Born between the vegetables.
A greengrocer's grandson, a documentary, and the plate that kept coming back.
Where it started
My grandfather had a grocery store in Tongelre, Eindhoven. Before the store, he had a horse and cart, riding through the neighbourhood, selling fruits and vegetables door to door. Eventually the cart became a shop. My mother grew up working there. My uncles did too. By the time my uncle took over and moved to a busier street, I had just been born. There is a photo of me, days old, lying between the fruit on the counter.
Growing up, I was always around. Piling empty crates, loading the van for wholesale runs, learning which tomatoes were ripe. As I got older I started cooking, preparing dishes to sell in the store, and somewhere along the way that turned into a genuine love. I still cook every day, still experiment, still taste everything.
Then we watched a documentary.
About two years ago, my girlfriend and I watched a gut health documentary on Netflix. The message was surprising: it's not about eating the right foods more often, it's about eating a wide variety of plants. As many different ones as possible.
The guideline behind it comes from the American Gut Project (2018), where adults eating more than 30 different plants a week had a more varied gut flora than those eating 10 or fewer. An observation in adults, not a promise, and a good enough reason to count. Fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices all count.
30 plants a week. We count towards it at our own table.
Then the question changed.
For two years I tracked my own plants in a notes app, and the first Project Food was built for adults like me. A list works for an adult who wants variety. It does nothing for the parent whose plate comes back untouched, and that table is where variety is decided. The research on that table is clear: not persuasion but tastes, 8 to 15 of them, sometimes more, and a lick counts.
So in September 2026 Project Food became an app for the whole table. You tap what you tasted, the people who eat with you can be in it too, every new plant becomes a card, and the week counts towards 30 different plants. One phone, one adult account, one minute a day.
Joy, not guilt.
Project Food is not about eating perfectly, or about an empty plate. It is about tasting curiously: a new plant on the table, one taste, a card to show for it. Whether you grew up between the vegetables, count for yourself, or your kids are meeting them now, there is always another one to try.
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