Ten thousand Twitter followers
15-8-2013
To celebrate the mile stone of 10.000 Twitter followers we’ve visited one of our connections, Kitch& in Leiden, the Netherlands. We entered the restaurant with a bottle of Limonchili and were welcomed by co-owner Edwin van den Akker. He got acquinted with Horecatrends during one of our regular trend presentations. Kitch& uses Twitter to start an easy accessible dialogue with guests. Next to Twitter the restaurant uses DineRate to promote feedback on dishes and service, feedback through this service is rewarded with culinairy rewards on next visits. Edwin van den Akker uses Horecatrends.com to keep himself up-to-date with the latest trends in hospitality. “I don’t check the website every week, but if I do, I browse a few weeks back. The trends are for approximately 10% inspiring for my business, so definately worth to look at.” We would like to thank everyone for archieving the 10.000 followers, please keep sending tips via @horecatrends and tip@spronsen.com.
Healthy cocktails of Pierre Wind
14-8-2013
Yesterday the famous Dutch television chef Pierre Wind presented two healthy cocktails. The two non-alcoholic cocktails ‘Happy Vink’ and ‘Way of Life’ contain less than 30 calories and are meant to make people more conscious of their choice of beverage. The cocktail ‘Way of Life’ is based on water, corn and a mix of cucumber, the ‘Happy Vink’ is based on vanilla water with a date mixture.
A drink upside down
12-8-2013
After the laying wine glass rEvolution of Martin Jakobsen, the designer developed a special glass for lemonade together with VINICE. The lemonade glass Halm literally puts every drink upside down. Fill the glass with lemonade, a cocktail or an other drink and put the white stopper on the glass. Then turn the glass upside down, shake and put a straw in the glass so you can enjoy your drink. Stylish, innovative and wasps don’t have a chance! Watch the video about the Halm glass to see how it works.
Opening Cafe Vrijdag
9-8-2013
This Monday café Vrijdag opened on the corner of the Amsteldijk and the Vrijheidslaan in Amsterdam. Owners Sikko de Jong and Reinout Ezinga want to create a ‘second living room’ for neighbours and offer an alternative for people in the South of Amsterdam for the (over)crowded city center. The interior is designed by ‘Koelhuis Frigo’ and has characteristic raw elements like stone, wood and steel.
Ice cream soda
6-8-2013
An ice cream soda, refreshing, old-fashioned and blessed! The last couple of warm days I experimented with this drink from my childhood. The base is a soda with a scoop of ice cream. You don’t see this drink in the most restaurants, while it is a easy drink to make! My daughter especially liked the sweeter varieties with vanilla ice cream. Personally I find the variant with a dash of lime juice and lime ice cream with sprite delicious! Yesterday I served this drink to my colleagues and they found it wonderfully refreshing! I also made the Mojito ice cream soda with lime ice cream, it was very tasty! ^Marjolein.
Food sherpas
6-8-2013
There are more and more food sherpas in touristicareas. Food sherpas are local people who receive tourists and show them the city. Unlike tourist agencies, the food sherpas lead you to local restaurants where you normally wouldn’t come as a tourist. They take you on a local culinary discovery tour and not only tell you where to go, but also what to order in restaurants. For example food sherpas can be found in Paris, where they guide tourist to the not so touristy Paris.
Hotels could set up an agreement with local people to guide the hotel guests through the most local hotspots. This as reaction to the deployment of an AirBnB host, because the success of this concept is that tourists can stay at the local people
Streetlight with a message
5-8-2013
In the area around São Paulo, Brazil residents can share stories in a special and direct way. The project ‘Mensagens Que Brilham’ equipped the street lights with special lenses with printed text. In the evening when the streetlights are switched on, different messages of residents are projected on the streets. This project is developed for AES Eletropaulo, an energy company. But we think that this is a special way to transmit a message, or fun for events or as an eye catcher for the entrance of a restaurant or hotel.
Robotic coffee machine
2-8-2013
Briggo has developed a robotic coffee machine in conjunction with Yves Behar and Fuseproject. The coffee machine ‘Briggo Coffee Haus’ offers people the opportunity to order a coffee through a touch screen or via a smartphone app. The range consists of many types of coffee, even with coffee syrups. The app will remember your favorite coffees. The Briggo Coffee Machine offers a fast and easy way to order a coffee, without any hassle or wait. At this point the coffee machine is tested at the University of Texas and will soon be at Bergstrom airport Austin.
Starbucks gets Wi-Fi via Google
2-8-2013
Google will deliver wireless networks at Starbucks in the next year. Starbucks is planning to upgrade Wi-Fi in more than 7,000 of its stores in the United States over the next year, starting with the locations where the use of Wi-Fi is highest. Google will provide Wi-Fi access, the internet will be ten times faster and more accessible. In addition to speeding up the Wi-Fi, Starbucks and Google will also work together to improve the Starbucks Digital Network, a page where users are directed when accessing Wi-Fi.
Antwerp Beerwalk
31-7-2013
The Dutch-Belgian company Vonker (specialized in cultural activities) organizes a 2.5 to 3 hour ‘Antwerp Beerwalk’ this summer. A guide takes you through the beer history of Antwerp by visiting the most famous pubs in Antwerp. The beer guide lets you taste four Antwerp beers at four cafés and reveals some secrets of Belgian Brew Masters. The ‘Antwerp Beerwalk’ lets people discover and taste Antwerp in a unique way.
