Restyling of restaurant Den Draeck in Utrecht
18-9-2014
Restaurant Den Draeck in Utrecht was recently restyled. Den Draeck is located in a 12th century cellar and is one of the hidden historical gems of the city Utrecht. The present and past of the location were brought together by combining a modern design with the ancient exterior: the walls were covered with old prints and photographs of the city and the old stones of the arches are brought at their best with new lightning and fresh colors. Watch the photos for an impression of the end result.
Bilder & De Clercq introduces interactive wall
17-9-2014
From 9 September the Bilder & De Clercq grocery store from Amsterdam introduced an interactive wall at the Google Office in Amsterdam. The grocery store weekly offers fourteen tasty, healthy and easy to prepare dishes with all the necessary ingredients in the right amount. YES.TAP makes it even more easy for consumers to order a meal: they only need their smartphone to touch a dish on a screen. The interactive wall was introduced as a response to the trend of online groceries ordering. Customers can order the fourteen dishes and other products via the Bilder & De Clercq Wall and via the app at home. If the order is send before 4 o’clock pm the cooled groceries can be picked up from 5 o’clock pm
More interactive walls? In 2011 we’ve already spotted a virtual wall from supermarket chain Tesco in a subway station in South Korea.
Sand Hotel Friesland in Sneek
17-9-2014
We’ve spotted ice hotels and a hotel made of salt before, but this summer the first sand hotel opened. The sand hotel opened temporarily in the Dutch city Sneek in response to the annual Sand Sculpture Festival Friesland. The hotel is inspired by ice hotels located in Sweden and Finland but because of the limitations of sand the organization has chosen for a combination of high quality facilities hidden in a sand sculpture. The sand sculpture of nearly 8 meters represents the town of ‘Bedrock’ from the Flinstones. This design is chosen because of the Hollywood theme of this year. The initiative of a sand hotel is already a great success for the organization: several countries are interested in building a sand hotel as well. A night in the sand hotel in Sneek is bookable until 28 September.
Selfies are here to stay!
16-9-2014
Restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions can use the trends #selfies.
The Braggy
Regardless of your opinion, too narcissistic, often poor quality, you aren’t fond of those flashes of the phones of those young people, the #Selfie is incredibly popular. Especially during this holiday season it struck me how many people make selfies at tourist spots, in well-known restaurants, on the beach, drinking a cocktail etcetera and posted it on their social media channels. In America they already came up with a new term, ‘The #Braggy’, from to brag.
For sale: the VeloPresso
16-9-2014
We already wrote an article about the VeloPresso in 2012. After three years of developments the last details are worked out as well and from 16 September the mobile coffee bar can be ordered online. The VeloPresso is a unique and highly innovative coffee tricycle. It has a great mobility and does not require electricity. The VeloPresso can be ordered from £9,995,-.
Biggest BYOB edition of the Netherlands
15-9-2014
BYOB, better known as ‘Bring Your Own Beamer’ is an event where artists and film makers bring their own beamer to project their art work. The event is an internationally recognized recipe, but SETUP organizes the largest BYOB editions worldwide in the Netherlands. In cooperation with the Dutch Film Festival the recently opened Tivoli Vredenbrug in Utrecht will transform into a large canvas where about 75 artists exhibit their work. The artists and film makers will beam their artwork on walls, windows and escalators on 26 September from sunset to midnight.
Food bloggers at restaurant Karakter
12-9-2014
Hand picked oysters from Zeeland in the south of the Netherlands, mussels, scallops, parsnip, mackerel, ‘gortepap’ (kind of porridge) and wines from Dutch wineries. The chefs of restaurant Karakter in Rotterdam, Pety Breugem and Nathan Vermunt, prove that Dutch cuisine taste great with their menu that consists entirely of products from Dutch soil, both the wines and the dishes. Horecatrends was invited to taste the menu, along with a number of food bloggers. Inviting food bloggers for the release of a new menu, is a great idea to generate more attention. If you are reading this and you own a restaurant; have you ever give this idea a thought, instead of or next to your standard advertising? Especially with food bloggers with many local followers, this might be an addition to your marketing strategy.
Bram Kosterink consultant at Van Spronsen & Partners hospitality consultancy
This diet is Scandilicious!
11-9-2014
“In the past we have seen that ‘popular diets’ like for example Montignac and Atkins, did wonders (sales wise) for restaurants offering meals prepared within the limits of those diets. Would this be possible with the Scandinavian diet as well?” Our guest writer, Julia Soldic explains….
The masses are embracing the Scandinavian diet, the eatable solution to prolonged life expectancy – Why?
Gordon Street Garage, West Perth
10-9-2014
The Gordon Street Garage in West Perth is located in a former garage. The restaurant is based on the idea of simple and local produce. The coffee is for example roasted and ground on location which allows the garage to daily serve different types of coffee. The dishes on the menu are yard-to-table inspired and mostly designed to share. The restaurant has an industrial-chic interior which shows the origin of the building. A lot of furniture and fittings are even made from the wood and steel of the original garage itself. The large space of the Gordon Street Garage is divided into different zones to create a wide range of dining experiences. A part of the space is arranged for a quick cup of coffee, the large bar and high tables are created for a cocktail and a bar snack and another part of the area is used for extensive lunches or dinners. Watch the video for an impression of the Gordon Street Garage.
The potato store in Amsterdam
10-9-2014
A temporary potato store will open in Amsterdam on 26 September. The pop-up store ‘Pieperboetiek’ (pieper is a Dutch nickname for a potato) will be opened for two weeks and is dedicated to potatoes. Besides giving information, 30 kinds of potatoes are sold as well. All types of potatoes are organic and grown locally in the Netherlands. The goal of the store is to reduce the gap between the city and countryside. Visitors can ask questions to potato farmers, a fries-debate is held and a potato dinner is organized. The ‘Pieperboetiek’ is an initiative of Krispijn van den Dries, a biodynamic farmer and slightly a potato activist. Earlier Krispijn protested against the low prizes of potatoes by dumping 6.000 kilos of potatoes on the Dam in Amsterdam. Krispijn is, together with city farmer and journalist Felicia Alberding and the Youth Food Movement, committed to an honest food system and better relationships between the city and the countryside.
