Winkel 43, the well-known cafe on the Noordermarkt in Amsterdam, has opened a dedicated baking kitchen that operates as a daily activity program for adults with intellectual disabilities.
The cafe recently expanded into the adjacent property formerly occupied by restaurant Pequ, creating space for a new baking setup where participants help make the venue’s famous apple pies.
Expanding into neighboring space
Owner Martijn Witlam launched the project after considering future options for his nine-year-old daughter, who has an intellectual disability, and noticing a lack of positions for neurodivergent individuals within standard businesses.
Each day, about four participants work in the kitchen alongside staff, handling tasks like peeling apples with modified power drills, coring fruit, preparing dough, and mixing the cinnamon and raisin filling.
Support in the kitchen
Former sous chef and child psychologist Jim Hopman leads the kitchen operations, providing guidance while maintaining regular production standards and running daily check-ins with the group.
Because Winkel 43 serves up to 160 apple pies on busy days, the participants focus on producing a portion of around 20 pies per shift to keep the working environment structured and manageable without strict quota pressure.
Regular kitchen staff step in later in the day to finish the remainder of the pie production for the cafe.
Building inclusive workplaces
The initiative joins a small number of independent hospitality venues in the city offering private daytime activity programs, including Hannah’s on the Admiraal de Ruijterweg in Amsterdam West.
Located directly on the Noordermarkt, the venue continues to operate its usual cafe services while running the kitchen project during morning hours.
