Antwerp’s favourite soup in print and on stage
Soep van Boom used to be the culinary symbol of Antwerp. Now the great-granddaughter of the founder is restoring its legacy with a new book
Crafty Moemoe
The Soep van Boom story began in 1915 when Lie van Boom, pregnant with her fifth child, went to the council and asked for support so she could make soup for her starving family and neighbours. The council gave her 250 Belgian francs (about €5.50 in today’s currency).
Van Boom, better known as Moemoe, bought a boiler and started making soup for her community, selling it for 20 cents a litre. “After a few months, Moemoe had earned enough pay the money back to the council,” explains her great-granddaughter, Wendy van Boom. “They were shocked at the return of their ‘donation’ and immediately gave her permission to distribute soup to schools in Antwerp. Soep van Boom was born.”
Moemoe continued making soup right up until her death in 1965, but her son, Jules, eventually became the driving force behind the business. The soup was incredibly popular, and the family did well.
As a marketing stunt, the rather flashy Jules ran raffles, with televisions and radios as prizes. People wanted the tickets, but they didn’t bother attending the draws.
Win a car
By the 1960s, Jules began giving away 50 cars at each draw, but only to customers who had bought soup and were in the audience. Who could resist? Sales surged, and Soep van Boom was delivering up to 30,000 litres of soup a day in Antwerp and surrounding towns.
“Thousands flocked to the raffles, leading to huge crowds and problems with the authorities,” explains van Boom. “For one of the giveaways, Jules parked the vehicles on the Meir. But the police fined him 50 times for parking an unregistered car on the street – one fine for each vehicle.”
By the 1970s, Soep van Boom was in decline. Regulations on food production tightened up, and frozen soup became widely available from competitors.
Eventually the shop at 170 Kerkstraat closed, and the Soep van Boom delivery vans disappeared from Antwerp’s streets. Van Boom’s book draws on family memories and images to tell the story of Moemoe, Jules, and Soep van Boom. There are also 10 family recipes, including one from Moemoe’s last surviving child.
From 18-21 May, a play about Moemoe’s legacy runs at the Buurtcentrum Cortina. On opening night, Wendy van Boom will sign copies of her book – and soup will be served.
Soep van Boom (€25.90) is published in Dutch by Uitgeverij de Vries - Brouwers
Photo courtesy van Boom Family Archive
