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"A Family Tradition for130 Years" Croquettes a going conce Tasty Dutch morsels are a profitable sideli By Heather McCrae Special to the Star The next time you bite into a croquette or bitter- bollen at Emiel's Place, take time to really savor the taste. It took a lot of hard work to produce those delicious morsels of Dutch cuisine. Not only have cro- quettes and bitterbollen been long standing items on the menu at Emiel's in Port Perry but they're manufactured at the res- taurant too. When Emiel Kroonen- berg and his wife Cathy started Emiel's Place 26 years ago, it was Mrs. Kroonenberg who began making croquettes as a special item for the menu. A recipe from the old coun- try, croquettes are now popular on the dinner menu, while bitterbollen Lo HEATHER McCRAE / PORT PERRY STAR rown Mountain Dutch Style Croquettes and Bitterbollen employees have been continuously busy making everybody's favorite Dutch edibles throug out the Christmas season. Emiel Kroonenberg (in the front) of Crown Mountain is included on the list of and Emiel's Place has never seen a busier season before. With him are em- appetizers. Fifteen years ago when croquettes and bitterbol- len were becoming popu- lar fare, Mr. Kroonenberg began to get serious about manufacturing his own product. Today, Crown Mountain Dutch Style Croquettes and Bitterbol- len are a large part of the operations at Emiel's Place. Crown Mountain (inter- pretation of 'Kroonenberg' in English) Croquettes and Bitterbollen are now sold throughout Ontario to distributors in London, Mississauga, Barrie and Kingston. And three times a year a large shipment is transported to Dart- mouth, Nova Scotia. "By the size of the order, there must be a lot of Dutch people down there," Mr. Kroonenberg said. It takes three stages of production before these delicious Dutch edibles can be packaged for distri- bution. The first stage involves cooking the meat. Stewing beef from a local butcher is first separated and weighed before being placed in an enormous cooker. Equipped with gi- gantic' arms that do the mixing, the meat is evenly cooked at high tempera- tures of 150 degrees cel- stewing beef to make 10,000 croquettes and 9,000 bitterbollen. While the same cut of meat is used for both products, the filling is spicier and ground finer for the bitter- bollen. Currently, the demand is so great for these items, production takes place several times a week. The Bardeau mixer which Mr. Kroonenberg bought new 15 years ago cost $10,000. "We've had to replace the main motor once in 15 years," he said. "It's expen- sive equipment, but it lasts -- and that's what we want." After the meat is cooked, it's seasoned with a special blend of spices made exclusively for Crown Mountain by Grif- fith Laboratories. Then it is stored away in a cooler until the following day. At that time it's ready to be pressed into rectangular croquettes, or round balls of bitterbollen. ' Anywhere from four to six people work on the as- sembly line. While one person feeds the meat into 'the hopper, the rest of the crew ensures the cro- quettes or bitterbollen are properly fed through the bread crumbs before pass- ing through egg wash. Af- Sewer estimates in the works Staff in the Durham Region works department have been given the okay to start work on cost estimates to bring sewer and water lines to residents of | Coulcliffe Blvd., on the shore of Lake | Scugog just north of Port Perry. More than half the residents of the area have petitioned the region to ini- tiate the work, and once the cost has been determined they will then have the chance to vote on whether they prepared. along d on ter the latter stage, the meat is rolled in a final batch of bread crumbs be- fore being loaded on to steel trays and promptly frozen being packaged. One person who has helped Mr. Kroonenberg. make croquettes and bit- terbollen for the last 10 years is Craig Finley. Mr. Kroonenberg has only praise for his valued as- sistant: "Craigis a very re- liable employee," he said. While 72 croquettes are packaged in one box, 144 bitterbollen end up in the same size container. Like the seasonings, the bread crumbs and batter are supplied by Griffith Laboratories. "Anybody in the trade knows Griffith Laboratories," Mr. Kroonenberg said. While production is continuous year round, it's been particularly busy since the first of October. "This is the first year we've been busy. I've never seen anything like this before," Mr. Kroonenberg said. Although Crown Mountain products are distributed throughout the province, they can also be purchased at Emiel's Place too. The Dutch community has a big bazaar once a frontage basis. It is expected to take about three months for the cost estimates to be And because of the severe elevations the street, those estimates are expected to be high. Scugog Mayor Howard Hall said there may be some regional dollars available if Coulcliffe residents vote in favour of the work. ployees (L-R) Craig Finley, Rob Taylor and Marg Pelow. every year wh 0,000 is raised to help the Dutch needy in Ontario, Mr. Kroonenberg said. He will serve Crown Mountain croquettes and bitter- bollen at this event, to be held again next October. SIMCOE ST. itr ves W998 DANCING Fens ndapandent room can on Cre congion a Gary pa re Not 190 wi 4 Or Be