Koen van der Plas
Sommelier
Partner at A Genuine Wine Company
Founder at SOMMTIMES Fine Wines
Bearleader in Wine
About Koen
Bearleader in | Wine
Home town | Hoorn
About |Koen van der Plas has been a sommelier in high-end restaurants for the past ten years. He started in Düsseldorf, Germany at Michelin Star Restaurant ‘Im Schiffchen’, before moving back towards the Netherlands. There, he spent eight years at three Michelin Star Restaurant Inter Scaldes as head sommelier. In 2020 Koen founded a small wine trading company called SOMMatHOME, and in 2022 he co-founded restaurant SAAM, merging Dutch and South African cuisines.
Nowadays the company merged with a genuine wine company with which they run several initiatives, including SAAM restaurant in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, together with Margot Janse. Margot previously was the head chef at The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Français in Franschhoek, South Africa, which was listed 8 years in The World's 50 Best Restaurants by Pellegrino.
Besides that, his company owns SOMMTIMES Fine Wines. An import company that focuses solely on Burgundy wines.
Together with Marc Kent (Boekenhoutskloof, Franschhoek SA) he owns No House Wine where they produce wines of which a part of the revenue is donated to stichting HomePlan. Stichting HomePlan builds houses in SA for people who need it the most.
Finally they run an online wine platform which operates in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Profession | Sommelier, founder SOMMTIMES Fine Wines, partner at A Genuine Wine Company
Achievements | Koen was awarded Gault Millau’s Sommelier of the Year 2019 and he received the Sommelier Award from Guide Michelin in 2020. Restaurant Inter Scaldes was positioned nr. 1 in the LEKKER guide for several years and received 19,5 out of 20 points from Gault Millau while Koen was positioned there.
Instagram | @koenvanderp
LinkedIn | @Koen van der Plas
Guides by Koen
GUIDE | By the Bearleaders
Enjoy this list of the very best restaurants for every occasion that Amsterdam has to offer, selected by tastemakers such as artists, designers and Michelin chefs who visit Amsterdam regularly or live there. From guilty pleasures to haute cuisine, from Mediterranean to Asian, Amsterdam has it all.