Trends we spotted | Week 27
At hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the smaller trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
This week, amongst others about artichoke toast, it seems to low in calories and high in fiber, vitamins and minerals! So move over avocado toast because artichoke toast sounds just as delicious! A robot will serve pizzas in France and Alain Ducasse wil open a chocolate shop in London. London will try to tackle overtourism with a game you’ll play on your mobile phone, ‘Play London With Mr. Bean’.
Click on the title if you would to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
Move over avocado toast, artichoke toast is here
Artichoke spread. This punchy schmear is no less healthy than avocado. Artichokes are low in calories and high in fiber, and are packed with vitamins and minerals to boot. Extra virgin olive oil brings the healthy fat to the party, while lemon and capers punch up the flavour. Artichoke spread takes very little effort to pull together and can be made in large batches and kept in the fridge for easy quick meals. Spread it on your toast plain, or amp it up with slices of prosciutto or dollops of ricotta or crumbles of goat cheese. Sprinkle parmesan over the top and run it under the broiler, or scatter toasted pine nuts on for some crunch. Top it with any kind of egg, poached, soft scrambled, or sliced hard boiled. Use it instead of mayo or mustard on your next sandwich. And if you really want to overdose from coolness, try artichoke toast with a few slices of avocado.
London uses mobile gaming app to help tackle overtourism
More than two billion people worldwide play mobile app games, and London & Partners, the city’s tourism board, only needs a fraction of those gamers and travellers to visit to help carry out its mission to tackle overtourism in central London.
Play London With Mr. Bean is a free mobile app game that shows travellers different attractions around London that, when visited, earns the points to redeem for vouchers and discounts around the city. The idea is to disperse those visitors across the city to avoid congestion. The game involves different levels, such as visiting a certain number or type of attractions, before travellers can advance to the next. They can also make purchases in the app by redeeming points they earn.
Cafe X debuts 2nd generation coffee robot kiosk in downtown San Francisco
Cafe X, the robotic coffeeshop startup, debuted its second generation robot barista kiosk on the streets of downtown San Francisco today. This new version of the Cafe X robot is a standalone kiosk that sits literally on the sidewalk at the corner of Sansome and Bush in SF’s Financial District. In addition to the updated form factor, the new version of the robot can handle multiple drink sizes (8 oz and 12 oz), clear cups, and also does nitro-infused cold brew coffee. We wrote about the first Café X in San Francisco.
French start-up Ekim | Robot serves up pizzas in France
French start-up Ekim wants to change and speed up the way pizza is made and served using a pizzaiolo robot the company hopes to soon install in an autonomous 24/7 restaurant. The robot’s gestures have been programmed to match those of real-life pizzaiolos, or pizza-makers, and with three arms it can make several pizzas at the same time.
“We are not faster than a pizzaiolo as we make a pizza in 4 minutes and 30 seconds because the pizzas are made on demand in front of the customer, we take time to cook them well, to put the ingredients,” Ekim Chief Executive Philippe Goldman said. “But the robot has three arms, can co-ordinate tasks and make several pizzas at once. So yes, making a pizza takes 4 minutes 30 seconds but we deliver one pizza every 30 seconds, which allows us to deliver 120 pizzas an hour when a pizzaiolo can only make 40 pizzas an hour.” We think that every mother and chef wants to have that extra arm! 😉
Alain Ducasse to open a chocolate shop in London
Decorated Michelin French chef Alain Ducasse has today announced that he will be opening a branch of his chocolate shop, Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse, in North London. Set inside Coal Drops Yard, a new shopping destination in King’s Cross, the shop is scheduled to open in October 2018, joining 50 other independent stores and restaurants. Check out the great video of his shop in France in the article at the website of Fine Dining Lovers.
The most liked Airbnb experiences on Instagram in 2018
From secret cobblestone alleyways to mouthwatering delicacies, Airbnb has pulled some of their most liked Experiences on Instagram in 2018.* Photos of jaw-dropping trail run vistas, unseen corners and little known views of some of the world’s largest cities, and even fishing for plastic to help keep Amsterdam’s riverways clean have proven most popular on Airbnb’s Instagram account, all taken by guests.
*This list is comprised of Instagram posts featuring Airbnb Experiences that were posted from the @Airbnb Instagram handle from September 2017-April 2018 and received the most “Likes” as of June 2018.
Starbucks adds a new pink drink to its permanent menu in the USA & Canada
The Mango Dragonfruit Starbucks Refreshers® beverage tastes as exotic as it sounds, with a deep magenta colour bursting with sweet, tropical flavours. Its vibrant hue comes from pieces of real red-fleshed dragon fruit (also known as pitaya) hand-shaken in the beverage with no artificial colours or sweeteners. “People love both the flavour and the colour,” said Alicia Binion from Starbucks research and development (R&D), who created the new beverage. “It’s bright and vivid, something you would want to take a picture of to share with friends.”
This colourful, thirst-quenching drink joins the permanent Starbucks menu alongside other Instagram-worthy beverages including Strawberry Acai Starbucks Refreshers® beverage, Very Berry Hibiscus Starbucks Refreshers® beverage, Pink Drink, and Violet Drink. The beverage is available at participating Starbucks® stores in the U.S. and Canada starting June 19. A grande (16-ounce) beverage is under 100 calories.
