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Romania through international eyes

Vivid Questionnaire - Jerry van Schaik

June/July 2005

Where would post-communist Romania be without the Dutch? Their pioneering spirit, vision, know-how and knack for staring a calculated risk in the eye have contributed hugely to a great many aspects of life here. Jerry van Schaik is Dutch through and through – firm but fair professionally, easygoing and tolerant personally. One of the driving forces behind the outrageously successful Café Amsterdam, the beautifully renovated Hotel Rembrandt and the completely revitalised Cina – now The Terrace – Jerry took time out to answer the Vivid Questionnaire. As he would say, “Enjoy …”

Vivid: Ce faci?

Hectic. I’ve never been busier, my head spins 24/7, I run around like a Duracell bunny.

Do you, or have you, ever had a nickname, and if so, what?

My football friends in Amsterdam used to call me Jerk. That doesn’t show a lot of respect, but they said it with tenderness and warmth.

What is your earliest memory?

I am two and half years old, looking out of the window of our apartment in my home town and I see my mother and father arrive with my new born sister. It’s sunny.

What were you like at school?

Quiet and serious. I had an unrequited love for a girl for a decade. I played football a lot. It was not the happiest time of my life.

Are you a good dancer?

I love to move my ass. I got over my self-consciousness for dancing in public in the late Nineties during the house period and then I discovered that I have great moves and am very energetic on the floor. Ah, the memories …

What is the last good book you read?

I still like to reread Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, an American chef. The book is rock ’n’ roll in the kitchen and I learnt a lot from it - including why one should never open a restaurant.

If you went on ‘Mastermind,’ what would your special subject be?

Recipes. I love to read cookbooks, only when eating though. If I’m not eating, I start getting hungry.

Have you ever had a near-death experience?

After an extremely heavy night out in Amsterdam, I went to the soccer pitch without sleeping and ran like an idiot in the noonday sun. At a certain moment I entered a green tunnel and my heart was thumping.

Would you sunbathe naked?

No, and I’d prefer other people didn’t do it too. I prefer bathing suits, even for beautiful people with soft tanned skins and curvy lines.

Would you bungee-jump?

No. I prefer to take risks in a more hedonistic way.

Have you got any scars?

Yes. Several on my knees, from footballing accidents. And one on my head because I jammed it through the ceiling. It was a low ceiling.

Would you ever consider getting a tattoo?

No, I’m really scared of needles around and especially in my body.

Where did you spend your most recent holiday?

Ko Samui, Thailand, in February 2005.

If you could holiday anywhere, where would it be?

Bali, Ko Samui, and Cape Town, and I’d love to go to Australia.

If you could live anywhere, where would you live?

At the seaside, in a beach house with a porch, in a warm climate. I loved the area around Kaapstad (Cape Town) - it has everything.

What is your greatest personal sporting achievement?

At the age of 33, for the first time in my football career, Sporting Zuid 4 won the championship and I was the playing coach. That was a week after the near-death experience. See, I needed to live to become champion.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?

Ciorba de burta. I don’t want to insult anyone, but I have a very bad memory of the ugly smell of the burta we served to our dog at home.

Describe an enjoyable meal.

A Rijsttafel, which is the Dutch way of enjoying as many of the wonderful dishes of the Indonesian kitchen as possible, simultaneously. And you can easily share it with a lot of friends

Describe the best party you ever went to.

My own birthday parties at my home in Amsterdam. They always had the same recipe: a mojito workshop in the kitchen, a barbecue, two sound systems, police at the door and everybody very happily drunk.

What is your most recent extravagance?

On Ko Samui we stayed in the most beautiful hotel I ever stayed in in my life: a luxurious bungalow in the middle of a jungle.

When was the last time you cried?

I think it was December 2001. I was a bit unstable emotionally, and I listened to Robbie Williams singing Mr Bojangles and tears came into my eyes.

What is your favourite musical instrument?

The piano. I wish I could play it, but I am too undisciplined to take lessons in anything.

What are you best at doing?

Making sure that people feel good.

What would you personally like to achieve in the future?

I’d like to own a small hotel on the seaside with a beach bar and a barbecue, to live and work in a quiet and relaxed way, with friends and family.

What five words best describe you?

Compassionate, sweet, impatient, hedonistic, naughty.

What do you like least about yourself?

My indecisiveness, although I am not as bad as I used to be in this respect.

What do you like least about yourself physically?

I don’t necessarily want a six-pack, but I need to get rid of three kilos of useless fat.

Is the glass half-full, or half-empty?

It’s quite full, about 70 per cent, but I need to address the 30 per cent that is empty.

If you were not doing your current job, what might you do?

Theatre producer. I worked in the theatre for seven years and except for the ‘stars’ and their bad habits, it was great fun.

Where were you on 31st December, 1999?

Unconscious. What a way to enter the new millenium.

What do you do passionately?

Enjoy life (eating, drinking, dancing) and work.

What is your most prized possession?

The Rembrandt Hotel. It’s great to do something with friends and it’s even better when people appreciate it.

What might you be reincarnated as?

A shrimp, all the time swimming in the sea and such a little brain that you don’t get a chance to worry about anything. And when I would be eaten, I would give great pleasure.

What is the most you have ever paid a hairdresser?

30 euros, for a haircut from Anthony, a bouncer at the Milky Way in Amsterdam. He has loads of tattoos and is a very skilful hairdresser.

What do you do in hotel rooms?

Zap through all the local channels looking for juicy stuff, drink the wine I brought with me and walk around in a towel around my waist.

What is your all-time favourite television show?

Studio Sport, every Sunday evening. I watch the football while eating with a plate on my knees.

What is your all-time favourite work of art?

Picasso’s Jacqueline. It was the first time I was taken by a painting. Her eyes see right through me.

Who is your favourite James Bond girl?

In Never Say Never Again with Sean Connery there was the duo Barbara Carrera and Kim Basinger. That was quite something.

Have you had any interesting jobs before this?

My theatre years were special: we had a small agency, but did many different productions with very talented people. I once went with the playwright Edward Albee (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf) to Spijkenisse. That was quite a surreal experience.

How much money have you got on you now?

No more than $10, in lei.

What is your favourite website?

Parool.nl, the website of the newspaper of Amsterdam. It’s my way of staying connected to where I lived for such a long time.

Have you ever been arrested?

No, but I was close by when I illegally entered a fountain in East Berlin in 1987 with loads of old fashioned commie policemen around. I wanted to impress a girl.

Are you happy with your passport photograph?

I look like a criminal, so I am always happy when they let me through the gates.

When was the last time you were in a fight?

Yesterday I had to physically restrain my neighbour when he wanted to beat up some drunken guests from the café. It was the closest thing to a fight that I can remember.

Describe your most recent dream.
I was washing the dishes in a restaurant kitchen.

When did you last have too much to drink?

Last Saturday. I always make the same mistake of having drinks after work at 4.00 in the morning. I always end up shattered.

If you had three wishes, what would they be?

Peace on earth, food and drink for everybody and a beach house with a piano and a Picasso in a warm country for me.

If a film was made of your life, which actor would best play you?

Someone handsome, irreverent, and a drinker: maybe Colin Farrell or Ewan McGregor.

What is best about living in Romania?

The opportunity to create things in your own way. It’s a country in transition, not like Holland where everything is set and determined.

What Romanian would you most like to meet?

Cristian Stefanescu. A very talented musician, he writes his own music and composes music for movies. He is also a very good friend of mine. Unfortunately though, the people I like to see I don’t see enough.

What question would you most like to answer?

Would you like something to drink?