Magic Placemats, the new coloring
9-7-2015
Pamper your little guests with a magic placemat, a 3D digital coloring picture, and give them a visual experience in your restaurant. They are likely to remain in their seat longer, because seeing your own drawing come to life with the Prismar 3D Studio app is, of course, super cool!
The possibilities of the magic placemats
You can choose from standard magic placemats that can be brought to life in 3D with the Prismar app. The ‘magic drawings’ can be personalized and you can even create your own magic placemats. Photos of the magic personalized placemats can be shared through social media. Great for a ‘Share and Win’ campaign to gather email addresses, likes etc …
Additionally, certainly with older children, the possibility exists that they will be able to concentrate longer…. with the result that the parents can drink an extra glass of wine. It’s an ideal combination of old (coloring) and new (apps). So grandparents can enjoy watching their grandchildren draw a coloring picture and kids can still use their parents’ mobile or iPad!
Beer pong cleaner with The Slip Cup™
8-7-2015
The Slip Cup creates ‘clean’ beer pong without changing a single aspect to the game. Mighty popular in the USA: beer pong. And often played in bars, whereas the ball touches the ground, the beer doesn’t get any healthier!
The Slip Cup™, is a cup insert for beer pong that fits into 16 and 18 ounce disposable cups.
Catch the ball and it doesn’t land in your beer anymore. The patent-pending protective barriers fit right onto your typical party cups and even feature a ‘catch element’ that keeps the ball from bouncing out and falling on dirty floors. The brothers behind the invention have raised over $40.000 (at Tuesday 7 July) toward their $70,000 Kickstarter campaign goal. The backers will score a 20-pack of Slip Cups when they’re ready later this summer for all kinds of ‘clean’ beer pong gaming. They added numbers at the bottom of the Slip Cups and created 15 Brand-New Drinking Games with the Slip Cup!
The film about Great Coffee
3-7-2015
Watch this gorgeous short film (15 min) about Great Coffee. It is the story of passionate coffee connoisseur Søren Stiller Markussen, the owner and founder of Great Coffee in Aarhus, Denmark.
Great Coffee
He visits a coffee farm from Frederico Pacas (Café Tuxpal) a farm with six generations experience in the family that’s based in Finca Santra Petrona, El Salvador. He also visits New York for inspiration and notices that the baristas are all pursueing a unique style.
In the video Søren Stiller Markussen shows three different traditional methods of processing coffee beans.G
– Natural: drying the coffee with the skin
– Water processed: rinse the skin of with water
– Honey processed: Processed with honey Black (without water) and yellow honey (with water)
By measuring the sugar level during the fermentation process, the process can be stopped at the right moment to get a full, sweet body. The desired sugar content is 18-22% and takes about 4 hours to ferment, after that carbon dioxide and alcohol will start to form.
During the movie the coffee connoisseur gives a glimpse into his personal life as well. He explains his motivations in his life, in which Jiu Jitsu and swimming in the sea play a significant role.
York & Albany brings the beach to central London
2-7-2015
The sunglasses, flip flops and beach balls thrive well at the city oasis of York & Albany’s Beach Shack in London, where you immediately get the summer vibe.
Be transported from the heart of London to a beach bar at the courtyard of Gordon Ramsay’s York & Albany. The seaweed Martini or Bacardi Rum slush served in a mini bucket with scoops as spoons will definitely get you in the mood, otherwise the alcoholic popsicles with Pimm’s liqueur will do so.
Beach Menu
At the restaurant they serve a selection of tempting bites such as mini fish ‘n’ chips, bite-sized Cumberland sausages and jars’ with pickled seafood. For the big appetite, there is a Beach BBQ menu that includes grilled burgers and vegetarian kebab with salad, fries and potato salad but without the usual sand between your teeth.
Ice cream with caramel popcorn and cotton candy
If baking in the sunshine isn’t enough, a choice of sugary desserts will get you in the sandal-mood. With raspberry custard doughnuts, banana split ice-cream and a do-it-yourself ice cream machine that’s offering soft serve scoops of strawberry cheesecake with candy floss and caramel popcorn. Wow! Now that’s an ice cream cone (referred to as a 99) for the 21st century!
Beach bar arrangement for groups
Londoners don’t have to travel to the coast during these hot days, they can put their feet in the sand at York & Albany’s Beach Hut as well. The selfies made there will give the impression that they originate from the beach in Camden and not from central London. The beach bar is available for exclusive dinners up to 12 guests. For thirty pounds per person, guests can enjoy different savory and sweet snacks and two cocktails.
It’s a wonderful way of enjoying the summer feeling in town, even during less sunny days!
Terrace Café Rotterdam offers panoramic view of the skyline and the Maas
30-6-2015
Café Rotterdam was already an icon on the Maas, but is lifted to a higher level after a major renovation. With the reopening of Café Rotterdam directly above the Cruise Terminal, the ‘Wilhelminapier’ gets a real boulevard look.
Terraces with panoramic views are popular
We already know for a while that rooftop terraces have become very popular worldwide. Paris, New York, Istanbul, every metropolis is graced with (roof)terraces with beautiful views. In Amsterdam we have some pretty roof terraces with great views, such as the Skylounge at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel and the roof terrace ‘s at the former oil rig at the REM Island which is now a restaurant. The terrace of Café Rotterdam, at the same level of the Erasmus Bridge and the Cruise Terminal, offers a unique panorama of the Maas and the skyline. A new hotspot in Rotterdam this summer!
Café Rotterdam
The interior of Café Rotterdam breathes Pre-war Rotterdam class: large windows that offer plenty of light, high ceilings and modern details. The Chef Merijn Sips (formerly Librije’s Zusje ** in Amsterdam) serves a Mediterranean cuisine with international appeal. A business lunch, a delicious Sunday brunch or a romantic dinner, it’s all there. Apart from the restaurant area, there is a long bar where you can enjoy a cocktail, Gin & Tonic, authentic Schiedam Jenever, beer or a glass of wine with the Dutch delicacy ‘bitterballen’ (small round croquettes). The new Café Rotterdam is the youngest member of the Dudok Group which is a leading company in the hospitality and event industry since 1991.
Mobile charging stations are becoming increasingly essential ….
29-6-2015
Implug also provides mobile charging points for smaller hospitality companies. A great ‘innovative’ hospitable gesture and certainly an added value for your venue with mobile payments in mind! And besides that, it’s another reason to have a drink at your venue!
I am glad that I will soon get a new phone, the current battery is low within no time! And I am not even a fanatic user of a lot of apps on my phone. The rapidly dying battery has become a well-known social problem that especially affects the younger users up to 35 years. Thankfully more and more mobile charging stations are placed at public places like the library, at airports and railway stations but also in the hospitality industry. And the welcoming gesture remains hospitable even if you let them pay, your guests are already happy that they can stay online!
Mobile charging stations are rapidly evolving
At the end of 2012 we’ve spotted the first charging station for cell phones in the Netherlands at Stravinsky eten & drinken in Hengelo (The Netherlands). Nowadays there are several parties that offer these charging stations like the pillars by Charge to go. These pillars are also equipped with a display to present advertisements to your guests. ^Marjolein van Spronsen
Aspire healthy fat burner at the terrace
24-6-2015
The Aspire soda is a fat burner for everyone that wants a healthy alternative at the terrace.
In general the number of refreshing healthy drinks at a terrace can be counted on one hand. Most soft drinks are loaded with sugar and plain water will soon bore you after a few glasses.
Aspire is a healthy alternative
Recently, there are several terraces that serve a soft drink that is sugar free, contains no calories and even promises to burn body fat. It’s ‘Aspire’, a lightly carbonated canned refreshing drink. The drink contains caffeine and is available in the flavors ‘Cranberry’ and ‘Apple with Acai’. The ingredients increase the metabolism, suppress appetite and the drink claims to accelerate weight loss. For the desired effect the producer recommends drinking two cans per day for two weeks, and to combine the drink with a healthy lifestyle (of course).
Ingredients
With ingredients like guarana (energy), caffeine (energy), green tea extract (increase the immune system), L-carnitine (to stimulate body fat burning) and taurine you will buy yourself a booster and body fat burner that does not cause a sugar dip afterwards. It certainly complements the range of beverages at most of the terraces nowadays, not the least because it tastes nice! The drink is already sold at Hampshire Hotels, SportCity, Mövenpick, Healthcity and Corpus. Have you spotted it somewhere else?
Rooftop concert by Hooghoudt and Kensington
23-6-2015
The Dutch band Kensington and Hooghoudt distillery will end this summer with a bang. They join forces for a rooftop concert somewhere on a roof in the Netherlands.
Rooftop concert
The rooftop concert will be held at the end of the festival season, early September. Consumers can win tickets for this special experience by buying a Hooghoudt bottle or a Hooghoudt Kensington package at one of the Gall & Gall stores in the Netherlands. The Hooghoudt products contain a unique code that could provide access to the concert. The promotion runs from 22 June to 15 August 2015.
Cocktail Maker
It’s also possible to win tickets through the online cocktail maker tool of Gall & Gall. The practical website guides you to the perfect cocktail recipe and looks a bit like the Gastronomixs tool. After choosing a cocktail recipe people can submit suggestions for ingredients. Anyone that sends in suggestions for ingredients via the website, can win a Fever-Tree cocktail workshop as well.
Smaakmakers
Hooghoudt started the collaboration with the band Kensington to attract a broader audience. Check out the road movie from Hooghoudt about these talents from Utrecht. Besides working with Kensington, Hooghoudt works together with young and enthusiastic professionals since January 2015. They call them their ‘Seasonings’ and award-winning bartender Lennart Deddens is one of them. With the ‘Seasonings’ they want to inspire and give everyone access to special mixes and exciting recipes. “But inspiration is more than just good taste, it’s also acquired by shared experiences, such as a unique rooftop concert” says Niels Grootenboer, marketing manager at Hooghoudt.
Fever-Tree tonic
17-6-2015
Recently gin and tonic mixes are extremely popular. There was a Gin & Tonic festival, there are special restaurants and (pop-up) bars, there is a GINformatiecentrum and at every fancy food festivals you can get yourself a gin and tonic mix.
Quality of tonic
Usually the focus at the mix drinks is on the gin and the quality of the tonic if often neglected. This while a mix drink like a gin-tonic consists for ¾ out of a tonic and is thus crucial for the flavour. In recent decades the soft drink market is largely dominated by a few multinational companies that more focus on profit rather than quality. This changes now, more and more producers approach the market differently with more unique and qualitative products. Fever-Tree is one of them and since November 2014 the company is privately held and competing with the big boys at the London AIM stock market.
Quinine in the tonic
In 2004 Charles Rolls and Tim Warrillow decided tonic and mixers for cocktails in general could use a quality upgrade. One of the major components of tonic is quinine, that’s where the bitterness comes from. After months of research they discovered that there is a Fever Tree plantation that produces the purest quinine in the world and it’s located in Congo. They travelled to the rough Democratic Republic of Congo and visited this plantation. The ingredients for the rest of the tonic are collected in the same manner. Research, travel and conversations with ‘plant hunters’ a part of the development of new products. Fever-Tree tonic contains high-quality ingredients and natural cane sugar.
Ginger Beer and Ginger Ale
For Fever-Tree’s Ginger Beer and Ginger Ale three kinds of ginger are used, each from a different area. It’s fresh green ginger from Ivory Coast for the freshness, ginger from Nigeria for depth and intensity of the flavor and ginger from Cochin for an earthy, chocolate-like flavor.
Mediterranean tonic
The Mediterranean Tonic is our favorite. It contains citrus oil and herbs from the coastal areas around the Mediterranean. Lemon Thyme and rosemary are two of the ingredients that come from Provence and give the unique flower-like character to the tonic, which makes it an ideal mixer for vodka and lights gins.
Garden of Unusual Delight by Hendrick’s Gin
12-6-2015
Hendrick’s Gin created an ultimate experience at Taste of Amsterdam with the ‘Garden of Unusual Delight’.
Garden of Unusual Delight
A critical visitor Taste of Amsterdam could have spotted the Garden of Unusual Delight on the event map already. Ordering an ‘unusual’ Hendrick’s Gin at the FeverTree bar gave access to a hidden garden behind the booths.
Delightful oasis of peace
Through the secret channels of Hendrick’s Gin, Armand got the tip to order the ‘unusual’ Hendrick’s Gin and tonic at the FeverTree bar. After ordering he was taken to the secret garden where he arrived in an oasis of peace, certainly compared to the rest of the popular festival.
Select crowd
A flamboyant host welcomed all the guests, with only a handful of other curious visitors there was plenty of room to site down on the picturesque bistro sets, bean bags or romantic benches. The bartenders had three standard cocktails on the menu and saw special requests as a challenge to be extra creative in the preparation process.
Experience
The special bar, VIP feeling and contrast of the peaceful garden to the rest of the festival gave an exclusive total experience. The #SocietyOfTheUnusual by Hendrick’s Gin seems a guarantee for more unique experiences around the liquor brand. So keep your ears and eyes open and ‘expect the unexpected’.
