DreamCheaper
8-4-2015
This is another website that helps their customers to secure the best deal possible. Book a hotel in the ‘flexible option’, forward the confirmation to DreamCheaper and let them find you the best deal possible. They will rebook and cancel the old confirmation, and you will still get the same room!
DreamCheaper promises cheaper hotel rooms
DreamCheaper, a German start-up, has automated the process to make a deal with fluctuating room prices by canceling and rebooking the room anytime it signals the same room at a better price. Customers have to create an account on DreamCheaper and forward their confirmation email. DreamCheaper starts a process of price-comparison that continues until the day before check-in. The startup’s automated system monitors the changing room prices on hundreds of travel websites (they do vary on supply and demand).
According to DreamCheaper, customers have no risk, the website first books the new room and cancels the old one later. They take a 20 percent cut of the money saved, so it is always incentivized to get the best price. They promise to optimize 2 out of 3 reservations.
A positive development for consumers but for hoteliers it’s another player on the market looking for the cheapest deals possible. Of course at the expense of the revenue of the hotel room.
Beam: The smart projector that fits in any light socket
7-4-2015
Beam can turn any flat surface into a big screen. It is a powerful projector equipped with a smart computer, all inside a beautifully designed casing.
Beam is already funded on Kickstarter
You can play games, watch movies or share content from your smartphone or tablet. You can also watch TV on your bedroom ceiling or project recipes on your kitchen wall. Next to that, Beam can assist you in your daily activities, like waking up in the morning with the latest news and your agenda or showing you your social updates when you come home. Beam is easy to set up and control with the Apple or Android app. You can screw it into any light socket or use the included power cable to place it on any flat surface.
With Beam the makers have created an easy to use ‘internet of things’-device that can entertain and assist you throughout the day. The patent for the technology inside Beam is pending. The fundraising went amazing, they raised more money than expected.
Inspiration
If you watch the video above you can easily imagine the use of the Beam in restaurants or hotels. Imagine your specialties of the day projected on the walls or a wall of pictures in your hotel lobby, presenting your menu, pictures of your wellness center or digital paintings. Or what do you think about presenting the kitchen crew while working on the plates of your guests? In a bar Beam could be used to project games on the tables.
Beer cocktail by Mongozo
2-4-2015
Mongoza introduced various beer cocktails last year’s April. Now the spring has arrived, it’s time to bring the beer cocktail back. You can make such a cocktail easily with the beers from Mongozo.
Mongozo has created five different recipes of beer cocktails. The cocktail choices are; Mongozo Banana, Mongozo June Bug, Mongozo Mango, Mongozo in the mix and Mongozo Orange Samba.
The beer cocktail is very popular in America recently and a surprising alternative, just like with a spoonful of jam
Recipes
- This is what you need to make a Mongozo Banana; 30 ml Tequila, 30ml of lime juice (1/2 lime), 20 ml of sugar syrup and top this all off with Mongozo Banana.
- To make the Mongozo June Bug you need 30ml of rum, 15ml of melon liquor, Mongozo Cocos and Mongozos Banana.
- The ingredients of the Mongozo Mango consists of 2 wedges of orange, 2 teaspoons of cane sugar, 30ml gin, 1/2 of a flesh passion fruit and top off with the Mongozo mango.
- The Mongozo in the mix is made with Mongoza Coconut and rum, Mongozo Mango and rum or Mongozo Banana and rum.
- To make the Mongozo Orange Samba you need 2 wedges of lime, 2 spoons of sugar cane, 20ml of Cachaça rum, Mongozo Banana and Mongozo Mango.
Chef’s Table Netflix series
1-4-2015
6 episodes on Netflix
Netflix introduces a new culinary documentary series about chefs and their philosophy about cooking. The documentary will be split into six episodes. Moviemaker David Gelb will visit a few top chefs during this series and has a look at their kitchens and private life’s. The trailer of Chef’s Table went online last Monday.
Participating chefs at Chef’s Table
Every episode the viewers of Chef’s Table have the opportunity to dive into the life of a different chef. The chefs will show their kitchen and private life for the viewers to have an idea. The participating chefs are Massimo Bottura (Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy), Dan Barber (Blue Hill Restaurant in Stone Barns and in New York , USA), Francis Mallmann (El Restaurante Patagonia Sur in Buenos Aires, Argentina), Niki Nakayama (N/Naka Restaurant in Los Angeles, USA), Ben Shewry (Attica Restaurant in Melbourne, Australia), and Magnus Nilsson (Fäviken in Järpen, Sweden).
Chef’s Table is produced by David Gelb, Matt Weaver, Andrew Fried and Brian McGinn. The series is directed by David Gelb, Andrew Fried, Brian McGinn and Clay Jeter.
Chef’s Table premieres 26 April on Netflix.
BunnyChow Experience food truck
30-3-2015
BunnyChow Experience
The Bunny Chow is a South African ‘fast food’ dish that originated in the ‘40s. The South African Njabulo Ndlovu gives the Dutch an opportunity to enjoy this delicacy with the ‘BunnyChow Experience’ food truck.
The Bunny Chow
Bunny Chow consists of a hollowed bread stuffed with a filling such as curry. The curry is made by Njabulo with fresh products, the organic bread is made by Bakery Paul Annee.
Bunny Chow’s origin
In the ‘40s a large number of Indians went to live in Durban and roti and curry became very popular in South Africa. The curry was popular because of its taste, but also because it was an affordable dish. The Bunny Chow was a good solution to serve curry as take-away through the back of a restaurant for people who were not allowed to enter during the Apartheid era.
Social
The South African culture is one where food and especially ‘eating together’ is very important. The BunnyChow Experience therefore focuses on both the quality of the food as well as the quality of the experience around it. The slogan ‘Food is a social event!’ underlines the goal of this experience.
The Duchess
27-3-2015
Restaurant ‘The Duchess’ in the former KAS Bank and the new W Amsterdam opens this summer. It’s just a short distance away from the Royal Palace at the Dam square. Founder Yossi Eliyahoo of ‘The Duchess’ calls the restaurant a luxurious retreat in the crowded heart of Amsterdam.
The Kitchen
All the tastes are prepared in a handmade Molteni kitchen. This kitchen has been designed specially for the restaurant. An exclusive table is located in middle of the kitchen, The Duchess Table. The menu is inspired by the tastes that are characteristic for countries such as France and Italy. The restaurant uses products like artichoke, zucchini, lemons, olives, tomatoes, truffles, a variety of seafood, meat and fresh pastas. These are all local products from France and Italy.
The ‘Afternoon Tea’ is an important part of ‘The Duchess’. During this light meal there will be a variety of small pastries and scones served with signature marmalades. Besides that, the restaurant also serves one of its many tea blends and champagnes. Adjusted to the ‘dining experience’, the drink menu consists of different drinks, cocktails and punch.
Interior
Yossi Eliyahoo is inspired by the history of the former bank and combined this with the character of ‘The Duchess’. The interior has been brought into balance with the elegance and refinement of a royal past and with the comfort and intrigues from this time. The hall is decorated with a ceiling that is made of glass surrounded by marble details and handmade floor tiles.
Feed your appetite with food search suggestions
25-3-2015
Suggesto.be is based on a simple principle. On this website you have an online overview that makes the menus, dishes, breakfasts and brunches of the affiliated restaurants accessible. Those who fancy a particular dish, can get food search suggestions from the website and find restaurants that match their appetite.
Food search suggestions based on your appetite
Tim Prys, initiator of suggesto.be: “It is more than just an online menu. The suggestions of restaurants you don’t always find online. Those menus become very accessible on my website. Today it is a must to inform people about what you have to offer, without having to consult dozens of individual websites. Currently a large number of restaurants and brasseries in Hasselt are part of my project. However, the intention is to expand to (Belgian) Limburg and Flanders on the short term. The period in which we achieve these objectives depends, of course, on the growth of users.”
Prys is convinced that Suggesto.be has the potential to become an indispensable tool. “The feedback from both the restaurants and the users is very positive.”
Inspiration: we have often indicated the importance of the accessibility of your menu. It seems strange that these are often hidden in PDF format on most restaurant websites. This young Belgian startup puts these data in the spotlight. You can contact Tim Prys through tim.prys@suggesto.be
Going to the loo is a party at the Toilet Xperience!
25-3-2015
At the festival ‘Extrema Outdoor’ visitors can enjoy the ‘Toilet Xperience’ this summer. Going to the bathroom in a small festival village, with the accompanying animation.
Scoop toilet Xperience during the festival Extrema Outdoor
Visitors of Extrema Outdoor (Houthalen (Belgium) from 22 to 24 May 2015), will be able to enjoy the Toilet Xperience. It’s the first festival in the world to host the Toilet Xperience. Visitors will receive a VIP treatment, with the cleanest toilet seats, 3D images in the toilet cubicle, urinals that turn into a video game, so you can play a game with your urine! In addition, you can buy small festival gadgets. All this in an odorless and silent space. Visitors of this festival are the first place to enjoy this Xperience and no longer need to use dirty and smelly rows of toilet booths. After Extrema Outdoor the Toilet Xperience travels around Europe.
Signature cocktails or mocktails, with a spoonful of jam
24-3-2015
Are you already busy determining your terrace menu? Will you serve the popular cocktails and their non-alcoholic alternative, the mocktail? It might just be the 2015 hit, bartenders on the terrace shaking signature cocktails and mocktails. Latest trend in cocktails: serve a spoonful of preserves with your cocktail.
Cocktails and mocktails are hot
This past year we especially noticed a rise in the cocktails with beer in America. But mocktails are on the rise in popularity as wel. Women like to quietly sip on a cocktail and for girls who aren’t allowed any alcohol yet, a mocktail is a delicious and trendy alternative.
Various liquor brands invest in bringing cocktails to the crowd, last year we spotted the cocktail truck from Grey Goose Vodka for example. This is the most intimate cocktail bar in the world on four wheels (a Citroen H van) and part of an advertising campaign.
A cocktail with a spoonful of jam
The jam cocktails are being served in Madame Geneva, one of the most popular cocktail bars of New York City. It’s located in the back of restaurant Saxon + Parole of chef Brad Farmerie. According to the guys behind Tasting Table, the cocktails with jam aren’t even on the menu but they are so popular that the bartenders often make them on request. They are simple to make, vodka, sugar syrup and lime juice with a spoonful of jam to top of it. The jam taste is up to you, ‘choose your own sweetness adventure’. Because of the thicker consistency of the preserves, you’re able to decide whether you want to sip your cocktail quite sweet (keep stirring) or just only dip the jam, making the taste of the vodka more important. Take a look for a recipe by bartender Brett Hughes (working at Madam Geneva) at the website of Tasting Table.
That’s one way to avoid taking the stairs, take the slide!
24-3-2015
Rapidly from the second floor to breakfast? At The RedDot hotel in Taiwan you can take a slide! Hotel guests go back to their childhood, smiling on their way down.
The slide in the RedDot Hotel
General Manager Stephen Wu of the RedDot hotel in Taichung City invented the slide, inspired by the open slides at Google headquarters. Costs: 100,000 US dollars for the 30-meter stainless steel tunnel slide. The slide consists out of 102 stainless steel parts! Watch the video for more great details in the RedDot hotel like the barber chair in the lobby and the neon lights art… Which hotel in The Netherlands is going to install a slide?
