For Anil Soekhoe (49), these are the smells and colours of possibilities. Ten years ago, the former international banker with a lifelong love for the brown gold changed the course of his life. After training in patisserie and as a barista, he opened his first establishment here, on the corner with Hofweg. Utrecht followed in 2016 and – until corona – Amsterdam. And yet it seems like this ‘‘address of ultimate indulgence’’ has always been here.

The secret? The quality of his products, of course, he does not compromise on that. More on that later. But above all, it is the staff. ‘‘They’re the ones who provide the hospitality, who have love in their eyes and have a heart for others,’’ the Surinamese born says poetically; he himself was brought up on hospitality.

Cornflakes

“I try to be a motivator. Therefore, unlike many other entrepreneurs, I take my employees on inspirational trips and give them lots of autonomy,’’ he continues enthusiastically. ‘‘We look at concepts, buy everything we want to taste and bring back the best flavours. Wonderful new things come out of that.”

Soekhoe sees a mouth watering on ‘‘the other side’’. “Wait, I’ll let you taste something.” He ducks behind the counter and returns with a sizeable chunk of dark, crunchy chocolate. ‘‘Look, we discovered this in London. It has cornflakes in it. Great combination, right! We also brought the almond croissant from Paris and various ice cream flavours from Bologna.’’

Wherever the inspiration comes from, everything is contained in the distinctive Hop & Stork signature. ‘‘Rich, complex works of art,’’ Soekhoe calls it himself. ‘‘For example, our pastries always have at least four layers, there is always a fresh acidity, and the cakes look perfect.’’

But not all the goodies get through to the next round at Hop & Stork. ‘‘Times are changing, so we pay a lot of attention to inclusion, sustainability and a healthy lifestyle,’’ explains the chatterbox, while counting on his fingers. ‘‘Our products are halal, although we don’t shout that from the rooftops. We only work with farmers who get a fair price for their produce, and we don’t throw anything away. We recently introduced a vegan range, and we work a lot with healthy products like matcha, freeze-dried fruit and ginger. Soon we even want to add freeze-dried vegetables to the chocolate, very cool. Did you know that beetroots and broccoli work brilliantly together?’’

Fast moving

The drive for innovation is in Hop & Stork’s DNA. ‘‘Most professionals don’t want to change, but customers do change. That’s why we also move fast,’’ says Soekhoe. ‘‘I regularly ask myself if this is still the coffee or tea we want to serve, for example. Ten years ago, the Dutch didn’t know what a cortado was, so to speak; now everyone can appreciate a specialty coffee. People value quality more.’’

That quality is just fine, judging by the orders Hop & Stork receives even from chocolate country Belgium. ‘‘We also regularly get orders from the rest of Europe.’’ Is that a sign that Hop & Stork will conquer the world? ‘‘I would like to take the concept to the Middle East someday. But first, my ambition is to make people happy in the five biggest Dutch cities.’’

www.hopenstork.com