Rose & Vanilla | 200% crowdfunding for organic cakes without milk & gluten
21-9-2023
Rose & Vanilla, a Dutch patisserie that makes delicious, organic cakes without milk and gluten, has raised €300,000 with its crowdfunding through the platform CrowdAboutNow! This has reached the maximum 200% of the targeted loan.
Rose & Vanilla’s cakes are already being served at some restaurants and it is obviously a great and of course easy dessert to serve! One of our colleagues, Robin has been diagnosed with quite a few intolerances a few months ago; she writes blogs about her experiences in the hospitality industry. These are published on the Van Spronsen & Partners hospitality consultancy website. She is very happy with these kind of developments!
An ode to the negroni
18-9-2023
One of our favorite cocktails, the negroni, has its own international week! Annually the negroni is placed in the spotlight, this year from September 18 to 24. This iconic drink takes center stage in various bars all over the world. A number of cocktail bars in the Netherlands also pay attention to this drink! Want to make it yourself? At the bottom of the article there’s a delicious recipe with a twist!
Trends we spotted | Week 36
12-9-2023
At horecatrends.com we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week links to articles about among others FoodGPT by AI Palette in Singapore, a one-of-a-kind generative AI tool, tailored explicitly for the complex F&B landscape. And an initiative to help revitalize historic downtowns and creating the American Dream for owning your own business: Own Your Own.
At BotBar Coffee in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, robot Adam serves the coffee! And in the Netherlands and Belgium the wines are of very good quality, 35 gold medals at the Wine Inspection of the Low Lands.
Chef Jonnie Boer of the Dutch restaurant De Librije (***) is the new ambassador of Urban Cultivator. They recently introduced ‘Librije Backstage’ and vertical farming by Urban Cultivator. And spotted in Paris, the GalBar. A crêpes and galette bar, which they serve in a scone.
Belgian startup Dripl raised 2.15 million euros of growth capital to accelerate their refillution. Their self-developed Refill Points have been offering a healthy alternative to soft drinks since 2021 and help companies reduce their waste and footprint.
During the renovation of restaurant RIJKS® in the Rijks museum in Amsterdam, you can enjoy the skills of their chefs at the RIJKS® pop-up on the Zuidas. And chef Guillaume de Beer opened Bar Gui in Amsterdam, his dishes look delicious!
Shichiken sparkling sake | The alternative to champagne during the holiday season
8-9-2023
As the holiday season approach, the Japanese sake brewery Shichiken is, in collaboration with Belgian importer Kaori, bringing a sparkling surprise: ‘sparkling sake’. Sparkling sake has been appreciated in Japan for some time, but is still relatively unknown in our country. This refined and tempting alternative to champagne is increasingly being put on the menu by sommeliers of gastronomic restaurants and is rapidly gaining popularity. You can already find this Shichiken sake in many fine dining restaurants, but also in the Kaori webshop.
Theetje | Hard Iced Tea for and by students
8-9-2023
Two young entrepreneurs, Pieter Kronenburg and Andrew Trapman, have developed a new drink: Theetje, a Hard Iced Tea. The drink was made for and by students and has now found its way into various hotels, including the Moxy The Hague, the hotel where Pieter works.
Cold brew coffee anyone?
14-8-2023
This summer, I had the occasional cold espresso with an ice cube again. The first time I drank this cold espresso was in Spain, where an ‘espresso con hielo’ is a standard menu item. However, here in the Netherlands, cold coffee is not so popular as of yet. Of course, many drink a frappuccino or an iced coffee with vanilla ice cream, but the huge range of flavours and compositions you encounter abroad are still missing here. ^Marjolein
A short article filled with coffee inspiration! And at the end, an Instagram post featuring an espresso Barbietini!
Trends we spotted | Week 32
11-8-2023
At horecatrends.com we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week links to articles including a couple of them on reservation fees at restaurants in the hope that this will reduce the number of no-shows. In New York, more and more restaurants are turning to this system. Leonie van Spronsen recently wrote a blog about this subject. It’s kind of a double standard that lots of guests don’t want to pay a restaurant fee while we pay, without any problem, in advance for tickets to Taylor Swift.
A unique combination; a Latin-American fine-dining experience on a London train, the Supperclub.Tube. Also in London: the Vagabond’s Wine Bars where you can choose from as many as 140 varieties of wines!
Aperol sorbet floating in prosecco, sounds delicious! It’s served at Il Terrazzo in department store Nordstrom in NYC. The sorbet is made by il Laboratorio del Gelato. And also in NYC – the hottest new sushi bar is hidden in The Vault of Saks Fifth Avenue. Great idea, an omakase inside a small corner of a retail outlet?
A touring mini club, Fandangoe Discoteca invites people to dance out their grief! Created by artist Annie Frost Nicholson and it will come to the Netherlands as well. And International Hotel Capital Partners is the new owner of Hilton Garden Inn Leiden Hotel.
Located 4.5 hours from NYC, in Watkins Glen, is the world’s smallest diner, which is also appropriately named ‘World’s Smallest Diner’. And we read about an Instant Noodle Factory in Queens, they serve 88 different instant noodles options with 30 different toppings.
The popular experience, Dining in the Dark, is returning to Amsterdam on August 31, this time it takes place at the NOMAD aan het IJ. And we love the design of the Costa Rican Suitree Experience Hotel with treehouse style rooms.
Fall season is almost upon us | Pumpkin Spice Avocado Oil Caviar
8-8-2023
Chosen Foods, the maker of America’s #1 Avocado Oil and one of few on shelves that is guaranteed to be 100% pure, is getting in on the ridiculous fun of pumpkin spice season this year by launching the first-ever Pumpkin Spice Avocado Oil Caviar. This seasonal limited time offer in the USA is giving pumpkin spice lovers a chance to experience their favorite fall flavor in a way that’s anything but basic.
We would love to try this Pumpkin Spice ‘Caviar’ here in Europe as well!
First Porsche Charging Lounge in Bingen am Rhein has opened
4-8-2023
Porsche is planning to set up its own fast-charging stations along Europe’s most important routes, with a premium charging experience one expects of the brand. As a pilot site, the first Porsche Charging Lounge has opened outside Bingen am Rhein last week. Just two minutes from motorway junction A60/A61, it offers six 300-kW DC fast-charging stations and four 22-kW AC charging points. Further Porsche Charging Lounges are currently planned for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. A Porsche ID is required to access the charging stations and the lounge area. This ID must be linked to the car.
Back in 2018 we published an article in which a designers firm and sports brand reimagined an adaptive reuse of gas stations across the USA as Fitness Hubs, where people can prioritize their mental and physical wellness while charging their electric cars. Although the first Porsche Charging Lounge is completely different, workouts can be done here as well, in front of a smart mirror to keep the driver fit for the journey ahead. Interactive Porsche content can also be selected here. Now it’s waiting for likewise charging lounges created for humans and cars of all brands! A collaboration between a fast charging specialist, hospitality and a fitness brand?
Trends we spotted | Week 30
31-7-2023
At horecatrends.com we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week links to articles about among others the fact that cultivated meat and seafood can soon be taste tested under limited conditions in The Netherlands! The Dutch government, in collaboration with cultivated meat producers Meatable and Mosa Meat and sector representative HollandBIO, successfully created a ‘code of practice’ that would make tastings possible in controlled environments.
Books for Cooks, a very special cook book store! And on Instagram we came across a ‘Mystery Picnic Tour’, we think every city should have a tour like that! Now available in the UK, Canada, Australia and the USA.
Notorious for its creative culinary ventures, Domino’s Japan is back with its latest unconventional pizza: the Pickle Pizza, equipped with 1.32 pounds of sliced dill pickles. And Bar Vegan in Atlanta is introducing a Bubble Brunch – a new bottle service experience with dry ice, rubber duckies and literal ‘bubble baths’ to pair with the celebrated vegan brunch cuisine.
The Berkeley hotel will open its rooftop – usually reserved for hotel guests – for everyone for the rest of the Summer, with a brand new bar and great views of the sunset over Hyde Park. And in Amsterdam the Conscious Hotels Group is taking a 100% stake in Hotel V & The Lobby, stronger together through shared ambitions hospitality & sustainability.
Illustrator Hedof designs designer glass 2023 for Duvel and the famous cookies from Amsterdam, the Eberhardjes, named after the deceased mayor Eberhard van der Laan, are now available throughout the Netherlands.
Daphne Gierberger of Rose & Vanilla
Gluten- and milk free cake by Rose & Vanilla 
