First of all, can you tell us a bit more about yourself and your role within Iberdeli? 

My name is Harmen Vlaardingerbroek and I live in Rotterdam together with my lovely wife and two sons. In my spare time, I enjoy cooking and doing fun things with my family. We regularly go to the zoo or take a nice walk.

At Iberdeli, among other things I’m responsible for the purchase of beef and besides that I am of course part of the sales team! 

Where does your passion for meat come from?

Actually, I just kind of fell into it initially. Sales had always been my passion and coincidentally I joined a meat importer 13 years ago. The rest is history. You can prepare good meat in many different ways and every day you learn something new from your colleagues, customers and suppliers. The story behind the different product lines we carry is also incredibly interesting. 

What do you like best and how do you prepare it?

I am a very big fan of the oyster blade. Whereas traditionally, of course, it is a piece of meat you prepare as a stew, nowadays the quality of meat is so high that you can also eat it as a steak. Then it's called a Flat Iron Steak and the taste is great! The oyster blade is a 'working muscle', a muscle that moves a lot, and therefore it has a nice, deep flavour. I prefer to throw it on the Green Egg or in the sous vide. Both highly recommended! 

Which colleague would you like to swap a week with and why?

I would like to trade places for a week with Alex van Veen, our top driver! I think it would be great fun to talk to customers every day and hear what people think of the wonderful products we deliver.