Kornuit puts modern craftsmanship in the spotlight
6-8-2015
The brewers (and marketing department) of Kornuit work with the new generation of craftsmen and puts the spotlight on modern craftsmanship.
Modern craftsmanship
Kornuit works together with sausage maker Erik Waagmeester and blacksmith Joram Barbier and has made beautiful videos about them. Under the heading of ‘modern craftsmanship’ Kornuit will give them and other craftsmen the attention they deserve.
Sausage and upcycled beer opener
Waagmeester developed a sausage based on Cascade hop specially for Kornuit. The sausage is available at selected bars. Barbers has designed a bottle opener from an old beer barrel. The opener which is available at a number of supermarkets in the Netherlands.
Happyhappyjoyjoy – An impression with photos
5-8-2015
Julius Jaspers has brought the colourful streets of Asia to Amsterdam with Happyhappyjoyjoy. Aren’t you able to visit this restaurant? We’ve got a wonderful impression by photographer Wouter van der Sar via architecture and design company ‘concrete Amsterdam’.
Happyhappyjoyjoy – inspiration
Julius Jaspers leads people from Amsterdam directly to the bustling streets of Bangkok, Saigon and Hong Kong with the opening of Happyhappyjoyjoy in July. During his travels through Asia, the chef was inspired by the colourful culture and cuisine. His inspiration is now translated to the new Asian street food restaurant at the Bilderdijkstraat 158 in Amsterdam. Happyhappyjoyjoy brings together the contradictory tangle of influences from the Far East, where sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami are completely balanced on the menu.
The feel-good menu
Traditional starters and main courses on the menu are replaced with small feel good small plates like typical Asian steamed dumpling, buns with Peking duck or pork belly, hot & spicy shrimps’, clamps in XO sauce and Pad Thai. For the dessert menu Julius created dishes like Banana Fritters and Rice Pudding.
Asian drinks
The spicy dishes can be chilled down with roasted coconut juice or one of the other Eastern sodas. The extensive beer list is packed with Asian brands like Saigon Lager and the Chinese Tsingtao. Cocktails get a thrill with spices like ginger, pepper and Thai basil and Happyhappyjoyjoy serves Yumchatea tea from the Dutch computer science geeks Koh Ngai and Kenneth Touw.
A good-humored chaos
Happyhappyjoyjoy provides an upbeat, eclectic chaos. The vibrant décor is Asian with a wink and fully provided by concrete – which was the Gold Key Designer 2014. The combination of neon lights and authentic materials, patterns and colours leads you to one of the many night markets that line the streets of Asia. With a jumble of Oriental posters and ceiling of Chinese umbrellas you find yourself just in a true Asian setting.
Unrecognizable 1RDJ plays one track and flies away
4-8-2015
It sounds bizarre. A DJ who will fly on stage with a jet- pack, plays one track and then runs off again. Then you probably haven’t heard of 1RDJ yet.
1RDJ
By spinning a few tracks from other producers you won’t make it as a DJ anymore. Basically all DJ’s produce tracks and scream for attention with crazy gimmicks like throwing cakes (Steve Aoki), wearing a large mouse mask (deadmau5) or robot masks (DaftPunk). Now a new phenomenon can be added to that list. A DJ / producer who is unrecognizable flies on stage at a festival with a jet pack, plays one track and then disappears. On the Facebook page of 1RDJ and on his clothes there is a clearly recognizable reference to the beer brand Bavaria. This might be a winning ‘summer 2015’ formula for the brand and the artist.
Spinnin’ records
The first track by 1RDJ is called ‘First’ and is quite catchy. The single is released by Spinnin’ records from Hilversum, one of the major dance labels in the world.
Internet coverage in rural Sri Lanka using Google Project Loon
3-8-2015
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, Mangala Samaraweera, announced on 28 July 2015 that the country will provide full internet coverage in collaboration with Google. It will be the first country in the world with affordable, universal access to the internet.
Project Loon
The Project Loon balloons drift in the stratosphere, twice as high as airplanes and above the highest clouds. Loon balloons are able to go where they are needed by increasing or decreasing their altitude and move to the layer in the atmosphere with the desired wind direction. Each balloon has a 4G wireless communication transmitter and a reach of about 40 km in diameter.
Facebook Aquila
Facebook is also working on the internet accessibility in rural areas under the name of ‘Aquila‘. The engineers of this company develop a solar-powered plane that can communicate with the ground via laser technology. Global Internet coverage for everyone is nearby now because these two Internet giants are working on it.
With these developments, communication during disasters and in remote areas will be cheaper and faster in the future, one of the motives of Google.
Swipe your favourite dishes with Tender recipe finder
31-7-2015
With the Tender app you can swipe through tasty recipes.
Tender – Food and Recipes
Inspired by the dating app Tinder, Tender replaced the pictures of potential boy- and girlfriends with food. Three alumni of the College of Charleston have figured out that it is also a pleasurable experience to swipe through recipes and they have developed the app Tender where you can do this.
Swipe
By swiping to the left, a dish is thrown into the trashcan. Swipe to the right and the recipe is stored in your own cookbook. This makes the search through food pictures very easy. The app is aimed at the youth of 18-30 years old who want to cook at home more often but look for easy and attractive recipes. By a number of filtering options they can filter for categories like vegan, drinks, desserts etcetera. The start-up is looking to improve filters in different cuisines, prices and other options.
Development
The functionalities are somewhat limited and the app can be more intuitive, but this app shows how consumers will determine whether something (or someone) is visually appealing for them within a tenth of a second. Do you already have attractive pictures of your catering business online, considering this visual future? Find the app in the iTunes store or the Google Play Store.
Workshop Gertjan Kiers at Julius bar & grill
30-7-2015
Julius bar & grill in Amsterdam opens its doors on Sunday afternoon 6 September for a workshop with the famous butcher Gertjan Kiers of butchery ‘Fontijn Vlees en Vleeswaren BV’. This edition Gertjan Kiers debones a pork and teaches how to get the best out of it. The learnings can be tasted right back during a four-course lunch.
Pork deboned by Gertjan Kiers at Julius bar & grill
The previous workshops on beef and lamb were sold out, this edition Gertjan Kiers will elaborate about pork. In the afternoon of 6 September, Kiers debones a complete pig and provides chapter and verse. He shows how quality meat is cut, shares how a butcher knife is handled and teaches how all parts of the pig are best cooked on the barbecue.
4-course lunch
With a four-course lunch at Julius bar & grill the guests can taste back the lessons about the pork directly. There is a special wine pairing menu for the grilled meat dishes available.
About Gertjan Kiers
Gertjan Kiers is a born butcher with a clear opinion about meat and the meat industry; “Many consumers prefer convenience over taste and some butchers and chefs attach more importance to marketing rather than the product. By broadening the general knowledge about meat, the consumer gets a better piece of meat on the plate and the butcher profession gains the respect that it deserves. ”
This unique workshop will be in Dutch and can be reserved online via www.juliusbargrill.nl/reserveren stating ‘workshop Gertjan Kiers’.
When: 6 September, 2015
Time: 13:00 to 16:00 pm
Restaurant Waag opened in Leiden
29-7-2015
This month ‘Waag’ opened in Leiden. The Waag was once the bustling center of Leiden but was barely used until recently. This summer, the monument is the vibrant heart of the city again.
The Waag as backdrop for traditional events
Guests can enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner at the Waag under the magnificent vaults of the monumental Boterhal or in the new glass construction. The Waag remains the backdrop for the traditional presentation of herring and white bread on 3 October and the Waag will be renamed the House of Saint Nicholas in late November.
Interior
Great Persian rugs and a special lighting plan transform the stately monument in a place where it’s pleasant to stay. A wall full of old scales refers to the past, when ‘The Waag’ was the commercial centre of the city and traders had their goods weighted.
Glass construction
To relieve the monumental Waag and Boterhal an additional glass construction was built behind the high, vaulted room of the Boterhal. Here is a large open kitchen located in the glass construction with a private entrance to the Mandemakers Alley.
Chicken in the lead
Freshly grilled chicken plays a major role at the Waag. On a Josper charcoal oven chickens are freshly grilled in French or Portuguese style. In addition there are salads, pastas and culinary classics like a sirloin steak, prawns, satay and a burger on the menu.
Terrace in 2016
The monumental ‘Waaghoofd’ will be the location of the new ‘Waag’ terrace in the spring of 2016, and has room for 150 guests. To achieve this the main bridge of the Waag is moved to Catharina Alley in late 2015.
Debut BV – Hospitality Management and Development
The Waag is part of Debut BV, which is responsible for several successful restaurant concepts as Mad Mick’s Breakaway Café Rotterdam, STAN & CO, Belgian Beer Café Olivier in Utrecht and Leiden, the Mexican restaurants of Popocatepetl, Hometown Coffee & More in The Hague and Stadscafé Progress in Eindhoven.
Your Take On #centerparcslol
28-7-2015
#centerparcslol
Center Parcs organized a contest under the title “Your Take On” where teens can film themselves in all kinds of activities both inside and outside of Center Parcs. The company works together with well-known vloggers (video bloggers) like the ‘Knol brothers’ that promote the contest. Contestants can upload their videos to Instagram with the hashtag #centerparcslol.
Performance by rapper Dio
The maker of the best video will win a day of activities and an exclusive concert by rapper Dio at Center Parcs De Eemhof. Dio is a Dutch rapper who is known from the songs ‘Dom, Lomp en Famous’ in collaboration with the Opposites and Willie Wartaal and ‘Tijdmachine‘ with Sef.
Enzo and Milan Knol
Among other vloggers Enzo and Milan Knol collaborate with Center Parcs for the campaign. Both are social media stars that focus on Dutch teenagers. Enzo Knol is a YouTube hero with nearly 800.000 followers and often new videos by him are viewed more than 200.000 times within a single day. Milan owns Youtube channel DagelijksHaaDee (550.000+ followers) and his other channel DitIsMilan is good for 320.000+ followers.
For more information: www.yourtakeon.nl
Do you have a secret menu?
23-7-2015
Hot in the USA: secret menu’s at fast food chains. From fast food chain In-N-Out, to Shake Shack to McDonald’s. Why not create your own ‘secret menu’ as a cafeteria or small fast food chain?
Last year I did visit the fast food chain In-N-Out in California, my daughter who worked and lived in New York already heard about their (not-so) secret menu. Recently I saw a video of Anthony Bourdain discussing his appetite for burgers of In-N-Out. This chain has been offering customer-created riffs on the menu which have been passed down through word of mouth since the 1960’s. At their official menu it has just three burgers (a hamburger, cheeseburger, and the ‘double-double’), it’s ‘not-so-secret’ menu adds six more. I tasted the iconic ‘animal style’ burger with a lot of grilled onions and mustard. Did I like it? Well it certainly was the most tasty fast food burger I have eaten on the West Coast. But I didn’t eat many!
How to create a secret menu
The appeal of the secret menu is a delicate matter for restaurants. You can’t promote them because of the fact that it will instantly lose its secrecy factor. It’s a matter of involving your fans and let them spread their favorite ‘secret menu’ through social media and locally through word of mouth. For more information read the article ‘Secret Burger Menus, Explained’ on Eater.
You can even check the secret menu’s at fast food restaurants in your vicinity at the website Secret Menus. At this website I even read that one of the secret menus at In-N-Out is called the ‘Flying Dutchman’. Just two patties and cheese, very trendy without gluten! ^Marjolein
These catamaran hotel rooms would be great on our Dutch lakes.
22-7-2015
Design studio Salt & Water from Serbia created this floating hotel where guests can drift off in a private catamaran. At the waterfront guest find a reception and a restaurant.
Catamaran hotel rooms
The catamaran hotel recently won the Millennium Yacht Design Award. The project is developed with the aim to promote tourism on inland waters in Serbia that offer wonderful examples of untouched nature. When passing through the central floating construction, guests are reaching pathways which are connected to the apartment catamarans. Each hotel room is actually an innovatively designed catamaran which can be easily separated from the dock and navigated, allowing guests to choose the perfect location for their vacation by themselves. The catamaran hotel rooms consists of a salon, a galley, a bathroom, a hall with storage space and a sleeping area (above the salon). Each hotel room can accommodate 2-4 persons, thanks to the possibility of converting the salon into a double bed. From the beach platform it is easy to access the water.
On the Dutch lakes?
We think that a catamaran hotel like this from design studio Salt & Water would be an asset on our Dutch lakes as well! What do you think? Check the article on the website of the Daily Mail for more details and great pictures.
