Pearl of The Langstraat: Bakkertje Deeg Heusden

I was recently a guest of the always enthusiastic Lucas Vermeulen of Bakkertje Deeg in Heusden. The ten golden rules for a Visit to Bakkertje Deeg and Lunchroom De Contente Mensch make this business a true success! Curious? Read along!

From generation to generation
The history goes way back, even to Lucas's great-grandfather Peter from Druten. He taught his children different crafts and so several small businesses were created, including a bakery. His grandfather Henk went to Vlijmen and took over the bakery there. His father and his brothers were also real bakers, but all in their own way.
Lucas himself also wondered whether he wanted to be a baker, or whether this had been unconsciously given to him too much from home. Lucas was allowed by his father to decide what he wanted to be, and he also consciously tried other jobs. When he was able to take over the bakery in Heusden from his former colleague Robert Broos, his dream became a reality. Together with his wife Jolanda, he went full steam ahead. Meanwhile, they have expanded bakery dough with a lunchroom "De Contente Mensch". Their son Giel, now the fifth generation, has also caught the passion for bread and pastry, and is currently gaining experience at a producer of bakery ingredients in Belgium. That he is just as driven as his father is evidenced by the fact that he will be competing for the Netherlands in this year's European Championship for Bread Baking in France.

Bread Design
So what makes Bakkertje Deeg so unique? Lucas and Jolanda have thought very carefully about what they want, and have created "The 10 Golden Rules" for this purpose. For example, they think it is important that visitors feel the "vibe" of working pleasure, that they are in a homely atmosphere and that they have products with a story. This is also reflected in the house style, attire of the staff and the bakery in front of the store.
"In addition, we work with the formula bread design," Lucas explains. "This is bread tailored and taste-technical and visually distinctive. We really try to be different". Not only Heusden residents and visitors in the store and lunchroom, also large catering organizations, amusement parks, wholesalers, retirement homes, hospitals now know how to find Bakkertje Deeg. Lucas is innovative and creative. He himself says; "I used to be a bit stubborn, but I always had my own ideas about and how things should be done and that is perhaps why I started doing bread design. I prefer to kick against established order". This also gives you unique combinations that you should definitely try!

Worldly delights in Heusden
Lucas has been an avid member of the Bakery Society, a networking club of exceptional bakers, for many years. "We meet twice a year for two days where all kinds of speakers come who have or can do something distinctive. Once a year we also go away for a full week and then we pick a country and try to make contacts with the top bakers of that particular country. Often they take us on the road and are happy to share their knowledge". For example, Lucas has already been to Guatemala, Uganda, Copenhagen, Sweden, New York, Paris and many other countries. "These trips are super interesting for me and are really worth their weight in gold. I can get so much inspiration from this that I can spend a whole year here in the Netherlands surprising customers with it". So his croissants are really made with ingredients from France, after what he has learned and further optimized in Paris. Curious about the countries where Lucas gets his inspiration in part? In his lunchroom you will find a world map with literal flags on it. Lucas likes to tell you the most beautiful stories about them.

Special Heusden
Bakkertje Deeg was truly Lucas' dream in which Jolanda lovingly followed him. Together they seized this with both hands. For a while Jolanda did nothing with her Social Academy education. During a visit to a hospitality entrepreneur in Tilburg, they saw how the entrepreneur had started working with people with a disability or slightly larger distance to the labor market. "This is what I want, this is my expertise and this is what I learned for" Jolanda told Lucas. "And so nowadays we also have personnel with a greater distance to the labor market working in our company. We then pair them up with a buddy, invent clever things together and it's great fun and above all very rewarding."
Lucas and Jolanda are also already hard at work on plans for their "slightly older" day. The building next to Bakkertje Deeg is also theirs and here they are making plans for Bijzonder Heusden. This will be a real experience. Several smaller stores in one building, with old crafts and souvenirs from Heusden. Jolanda will coach the team here together with other supervisors. A meaningful day activity and a nice addition of stores in Heusden. As soon as this is open, we will of course come back with a nice new blog.

Want to know more about Bakkertje Deeg? Then click here!