I like food trucks and I cannot lie! With the sun shining in the sky! Options for all tastes, in one big place, all that flavour wafting in your face.... Amsterdam Kookt was a great use of the space at Olympisch stadium. It was my first time at an event here and I was very impressed by the number of options. There were a number of big sponsors such as Juniper and Leffe and representation from the stalls you might know from De Foodhallen along with some exciting new options. It was set up that you used coins to pay for things which would yield quicker transactions when busy. We went on Sunday, the last day which was also Mothers' Day and it wasn't crazy busy which was quite nice for a Sunday afternoon. There were a lot of good looking food options, notably a high number of Sushi options, a Satay Bar, 1-3 Mexican options. There was a gourmet hotdog bar and at least three good burger options including the Butcher and the one we tried. I noted a Johnny Doodle chocolate (love it! Check it out and their ethos if you don't know them yet) and an ice cream truck too. There was a churros van, gin and tonics, wine. The Funkavan was cool complete with a better looking scooby doo dancing guy. There were at least two other music stages, the main one and the one in the Juniper area. Stoke stacks were on hand in the Juniper "smoke pit area". Very mad max meets Steampunk themed - a no-no area for vegetarians and vegans. There was a lot of meat around including a whole pig laid out on "display". I must admit, the sight of this put even me off my meat a bit. We opted for the XL meatlovers burger which had pulled pork, a rare burger with tasty aged meat (they made a point of ensuring all customers knew this and warned you up front), bacon, and a super tasty coca-cola or bourbon slow cooked pork chop as a dressing on top the burger. This was a lot of meat but good. My husband was very happy with this choice. There was a chickpea van with vegan options that looked good too. It was good to see a number of vegan friendly options with so much meat around. I'd come back with more people on the Friday or Saturday afternoon/evening :) read more

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I'm not sure how you can go wrong with a food truck festival, so automatically I love Kookt! There are all kinds of food trucks available including burgers, smoothies, milkshakes, soul food, pizza, frites, sweet treats, BBQ, some of your favorite restaurants and a few stalls you would recognize from De Foodhallen (http://www.yelp.com/biz/de-foodhallen-amsterdam). Of course there is beer and wine, and if you look around, you can find some cocktails too! There's a lot of space to walk around and isn't as cramped as some of the other festivals. I love the industrial feel of the area and the different sections of trucks. It's a little bit of a maze, but it pretty much follows one flow, so you shouldn't get too turned around. To get to the end is quite a walk. The location was good being right off the ferry from Centraal or the Westerdoks. It is well-marked and has space for bikes. But if you are coming from the ferry, I would just leave your bike where you got on. There is music along with some small and some large stages for you to enjoy. Only downside to the main (big) stage was it was all standing room. I think it would be more inviting with chairs, or high tops to stand around and eat on. The festival works on a token system (like many of them do) and there were registers along the way--not just at the entrance. And there were machines to insert cash to get your tokens. That might help quicken things. But the registers also take pin cards. It seemed that most items were between 2-3 tokens, and they do have half tokens as well. You can find a few items for 1-1.5 tokens and drinks are usually 2-3 tokens. These tokens are 2.50 each, but it's a festival and everything is overpriced. And in case you aren't aware, most people in Amsterdam speak English, so you will be fine if you don't speak Dutch. If you like this festival, check out Rollende Keukens (http://www.yelp.com/biz/rollende-keukens-amsterdam), TREK (http://www.yelp.com/biz/foodtruckfestival-trek-amsterdam), and Food Soul Festival (http://www.yelp.com/map/food-soul-festival-amsterdam). read more

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This was my favorite food festival in Amsterdam so far. While summers in the city are full of wonderful events everywhere the ante has been upped. Amsterdam Kookt has everything - great location, wonderful musical events, hygienic spots to chill and catch up with friends, activities for young and the old, and of course food from all over the world. Perhaps the biggest advantage is the space afforded by NDSM. The event was expansive, with opportunity to spend a couple days easily trying everything, and that's not even including the wonderful cafes in the area! Entrance is free, but you have to buy tokens for food, water, and toilets. I have to say - food is really expensive. The cheapest I found was a banana for half a token, which is €1.25! Water was €3.75 for half a liter! There is silent disco, face painting, a little playground for the youngsters. Something for everyone! And there are tables, a giant beach chair, boats recycled as terraces. You will not get tired. The food trucks were more or less the same from the yearly Rollende Keukens event at the Westerpark. There is a huge meat and BBQ area. Also an area for wines and beers. I loved the coconut cookies at one of the tables. Mm so good. Other than that, we had fun walking around, taking pictures, and generally having a good time. You're at the NDSM, the views are great. And when you're done with the music there's Pllek! They had concerts, although I only stuck around for a little while. All in all, a wonderful event that I hope keeps coming back! read more

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This review is for the Kookt Amsterdam going on now (May 5-8) at the Olympic Stadium. This food truck festival happens twice a year in different locations. My husband and I didn't know what to expect and We have to admit that we were pleasantly surprised. We liked it so much we went twice (Friday and Saturday nights). The Olympic stadium is pretty close to our home and it was an easy 5 minute bike ride over. There's bike parking in front of the event. You buy tokens to purchase food. There's plenty of space to sit and wander around. You never really have to stand in line to order your food which was nice. For drinks there are designated bars where you can get beer, wine and soft drinks. We had the following at the festival: *Yokiyo - was disappointed with the offering and the service was poor *Falaffel - was good and nice portion for one order *Loetje - DELICIOUS! We ordered the steak and it was well cooked with a yummy sauce that I couldn't get enough of *Vuurbrood - DELICIOUS! I wasn't sure what to expect but this was a pleasant surprise and just awesome. I could've eaten more of these! *Willy Nachos - Delicious! I would've liked a little more cheese, but overall thumbs up *Poffertjes - The winner of both nights. These were made to order and just perfect. *Bao bun - was so so. The bun was dry and the chicken was salty *Sate - average, but good portion for one order *Sticky ribs - very good, but prefer my ribs to be cooked a little longer so they fall off the bone. Nice portion for one order Overall we really enjoyed the event. It was well run and we look forward to the next one! read more

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