vicq, a 17th-century residence and the Róhe creative space that serves as both a sanctuary and a source of inspiration.