Fancy kebab – fancy fastfood taken to a whole new level!
10-2-2015
We have seen it all in the fancy fastfood trend; gourmet burgers, luxury pizzas, crepes galore and the biscuits and chicken wings that you can get in all shapes & sizes in the States these days. However in Paris they have taken it to another level; fancy kebab!
Fancy Kebab or ‘un kebab quasi gastronomique’
Whilst in line you can see the pita’s being freshly baked in the corner, after which it will be filled with fresh meats from Desnoyer, one of the most well-known quality butchers in Paris, fresh herbs galore and two types of freshly made sauces!
The unleavened pita is kneaded and baked in front of the customers from wheat flour and organic spelled wheat. The recipe is developed by Jean-Luc Poujauran, an artisanal baker.
Because the pita is probably not enough they also sell freshly cut & spiced French fries from bio-potatoes that complement the luxury fast food experience. To top it off they sell a selection of exquisite juices, like pêche de vigne Lyonnaise, pamplemousse rose d’Israël or Cassis noir de Bourgogne, different waters, beers & sodas.
Even the biggest snob can’t wait to be in line for this doner kebab! And like the French say; At Grillé they innovated and introduced; ‘kebabs quasi gastronomiques’ ^Leonie van Spronsen
Marriott enables guests to share their experiences
10-2-2015
Guests staying at selected Marriot Hotels will be able to use a complimentary GoPro camera during their stay. To share their experiences with family and friends at home.
An old trick to get your guest to share their experiences at your spot.
Somewhere in 2009 we wrote an inspiring article about the Omni hotels who gave their guests a camcorder for the weekend. At the same time these guests were asked to upload their greatest video and with this video they could win another free stay for the weekend in one of the Omni hotels.
And don’t forget the inspiring article about enabling your guests to make the best #selfies in Paris. The luxury Mandarin Oriental hotel launched a ‘Selfie in Paris’ campaign in August 2014. They offer their guests a tour of Paris’ best selfie spots with a private car and driver.
Enable your guests to share their experiences
The selected Marriott hotels do have perfect spots to use the GoPro. It must be great to share experiences like scuba diving in the Caribbean, summiting Machu Picchu, or jungle trekking. The program has been launched in 17 properties across the Caribbean and Latin America, destinations for the outdoor adventurer and with a lot of scenic activities. Guests can test GoPro’s latest Hero4 camera.
Inspiration
Check out your surroundings and enable your guests to make the best pictures possible! Selfies or video’s during a special tour or lent them a new camera to play with….. And if they share it on their social media platforms, we hope that their family and friends want to visit your hotel as well. Check out the video’s on Marriott’s website Travel Brilliantly, you will certainly find a spot you would love to visit!
In Japan the Hen-na hotel will be staffed entirely by robots
9-2-2015
The Hen-na hotel, will be staffed with robot receptionists, porters, cleaners and waitresses. So if you’re interested in robotic service, you will have to wait till this summer to be able to sleep in this hotel.
The Hen-na hotel has a Dutch touch
The Hen-na hotel (which means ‘strange’ in Japanese) is located at the ‘Huis Ten Bosch’ theme park in Sasebo, Nagasaki. Check out the above placed video, showing you our Dutch buildings, canals, streets and the replica of the royal palace in The Hague, in Japan!
Staffed entirely by robots
This is how it works – on your arrival, you will be greeted exclusively by a robot, you will hand over your luggage to robotic porters and check in at a front desk, staffed with blinking robots, reported The Japan Times.
The main objective of this technology is to reduce labor costs. Of course the hotel will use the latest in facial recognition technology and allow guests to open their door by simply presenting themselves in front of their room, without a key. The president Hideo Sawada promised the ‘most efficient hotel in the world’ when announcing the new hotel in a news conference. The accommodation at the hotel will cost approximately $60 per night.
We couldn’t find interesting pictures or video’s about the Hen-na hotel yet, except for this one. That’s why we choose to place a video about the ‘Huis Ten Bosch’ theme park in Japan.
Italian restaurant ‘modern style’ in Leiden
9-2-2015
From the walls The Godfather and Berlusconi (in graffiti form) look down on the tables with bright red chairs. Zucca is an Italian restaurant in Leiden (The Netherlands) but slightly different than a more traditional Italian restaurant. But they serve artisanal pizzas and dishes created with real Italian ingredients and love for their origin.
Graffiti as art
The staff wears shirts with ‘I’m Italian, what’s your super power?’ And a classic work of art as the Mona Lisa now wears an eye patch and the Venus by Botticelli wears sunglasses. In short, no classic design for this Italian restaurant but graffiti and a contemporary decor. An artists collective created the artwork on the walls that can best be described as a mix of classic and now, with a big wink. The Madonna by Rafael carries a baby in soccer outfit and Botticelli’s Venus is surrounded by graffiti figures and angels on a Vespa scooter.
Italian restaurant ‘modern style’
The interior may be anything but traditional Italian, their dishes taste like they are served in a trattoria in Italy. The pizza crusts (thin!) are made in a glowing stone oven and their pasta’s, anti pasti and secondi are made from fresh ingredients.
New offshoot
Zucca is part of Witteman Hospitality Management, led by Ruud and son Singha Witteman. They now have six restaurants, five of which are located in Leiden. They are known for their accessible hospitality concepts, aimed at a large audience.
Spin to win
These entrepreneurs continue to innovate. Often by thinking and acting ‘out of the box’. Like everyone who will be eating on a Tuesday or Wednesday at Zucca’s; can give a twist to the ‘O Fortuna Rad’ after checking out. There can earn prizes for their return visit, like a complimentary bottle of wine or even up to 50% off on the next dinner.
Wheelys, a full service café on wheels
5-2-2015
Wheelys is a full service café on wheels. The bike serves coffee, tea, cold drinks, juices, pastries, fruits, salads and sandwiches. Everyone can buy the bike and ride through the city, the only thing that you have to do is to pay a small monthly fee. We wonder how how it is regulated in these countries with the licenses.
Wheelys
There are several advantages of the café on wheels. You will have minimal startup costs, minimal running costs, it is ECO-friendly, healthy and very profitable. With one single Wheelys you can earn up to $700,= in one day. In the first four months that Wheelys has been around they sold more than 30 cafés to more than 10 countries.
The café was founded by Thomas Mazetti, former head of a successful advertising agency. He brought other thought leaders from Scandinavian superbrands like IKEA and H&M in to his team. Together they created Wheelys.
Secret Brunch launches in Paris – fun concept but might need some work!
5-2-2015
This Saturday marked the launch of Secret Brunch in Paris, a concept coming from London for their first international event.
The concept is very simple, you sign up, buy a ticket and on the day of the event you get an email with the ‘secret’ location you are expected two hours later for a brunch party from 12.00 to 18.00 o’clock.
Whilst already being a mainstay for a few years in the London scene this was their very first appearance in Paris. They got a great start by being sold out more than a month in advance and the beau monde Parisian seemed ready for it!
Unfortunately it did not quite live up to the hype just yet, quite a few Parisians were rather disappointed by the location, Matignon, it being just in a well-known restaurant/nightclub near the Champs-Elysees. People were expecting something more grand and unexpected.
Organization wise there were also still some hinges, for example you could only reserve a table for groups from 6 pax on which meant that everyone who just bought a ticket had no place to eat! Managing expectations in what to expect from the ticket might also be something to consider for next time.
The party was quite alive and hopping but there is still a lot of room for improvement!^Leonie van Spronsen
A social dining app: Chattable
4-2-2015
Chattable is a social dining app which brings people together in a whole new way.
Social dining app
With the Chattable-app on your phone you can see which restaurants are affiliated with Chattable anywhere in the world. You can see the affiliated restaurants in the overview screen with the opening hours, type of kitchen and the distance from your current location. You can also see if someone already made a reservation or if there are people waiting in the restaurant. Your table guests will not know your name, your gender and your appearance until they sit down with you at the table.
Chattable restaurants have a special ‘Chat-Table’ reserved for people who are coming alone, and like to eat with company. According to Martin Opdam, cofounder of the app, a lot of the people who eat alone grab their phone, tablet or eat in their hotel room. Millions of people all over the world are eating alone. The app is developed to bring these people together.
Increasing sales for hospitality businesses
The amount of business stays and single person households increases, this makes that more and more people are having dinner alone. Next to this there is an increasing need or face-to-face contact instead of digital contact. Research of The University of Hotel Management Maastricht, commissioned by KHN (Royal Dutch Hospitality Association), shows that the expenditures are higher when people eat together. The restaurant owner has more tables for other guests if he brings the people who are eating alone together, which creates a win-win situation.
The restaurant owner pays a low pay-per-use rate for everyone who sits down and checked in through the app. The margin of the owner remains guaranteed.
The app went live on 12 January 2015.
The Apothic Crush letter generator: you’re my crush for Valentine!
4-2-2015
Writing somebody a love letter for Valentine is difficult! But what if a pro did it for you, would you dare send it to your crush? As owner of a restaurant or hotel you could use the tactic this winery did! They made a limited-edition red wine called Apothic Crush and help with writing a love letter.
The Apothic Crush letter generator
The Apothic Crush Letter Generator is now online. So think about somebody you want to write a love letter and go to the Apothic Crush letter generator and answer a few simple questions. A computer operated by a handful of poets will take your longings, your emotions and deepest desires and translate them into an electronically delivered, handwritten letter you can give with a bottle of Apothic.
About the limited edition wine Apothic Crush
The people behind this initiative make wine. Red wine, more specifically, smooth-drinking limited-edition red wine called ‘Apothic Crush’. Tasting notes include: chocolate, caramel, luscious red fruit and endless possibilities to combine with food.
Inspiration
Why not create a possibility to have poets writing poems or love letters to go with an original invitation for a Valentine’s dinner at your restaurant or a night out in your hotel? Ask a couple of insights and create one of the greatest gifts you can give to your loved one, a poem or love letter.
Random acts of kindness for Valentine’s Day
3-2-2015
McDonald’s uses the ‘random acts of kindness’ marketing technique from 1 February until Valentine’s Day. All over America their guests may be randomly selected to pay for their meal with selfies, hugs, high fives, and other forms of love.
Random acts of kindness
In 2009 we already wrote about the unexpected friendly gestures the Hyatt hotel group did to their guests. They gave away free massages, offered breakfast and randomly selected guests that didn’t had to pay the bar tab. Also companies like KLM used acts of generosity in the past. With the prominent position of social media in our lives these unexpected gestures are a strong stimulant for positive mouth-to-mouth or ‘mouth-to-media’ advertising.
The effect of the gestures by McDonald’s
On the internet more and more videos and pictures with the responses from guests who are offered a free meal are posted. This works out great. The company invests in an advertising campaign and free meals, their guests talk, write and share videos with their friends about it.
At the website of RAK, random acts of kindness, you will find a lot of inspiration for your act of kindness. They even have their own #RAKweek2015 for stories about random kindness from 6 to 15 February.
Dominique Ansel promises us a revolutionary new bakery concept
3-2-2015
Dominique Ansel, widely known as creator of the Cronut, Waffogato and the Cragel, will be opening a new concept bakery late Spring, ‘Dominique Ansel Kitchen’. Featuring a bakery menu that is largely ‘made-to-order’.
Revolutionary new bakery concept
According to his press office, the name of new bakery is ‘Dominique Ansel Kitchen’ and will be Cronut-free. And perhaps it has an even more radical idea – it changes the way bakeries operate by featuring a menu that is largely “made-to-order”. The chef elaborates about the way they are going to change the future of bakeries: “The kitchen will be arranged in a completely different way than a regular bakery, and a full brigade of chefs will be on station to finish, assemble, and even bake items to order. We think it’s a revolutionary yet obvious step for the evolution of bakeries. Just like people want their espresso pulled fresh, their juices made when they order it and a sandwich fresh built – it should be the same for pastry. So, imagine fresh folded chocolate mousse, made to order fruit tarts, hot beignets, and more.”
We once saw the enormous line of people outside the bakery waiting to be able to buy a cronut or a cragel. We can’t wait to see pictures and hear how guests experience this revolutionary new bakery concept and we wish the team all the best with the preparations and the opening of ‘Dominique Ansel Kitchen’.
More about the Waffogato, Cragel and the Cronut.
