Pay with your fingerprint
17-4-2014
From tomorrow it is possible to carry out mobile payments with your fingerprint. Consumers can use the fingerprint scanner of the new Samsung Galaxy S5 to pay through PayPal. The fingerprint is converted to a key that has been encrypted and gets access to PayPal. To activate the fingerprint, consumers must give permission once via an e-identifier. A lot easier for the consumer, it’s not necessary to fill in any data or remember the passwords, but simply swipe a finger across the screen.
Hospitality game for Utrecht
15-4-2014
Utrecht Tourism has developed an online game for the hospitality industry. Entrepreneurs can train their personnel more easily with this game and track their progress. Utrecht had an average score at the ‘Most Hospitable City’ research last year, with an 11th place from the 21 cities studied. Watch the video by Shapers for an impression.
Food pairing with cookies and cheese
15-4-2014
In November last year, we’ve written about food pairing by biscuit manufacturer Jules Destrooper. The Belgian cookie bakers have consulted cheese specialist Betty Koster from fromagerie L’Amuse to create new flavor combinations. One of the combinations she has created are the ‘Virtuoso Chocolate Cookies with goat cheese’. The recipe combines chocolate cookies with roasted peppers and goat cheese. We are huge fans of the open minded taste approach from our Belgian neighbors and will definitely try the recipes.
Contactless payment at NS retail stores
14-4-2014
Starting this week, it is possible for the consumer to pay contactless with a Maestro debit card at the NS retail stores in the Netherlands. Tomorrow, NS retail introduces the contactless payments in collaboration with MasterCard in the NS retail stores like ‘Broodzaak’, Smullers, Kiosk and Julia’s. The consumer can pay by holding the mobile phone or the debit card against the payment terminal. For an amount below € 25,= there is no PIN required. This method of payment saves time, particularly at the stations, where consumers are often in a hurry.
Napkin origami
14-4-2014
In our publication ‘Royal hospitable gestures‘ we wrote an article about in old-fashioned origami with towels in hotels. But also restaurants can have a folded napkin on a set table. Duni napkins has some instructional videos folding napkins on their website, like the feather napkin in the video above. For every occasion and theme, a matching folded napkin.
General Store and Co
11-4-2014
The quirky bar concept ‘General Store & Co’ in Melbourne sells goods, groceries and grog. The concept is inspired by the old American Trading Posts where grocers sold food, clothing and household items. Later this evolved into General Stores that sold everything including alcohol, groceries and all sorts of retail products. The General Store & Co in Melbourne has a full service bar and café, in-house barber, shoe and clothing store, a bookstore, a private courtyard garden and a grocery with a wide range of organic products. A meeting place for people, that starts in the morning with a cup of coffee and ends in the evening with a drink in the bar.
Chok – the chocolate kitchen
10-4-2014
Chök – the chocolate kitchen- located at las Ramblas in Barcelona is a chocolate delicacy shop and opened its doors in August 2013. A true paradise for the sweet tooth! The shop has a real ‘chök’ wall and a open kitchen where customers can taste during the production process. The star product ‘chök’ is a delicacy that comes in 30 flavors made according to a special recipe with less sugar, fat and frying time. It’s a healthier version of a donut. The shop also sells chocolate chips, macaroons, cupcakes and churros. Chök also organizes courses where chocolate plaus a key role, like ‘taller de tapas’ with recipes for salmon marinated in cocoa, making a ganache and a chocolate tortilla with mascarpone.
BbyB chocolate artists
9-4-2014
Bart Desmidt, owner and chef cook of the Belgian Michelin star restaurant Bartholomeus** makes with BbyB (Babelutte by Bartholomew) a statement towards the top of the Belgian chocolate makers. In 2010 he started with a combination of chocolate with the local product Babelutte, a creamy caramel. Along with chocolatier Jan Verleye he makes several surprising chocolate combinations like white chocolate with passion fruit and basil or dark chocolate with cherries and pistachio. They describe themselves as taste artists and their creations are available through the shops in Antwerp and Bruges or via the website BbyB.be.
Foodini 3D printer for consumer
9-4-2014
To provide consumers with the easiness of a 3D printer in the kitchen, the designers of the Foodini 3D printer have started a crowdfunding project via Kickstarter. The printer comes with empty capsules so that you can use your own fresh ingredients. The machine is expected to be ready for mass production in January 2015.
Vegetable snack Snex | best international product
7-4-2014
Scelta Mushrooms is the founder of a healthy alternative for the snack range: the Snex. The Snex are vegetable snacks and don’t contain artificial colors and flavors. This healthier version of a snack is made of fresh frozen vegetables , is 100% meat free and contains an average of 150 calories. The Snex are available in the flavors mushroom, mushroom-broccoli, mushroom-spinach, sauerkraut, ratatouille and red cabbage-apple. At the 20th edition of Alimentaria (South-Europa’s largest food fair) the Snex were voted as best international products during the presentation of the Innoval Awards in Barcelona.
