'I'm really a morning person, the earlier the better. That's why I prefer to work during the day rather than in the evening. Around 9 o'clock I start at the rinsing machine in the kitchen. And if necessary, I also sometimes help the cooks with the mise-enplace tasks. Then I learn that too. That makes the work very varied. I work in the heart of the company: the kitchen. Everyone walks in and out and has a chat with each other. I have contact with my colleagues throughout the day, which is very pleasant. They really feel like family. That's why I wanted to share something very personal with them last year. You see, I am in transition from woman to man. It is an intensive process, and I think it is important that my colleagues know about it. I initially told my supervisors. They responded very positively and I felt very supported. A little later I posted a video message in our Van der Valk app group explaining things. This was also very well received by all colleagues. I only received positive reactions. That feels incredibly nice. As far as I'm concerned, it really says something about the corporate culture of Van der Valk. Some colleagues are naturally curious about what such a course looks like. I understand that very well. I am always open to answer their questions. I am very grateful for all those lovely people around me. So working here at the hotel feels like a warm bath.'

Working here feels like a warm bath

'Some time ago, in November 1994, I started at Hotel Nuland-'s-Hertogenbosch as a breakfast cook. Unfortunately, I suffered a burnout in 2011. Fortunately, I was able to continue working at the hotel, but in a different position, namely in the rinse kitchen. And I still really enjoy working there. Most colleagues are happy when everything is fresh and clean again. That is of course very nice and satisfying. I am a very tidy type myself; I always have the cleaning itch. Social hygiene is very important to me, for guests, colleagues and also for myself. A good thing about my job is that I never have to set my alarm clock, because I start at 2 p.m. I don't have to cook at home either. Also, I don't have to cook at home; during the break I eat a meal prepared by the cooks together with my colleagues. And if a mistake is made in the kitchen with a particular dish, we get to eat it! I once jokingly said, "You can make mistakes more often, haha!" I am hard of hearing and when I go to meet a new colleague, I always explain first how they can best communicate with me. Of course, this is a little different than usual. When someone looks at me I can lip read, so that's fine. In any case, shouting really makes no sense. I also often say, "My ears are broken, but otherwise I'm just a person like everyone else!

'I started in housekeeping at the hotel. I enjoyed it there, but it was difficult to combine with finding a babysitter for my children. With three little boys at home, Lodewijk (4) and the twins Floris and Reinier (2), I am quite busy as a single mother and try to plan it all as well as possible. A very good friend of mine is happy to babysit, but he can only do it in the evenings. Hence, I switched from housekeeper to dishwasher; now I work evening shifts, so that's perfect. Before working at Van der Valk , I worked in construction. Something very different, but both are hard work. I like to work with my hands and I like to get my hands dirty. That comes in handy here in the kitchen. When I start at 4 p.m., the sink is usually full of cups and saucers. I clean up immediately, because I really like structure and a tidy workplace. So in that respect I am a good person! What I like most about my job is being busy. For a while I worked in housekeeping and washing the dishes. That was pretty tough. One day I was very tired because I had had a very bad night because my children were awake a lot. After work I walked to my locker to get my things. And suddenly I saw that all the lockers were open! Oh no, I thought, everything is gone! My car keys were in the locker and I thought they had disappeared. I panicked. My manager thought: what is going on here? In the end it turned out that one locker was locked; my locker... I just couldn't see through the fatigue. Fortunately, in the end there was nothing wrong. Really panic about nothing. Fortunately we were able to laugh about it afterwards.

I always have the clean-up jitters