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Rens, freelance journalist from Tilburg and ‘passionate fries sayer’, took her time to examine 153 menus from Dutch cafeterias and snack bars. Menus with fries on them received a red dot, fries and fries got a green dot.
Our burning question: why? “It is one of the cultural discussions that concerns the Netherlands most,” Rens says laughing to RTL News. “Everyone has a strong opinion about it. So it’s very interesting to look at it.”
Above and below the rivers
Before Rens started with the map, he had an idea of what the border would look like. “I knew the border had to be somewhere in the middle. I had in my head that it would be exactly on the border of Brabant or the river Waal, a kind of natural separation. Above the river fries, below the river fries, but That is not true.”
Because Rens’ tour shows that the fries-french border is much more fluid. It does not follow the course of the river nor the border of the province. The line meanders back and forth and sometimes takes a real U-turn. Completely surprising according to Rens: fries are spoken almost as far as the border of the province of Utrecht. “So it is much higher than expected.”
Naturally, Brabant and Limburg fall completely into chip territory. In those provinces not a single red fries bun shines. Conversely, yes. Because there on the map, all the way in the north, it is green. “Groningen is a kind of chip enclave in the chip area,” concludes Rens.
However, some snack bars could not be included in Rens’ list. “The menu then said fries and stew, and the description said portion of fries. Then it becomes very difficult. Then it becomes a snack bar with an identity problem.”
