Dos Palillos: the new generation ‘open kitchen’
21-10-2014
Niek Timmermans, consultant at Van Spronsen & Partners horeca-consultancy, visited restaurant Dos Palillos in Berlin. There, he saw his signature menu being prepared in the kitchen while seated in the restaurant. An ‘open kitchen’ 2.0, where the whole restaurant takes a seat at the chef’s table.
During my city trip to Berlin I’ve eaten at Dos Palillos (two chopsticks), a restaurant concept by Albert Raurich. Raurich started in 1997 as an intern of Ferran Adria at the famous El Bulli restaurant. Within five year he started working as a chef and stayed at that post from 2001 until 2007. Out of the many inspiration trips he made with Ferran the idea for Dos Palillos was born. In 2008 he opened his first location in Barcelona, followed by a second location in Berlin in 2010. And there I did experience his signature menu, which consists out of a total of 17 courses.
A lobby as living room the hotel
9-10-2014
Last Thursday 2 October the flagship hotel of Mercure reopend, the Mercure Amsterdam City. The entire lobby, restaurant, the flexible workplaces and the lounge are merged in order to meet the changing needs of their guests: “People are travelling more than ever, they are aware of what they want and strive to achieve this. The call for comfort and authenticity is great. At the fully refurbished Mercure Hotel Amsterdam City we offer the high international standards that can be expected from an international hotel and at the same time we let guests get acquainted with local elements that give the hotel its own personal touch” according to Caro Eekelen, COO Accor Hotel Services Benelux.
Kapellerput: Meetings in homely atmosphere
6-10-2014
The conference hotel Kapellerput in Heeze, The Netherlands, realized a new innovation for the meeting market. The new concept, ‘The house of’, offers a homely atmosphere where you can have meetings and brainstorms ‘like home’. ‘The house of’ consists of a kitchen and living room where groups up to 14 people can work in a relaxing way. A homey feeling is the key factor which is achieved with a retro 60s style look, large wooden tables, an outdoor patio, a fireplace and comfortable sofas. ‘The house of’ is equipped with modern technology, such as a wireless projector with sound system, Wi-Fi and air conditioning.
Previous actions:
Kapellerput keeps innovating in the area of conference rooms. They already realized a tree house in 2010 and an innovating meeting design in 2013.
Add a splash of color to your bath
2-10-2014
A floating, battery-powered, water drop that spreads a soothing light. Instead of candles, you can use this saver alternative in bath: the Rainbow Drop Bath Light of Firebox. It turns on automatically when touching water and floats calmly in the water. The luminous bulb spreads different colors, which has a soothing effect.
Small hospitable gesture
These Rainbow Drops could be a small hospitable gesture that your guest will remember: a soothing light that enables you (especially if you have jetlag) to relax while bathing.
The Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam on Wallpaper’s shortlist, Best Urban Hotels
2-10-2014
The Waldorf Astoria in Amsterdam has been called on the shortlist for ‘The Best Urban Hotels’ by Wallpaper.com. Mentioned on the list are those recently opened hotels that are nominated for their price ‘Best Urban Hotels’, amongst others The Mainport Hotel in Rotterdam. The list offers a 136 inspiring pictures with details from all nominated hotels. Great to scroll through if you’re looking for inspiration.
Success!
We wish all participants success of course, but in particular the Walldorf Astoria. This hotel opened in May this year and located in 17th century canal houses in the city centre is an asset to Amsterdam. The former houses were transformed into an impressive hotel provided with all necessary facilities such as a stylish fine dining restaurant (in cooperation with De Librije(***), Librije’s Zusje), Peacock Aley and the Vault bar. The interior of the Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam, designed by GA Design International, is a combination of old elements of the 17th century and a luxurious design what gives the hotel its elegant atmosphere. In the December issue of Wallpaper the winner will be announced.
Opening Market hall Rotterdam
2-10-2014
The city of Rotterdam has a new a new architectural landmark, The Markthal. Following Stockholm, Barcelona, Valencia and Copenhagen the first indoor market of the Netherlands opened yesterday, 1 October, in Rotterdam. The market hall has the size of a large soccer field and gives space to several entrepreneurs: about 100 fresh produce units, 15 food shops and 8 restaurants are located in this impressive hall. Besides that the market hall a culinary meeting point is, the building has 228 apartments build in the arch as well.
A restaurant, amongst others, located at the Markthal; BasQ Kitchen. We do wish all the entrepreneurs a lot of fun and success at this location.
Fun packaging for kids
1-10-2014
After drinking milk or juice, kids can play with this packaging. Designed by Bora Yildirim, the main function of the packaging is that it can be reused after the drink is consumed. The Pinar Sut bottles have two designs which can be transformed into fun toys. The lids and empty bottles can be attached to each other and transformed into shapes such as flowers and robots. This way children are encouraged to finish their drinks so they can play. Great way to serve drinks to children! The patent for this packaging is still pending but we think it’s ideal for healthy drinks for kids.
Of course we did spot a lot of inspiration focused on children before: in 2013 we saw a Happy Meal diorama. ‘Horeca Vlaanderen’ (Hospitality Flanders) and ‘Vlaanderen Lekker Land’ (Flanders Tasty Land) published a guide for a child-friendly hospitality industry full of hospitable ideas and menu tips for kids. You can also search yourself for inspiration focused on kids: Note ‘children‘ or ‘kids’ in the search field of our website and find pages full of inspiration.
A combination of a beertray and frisbee
29-9-2014
The frisbeer, a combination of a beer tray and a frisbee, was designed by the Slovakian designer Simon Kern. The frisbeer is made of cardboard and is designed to give the traditional beer tray a second function. With use of the frisbeer you can carry three beers in one hand and the portability is increased by the finger holes in the tray. The frisbeer is ideal for festivals: use it as a tray to carry beers to your friends and then use it as a toy for a game of frisbee.
The glamper: a super-deluxe way of camping
29-9-2014
We’ve spotted ‘Glamping‘ at Landal Greenparks as a more luxurious way of camping in 2011. At Tinywood Homes they took this a step further and introduced this super-deluxe ‘glamper’. The wooden cottage is standard two levels high and have a kitchen, bathroom, central heating, porch and hot tub. The Tinywood cottage are available in three versions and all are small enough to be transported by a truck. The houses are for sale from £ 35,000 and for now only available in the UK.
More safety with a fun factor
25-9-2014
A marketing campaign with a dancing traffic light to increase safety on the road. Last July, car manufacturer SMART in collaboration with BBDO Germany placed a unique system in a traffic light in a busy street in Lisbon. The traffic light looked normal at first, but before people started to get bored waiting for the green light, the red man in the traffic light started to dance. The dance moves of the red man were recorded by volunteers in a large installation. The action doesn’t only look great it also served a purpose: because pedestrians were entertained, 81% more people were waiting for the light to turn green.
In 2009 we’ve spotted a ‘Wiki Traffic Light‘ on the website The Fun Theory, where car drivers could answer ‘wiki’ questions while waiting during the red light. Increasing safety with a fun factor, an idea for your town?
