Talking Dutch: Maria is back

The story appeared some months ago in Het Gazet van Antwerpen. Het nieuws sloeg in als een bom – the news hit like a bomb, the newspaper said.

They were not exaggerating. Everyone in Antwerp knows Frituur Number One. It has been around since 1980 and has become as famous a landmark as the Cathedral spire. This is where you come on a cold winter night to order a large portion of twice-fried frietjes served with some strange chemical sauce and a pink plastic fork.

It was not a particularly lovely place. But that was, you could say, part of its charm. Here is how one customer described it on an internet review site – Felle reclame, spelfouten op het bord, TL-balken, de geur van frituurolie en praatgraag mensen achter het toog. Hier is allemaal in orde! – bright advertising, spelling mistakes on the menu, neon lights, the smell of cooking oil and chatty people behind the counter. Everything is just right!

It was perhaps not somewhere to go on a first date, but it was the perfect place to grab some quick calories after one too many glasses of Westmalle Tripel.

But it wasn’t just the shabby atmosphere that drew people here. It was the woman behind the counter, Maria. Her sharp tongue became so popular that her fans created a Facebook page in her honour called Maria of Frituur Number One. More than 7,000 people clicked the Like button.

But without warning, the shutters came down on the 24-hour frituur, and Maria vanished from sight. No one could understand why the most successful frietkot in Antwerp would suddenly close. The owner refused to comment, leading local newspapers to speculate about het frietkotmysterie.

But then a miracle happened. A few weeks ago, a headline appeared in Het Nieuwsblad – Frituur Number One is weer open – Frituur Number One is open again. It is now under new owners – twee jonge vrouwen nemen de zaak over – two young women have taken over the business.

More to the point – Het vroegere personeel blijft aan de slag – the old staff have been kept on. That meant Maria would be back! Maria Vanlommel, waarschijnlijk de meest geliefde frituurbediende van Antwerpen en omstreken, blijft de avonddiensten verzorgen – Maria Vanlommel, arguably the most popular frietjes server in Antwerp and around, will take care of the evening shift.

The only proper way to celebrate this news is to head down to Frituur Number One and order a portion of frieten served with some strange chemical sauce and a pink plastic fork. But don’t expect Maria to be polite. Some things never change.