Dutch Oven made of 100% recycled rails
10-12-2015
Combekk Rails Edition, pans made of 100% recycled rails from Dutch Railway tracks, for tough cooks! The pans are also called a ‘Dutch Oven’.
Sustainable: made of 100% recycled rails
The very first Combekk pans tell the story of Dutch railways. The bottom of each Combekk Rails Edition pan bears a stamp that refers to its origin. The fully enamelled cast iron products are made entirely from recycled materials with a tough and functional design. With a proper furnace and a balanced mix of materials Combekk indicates that they succeed to deliver the best quality possible, without even having to dig for iron.
Dutch Oven
‘Dutch Ovens’ are known all over the world. The name refers to a production technique, which is invented in The Netherlands whereby molten iron is poured into a sand mold. Combekk is proud that they are the only brand producing all their Dutch Ovens in The Netherlands, like it should be! Some of the models have an integrated temperature gauge.
Ping-pongbar Daily Social will open in Amsterdam
8-12-2015
Amsterdam will get the first ping-pongbar in the Netherlands. The ping-pongbar Daily Social will open this December and is a venue where the traditional table tennis has a leading role. Socializing while playing ping-pong!
Ping-pongbar Amsterdam
Daily Social combines sports and entertainment. The café offers nine different tennis tables, each accommodating up to 20 guests. The tables are suitable for large groups. Besides the sport a game of ping-pong is also entertainment and is good for team building! The Daily Social will soon open for all ages. As from 18:00, the bar is only accessible for people aged 21 and older. You can order a wide variety of drinks at the bar and there is also a small bar menu, including lots of snacks and salads.
International ping-pongbar
We have seen more ping-pongbars worldwide, so they are not new. We spotted for example the Spin, ping-pongbars in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Toronto. An alternative for our snooker & poolcafés. We wonder if hip Amsterdam will play ping-pong here and if we will see more ping-pongbars in the Netherlands. After all there are also many snooker & poolcafés in the Netherlands! We wish the team of Daily Social lots of fun and succes at the opening!
Virtual Reality Cinema will be shown all over Europe
7-12-2015
An update regarding the Virtual Reality Cinema we wrote about back in October. The tour throughout The Netherlands sold out really quickly. &Samhoud media will now organise futuristic cinemas in Berlin, Munich, Zürich, London and Copenhagen in January and February.
Business model for the Virtual Reality Cinema
Initiator Jip Samhoud: ‘We can see that our cinema sells out time after time and we sense that there really is a market for Virtual Reality. We noticed that a real business model can be made for VR cinemas. We’ve received more than 2500 visitors, the first few days that we’ve been open.’
The success of the Virtual Reality Cinema will also be continued in The Netherlands. During the Christmas Season, the cinema in Amsterdam will open again! In this special Christmas edition the Virtual Reality cinema can be found at the Passeerdersgracht 19a in Amsterdam from the 18th of December till the 23th. Opening hours and tickets can be found at vrcinema.samhoud.com.
In October we wrote about the first Virtual Reality Cinema.
The croquettes in the leading role
4-12-2015
Kroketten (or croquettes) and Bitterballen (small croquettes) are a real Dutch treat. The last two years we spotted a couple of tasty varieties appearing in the market. We have made a list of them.
For years I used to make this Dutch treat at home, using recipes from the book ‘The great culinary croquettes cookbook’ by Edwin Kats, and of course I always got compliments! Truly amazing are the game croquets from this season but the croquettes with smoked eel are very special as well. We even wrote about croquettes with snails and goose meat on Horecatrends, both of whom are no longer for sale, but it truly indicates that the possibilities are endless! ^ Marjolein
Our list; croquettes in the leading role
1. CROQUÉTJE! a pulled pork-croquette
Sausage-maker Paul van den Hooven from Wild Vleesch in Rotterdam, has developed his own croquette under the name of CROQUÉTJE! The first CROQUÉTJE is a croquette with pulled pork which contains meat that is smoked low & slow on a barbecue.
2. Croquette made of Shiitake mushrooms
A croquette with Shiitake mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms are healthy, delicious and a good substitute for meat. FungiFuturi grows delicious and super nutritious mushrooms in the cellar of an abandoned office building in Eindhoven. They are crowdfunding an innovative snack line of mushrooms. The first product of the line is the shiitake croquette, they presented these croquettes during the Dutch Design Week last October.
3. Bieterballen, croquettes with beetroot
The vegetarian Bieterbal, from Jonathan Karpathios of restaurant Vork & Mes. It’s content? Beet, beet and even more beet! The Bieterbal is available in wholesale at: Deli XL, De Kweker, HANOS and VHC de Jongens. The Bieterbal has also been nominated for the Dutch Horecava Innovation Award 2016 in the category Food & Beverage.
4. Bitter Balzz, a bitterbal with insects
At BUGZZ they make food with insects. Their goal is to bring the durable snack, the ‘Bitter Balzz’ in production. They reached their target amount by 117% on their crowdfunding page. We recently ran into them on the Foodfestival in Amsterdam, where they were already completely sold out halfway Saturday evening.
5. Croquette made from 100% organic spelt
The first croquette and bitterbal worldwide made from 100% organic spelt. Prepared with fresh spices, vegetables and the best organic beef, made by Royal Spelt.
6. Restaurant Valuas’s gluten free croquette
Star restaurant Valuas (*) in Venlo has developed a gluten free croquette. The gluten free croquette is made from ragout of corn, rice and 36% pure beef and contains a crust made of rice.
7. Croquette made from the queen of vegetables
Kwekkeboom introduced a croquette made of the queen of vegetables, the asparagus, in 2013. Since I regularly make a variety of the bitterbal with asparagus in the leading roll, this croquette proves that you can make endless variations with the salpicon of the croquettes and bitterballen.
8. Arancini, the Italian bitterbal
Lightly fried balls made from risotto with a core of mozzarella and smoked ham. Simple and a delicious appetizer! Italian restaurants would have their own variation of ‘our’ bitterbal.
9. Sichuan Bitterballen
For her Sichuan bitterballen Robin Kok used ‘Sichuan style red boiled beef’ that includes ingredients like ginger, chilli bean sauce, rice wine and Chinese dark soy sauce. The Asian bitterballen.
10. Chef Thor
Chef Thor makes bitterballen with different flavours and flavours you won’t expect, such as spinach with Dutch blue cheese, coconut curry with peas or scrambled eggs with porcini mushrooms and truffle. The traditional Dutch concept of a kroket, but just something different and delicious without meat. Chef Thor has been around for six years and have seven different flavours, all vegetarian.
11. Fingerfoodballs
Scelta Mushrooms is the founder of a healthy alternative for the snack range: the Fingerfoodballs. The Fingerfoodballs are vegetable snacks that doesn’t contain artificial colors or flavors.
The ‘Schroefkurk’, the innovative wine cork
4-12-2015
‘The luxury of the cork, with the ease of a screwcap’ that is the slogan of the newest invention in the world of wines. The ‘schroefkurk’ (a screwcap made of cork) can easily be opened and the wine bottle can, contrary to the traditional wine cork, easily be closed thanks to the subtle designed screw technique in the cork.
The ‘Schroefkurk’
Many wines come with a screwcap nowadays. Which hurts in the hearts of wine and innovation lovers, Sharan Visser and Arjan Bomkamp. “Of course it’s nice to be able to close a bottle of wine that is half empty without any effort, but the pop sound that is associated with uncorking a bottle is also part of drinking wine.” Says Visser. When he wondered if there wasn’t another possibility to open a wine bottle, he discovered the ‘schroefkurk’. ‘The luxury of the cork, with the ease of a screwcap’, says the slogan of the newcomer in the world of wine. ‘Besides it is user friendly, the ‘schroefkurk’ is also more durable compared to the screwcap’, says Bomkamp, because of the fact that cork is very recyclable and it helps to decrease the Co2 emissions.
Schroefkurk.nl
Right after the discovery of the ‘schroefkurk’, the idea for schroefkurk.nl was created. Schroefkurk.nl is the first wine shop that focuses on quality wines that all come with a ‘schroefkurk’. At this moment, the red and white wines are exclusively bought from the wine house ‘5 Estates’. Sharan and Arjan are hoping to expand their assortment into a big selection of quality wines soon.
CROQUÉTJE! a pulled pork-croquette
3-12-2015
Sausage-maker Paul van den Hooven from Wild Vleesch in Rotterdam, has developed his own croquette under the name of CROQUÉTJE! The first CROQUÉTJE is a croquette with pulled pork containing meat low & slow smoked on a barbecue. The artisanal products Paul sells are based on his obsession of the American Style barbecue.
CROQUÉTJE!
Pulled pork which Paul prefers to call ‘rafelvarken’, as they say it in his hometown Rotterdam, is one of the most well-known dishes in the American world of barbecue. Paul makes his handmade croquette with real pulled pork, smoked slow & low on the barbecue. This really brings out the taste of the smoked pulled pork. For the croquette he developed a rub for the meat and a mix of spices for the salpicon. The meat originates from Dutch bred pigs. The pulled pork croquette is the first in the series of CROQUÉTJE!
Availability
CROQUÉTJE! is for sale on the website of Wild Vleesch for the hospitality industry, commerce and consumers. Wild Vleesch can also be found at the ‘Oogstmarkt’ in Rotterdam, the croquettes are part of the assortment. In Brasserie STROOM in Rotterdam guests can already enjoy a pulled pork-croquette. We look forward to taste them and we will let you know once we did!
DWDD pop-up restaurant
3-12-2015
Yesterday was the official opening of the DWDD pop-up restaurant and the presentation of the accompanying cookbook ‘DWDD cooks with Kranenborg’. Horecatrends attended the presentation and took the following pictures of the presentation, food and restaurant.
DWDD pop-up restaurant
Right in front of the studio of the successful Dutch TV-show ‘De Wereld Draait Door’ (The World Keeps Turning), on the Westergasterrein in Amsterdam, the DWDD pop-up-restaurant is now officially open. The pop-up restaurant is in cooperation with famous Dutch chef Robert Kranenborg. During the next three weeks a five course dinner will be served here for € 79,95. The profit of this project will be donated to the ‘Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Foundation’. On the menu is a selection of forgotten classics that were discussed at the TV-show DWDD in the last four years. Chef Robert Kranenborg is a regular guest who presented, almost forgotten, classical dishes in cooperation with famous chefs from The Netherlands, Belgium and France. Guests can choose between three main courses during their lunch or dinner.
I already tasted a few dishes during the opening and really enjoyed the bastilla with pigeon and the cervelas de fruits de mer (sausage made of fish and seafood).
DWDD cooks with Kranenborg
Do you prefer to cook at home? The cookbook ‘DWDD cooks with Kranenborg’ will be available (€ 24,99) starting today, unfortunately only in Dutch. The cookbook contains all the recipes that Robert Kranenborg presented in the ‘De Wereld Draait Door’. Like Matthijs van Nieuwkerk said, ‘a history book and a cookbook’. The book, in honour of DWDD’s 10 year anniversary, contains exclusive ‘forgotten’ dishes like grilled woodcock, haggis and timpano. Including an easier recipe to prepare at home. ^Bram Kosterink
HomeBiogas – turn your waste into energy
2-12-2015
Turn your kitchen leftovers into 3 hours of cooking per day. HomeBiogas is a family-sized affordable biogas system. It converts any organic waste into clean cooking gas and a high quality liquid fertilizer for the garden.
How to use the system
On average, one kilogram of food waste produces about 200 litres of gas, which generates around one hour of cooking over a high flame. Therefore, one can generate 1 up to 3 hours of cooking gas each day with six kilogram of food waste – the perfect amount for three meals.
HomeBiogas is easy to use, doesn’t need any electricity and can be connected to your stove. You will need to place the system outdoors or in a barn, it works optimally in places with an average day/night temperature above 17 °C.
Successful crowdfunding
HomeBiogas is a crowdfunding project on the website Indiegogo. Their target was to fund at least $ 100,000.=. They already reached 130% of their target within 7 days and still have 24 days left. If you would like to support this project you can choose between several perks. One of the perks contributes to the HomeBioGas-Arava Institute to support peace-building, social justice, and environmental leadership and research in the Middle East. It is also possible to support the project and at the same time order the HomeBiogas system.
HomeBiogas within the hospitality?
For now the HomeBiogas is perfect for families. It’s not meant for industrial use such as hotels or big restaurants. The big amount waste they produce, can’t be handled at this stage, by the system. It can convert a maximum of six kilogram of food waste. For smaller restaurants and cafés the system could be an option to become more sustainable.
Global warming and carbon footprints are from major importance to the world’s future. Using HomeBiogas will certainly contribute to your sustainable image.
The system also fertilizes your herbs and vegetables. A lot of people already make their own compost at home and with this innovation we think that many more people will follow.
Process wine into…
1-12-2015
Bram Kosterink likes to drink or serve a fine wine! In this article he will give a few examples of how wine is used in an entirely different manner. He writes about Pinot Noir Sea Salt and Wine Ice Tea.
The fact that wine and the hospitality industry are friends is well known! Processing wine and using or selling it as an entirely different product is not well-known. In what ways can you use wine other than to support a dish or to use it in sauces? For inspiration he collected some examples:
Process wine into Pinot Noir Sea Salt
Prepare your own sea salt with the taste and colour of Pinot Noir. Creating your own Pinot Noir sea salt is easier than baking an egg. Use 5 till 10 ml Pinot Noir for every 50 grams of coarse sea salt. Let the Pinot Noir reduce to a syrup (will take about 15 to 20 minutes). Add the salt to the wine once it’s reduced, blend it well with a spatula and let it dry on a plate for at least 12 hours. The result: Your own Pinot Noir Salt! The salt tastes great on a sirloin or tenderloin! Read Brain Sullivan’s article in The Huffington Post for more details.
Tip: Prepare the sea salt with the same bottle of Pinot Noir you’ll serve during dinner.
Process wine into Wine Iced Tea
An iced tea made of wine grapes. The tealeaves are completely replaced by freshly harvested grape skins which gives the tea the sophisticated taste of wine. The Wine Iced Tea is available in the flavours Chardonnay, Cabernet or Pinot Noir. Each iced tea has its own ideal ‘wine’–food combination. For example, the Chardonnay goes great with salads and white meat. The Cabernet does taste great with hard cheeses, pâtés and stews and the Pinot Noir is perfect with baked salmon, lobster and paella’s. The iced tea doesn’t contain any alcohol, which makes it child friendly.
Tip: It would be nice to serve parents a real glass of wine, and their kids a Wine Iced Tea!
Other examples of products that relate to wine are The Real Wine Gum and Writing with wine.
Zorri Cress
30-11-2015
Koppert Cress introduces a new cress, the Zorri Cress. Healthy, tasteful and beautiful in compositions on the plate.
The Zorri Cress
On a regular basis Koppert Cress introduces a new cress, this time the Zorri Cress. Zorri Cress is the sprout of the Nasturtium. This is a spicy decorative plant which has been growing in our gardens for centuries. The plant originates from the Andes and arrived in Europe in the sixteenth century via Peru. The leaf is shaped like a shield, and the spicy taste of the product combines well with refreshing dishes both warm and cold. Zorri Cress is available year round. The optimum temperature at which the quality is the best maintained, is between 2 and 4 ° C.
Besides the cresses Koppert Cress regularly introduces flowers that can be used in the kitchen, such as the BlinQ Blossom® in 2013. With the introduction of the BlinQ Blossem® the focus was still on storytelling around the product. Nowadays the cresses of Koppert Cress are so popular with chefs that a single introduction of the cress is sufficient.
