King Philippe & Queen Mathilde hosted another one of their dinners for young talents. This time it were young and promising local and federal police officers who were welcomed at Laeken castle.
On the menu: cannelloni of celery, ricotta, spinach and mature parmezan cheese as a starter. Main course: filet of beef with foie gras and truffle sauce. Dessert: caramelized pears with panna cotta and lemon.
Among the 28 guests was 30-year old Marthe Vangronsveld, a police woman from Hasselt who joined the force 3,5 years ago. She considered the invitation to be a "a complete surprise and a huge honour". She was seated at Mathilde's table. The dress code was either uniform or civilian clothes - Marthe went for her uniform.
Marthe: "We first had the opportunity to talk to the king, afterwards the queen joined us at our table. The royal couple were genuinely interested in our job. They wondered if we got enough respect from the general public and if we'd ever been confronted with violence directed at us when we were in our function. It struck me how concerned they are about the less fortunate in society. They also asked if we are we often confronted with underprivileged persons. They were very human, very concerned, which touched me a great deal. This visit confirms my idea there's no other job I'd like to do as much as this one. I thoroughly enjoyed the dinner!
Marthe: "We first had the opportunity to talk to the king, afterwards the queen joined us at our table. The royal couple were genuinely interested in our job. They wondered if we got enough respect from the general public and if we'd ever been confronted with violence directed at us when we were in our function. It struck me how concerned they are about the less fortunate in society. They also asked if we are we often confronted with underprivileged persons. They were very human, very concerned, which touched me a great deal. This visit confirms my idea there's no other job I'd like to do as much as this one. I thoroughly enjoyed the dinner!
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Marthe Vangronsveld, een 30-jarige Hasseltse politie- inspecteur, was woensdagavond te gast op het kasteel van Laken. Koning Filip en koningin Mathilde nodigen er geregeld jonge vertegenwoordigers van beroepsgroepen uit die iets doen voor de maatschappij. “Een enorme eer”, zegt Marthe. “Bovendien zat ik met de koningin aan tafel.”
Drieënhalf jaar is Marthe intussen bij de politie actief als inspecteur. “Dan gekozen worden om naar het paleis te mogen, verraste me compleet”, zegt Marthe. “We mochten kiezen tussen ons uniform of burgerkleding. Omdat ik als vertegenwoordiger van de politie te gast was, leek het uniform me vanzelfsprekend.”
In totaal waren er woensdagavond 28 gasten. “We kregen eerst de kans om met de koning te spreken en nadien zat de koningin bij ons aan tafel. Er was cannelloni van selderij, ricotta, spinazie en belegen Parmezaanse kaas als voorgerecht. Daarna volgde runderfilet met ganzenlever en truffelsaus, en als dessert kregen we gekarameliseerde peren met panna cotta en citroen. De vorsten toonden oprecht interesse in ons werk. Zo peilden ze onder meer naar het respect dat er voor onze job is en vroegen ze of we zelf met geweld tegen politiemensen te maken hebben kregen. Heel opvallend vond ik hun verregaande bezorgdheid over de kansarmen in onze maatschappij. Of we dat vaak tegenkomen tijdens onze interventies? Echt heel menselijk, heel begaan. Dat raakte me. Dit bezoek sterkt me om deze job nog liever te doen. Ik heb hier echt honderduit van genoten.” (dj - Het Belang van Limburg)
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