ShakingSupper at Supperclub Amsterdam
14-10-2014
Every third Thursday of the month, top bartender Tess Posthumus organizes the event ‘ShakingSupper in collaboration with chef Joey de Vries. It is a special edition of the Cocktail Nights at Supperclub Amsterdam where Tess and Joey join hands for a special cocktail and food pairing. The evenings consist out of a five-course dinner or small bites, matching with surprising cocktails and music by Sheila Hill and Wife Beaters.
FG Food Gamble as reaction to promotion weeks
13-10-2014
In response to the many restaurant promotion weeks in the Netherlands, François Geurds of FGRestaurant**, FGFoodLab and FGShop introduced the ‘FG Food Gamble’ promotion. For a fixed price of € 130, – per person, guests can challenge their luck with the number of courses they will get at the two starred Michelin restaurant. They may draw a card with 4 to 7 courses on it and the kitchen staff will prepare the number of courses that is drawn, or the average amount in the case of different cards. A joker card is hidden between the deck, which will mean an extra for instance live cocktail making at the table.
Counterpart of promotion weeks
With this creative campaign François Geurds introduced a countermove for the many promotion weeks. François mentions in the interview by MissetHoreca, that some of the organized actions may affect the company in a negative way. For this reason, he takes matters into his own hands with this FG Food Gamble promotion and will not join third party campaign weeks anymore.
Cocktail for the cold days: Hot Toddy
13-10-2014
The days are shorter, the night are longer: autumn weather started in the Netherlands already a few weeks ago. The Scottish whisky liqueur Drambuie introduced the cocktail ‘Hot Toddy’ for more warmth and coziness in these days. The Hot Toddy is an alcoholic warm beverage that fits in line with Glühwein and Eggnog.
Recipe of The Hot Toddy
Make this cocktail for cold days by serving 40 ml of Drambuie with 60 ml of warm fresh apple juice, a cinnamon stick, 2 cloves, a slice of lemon and the zest of an orange.
Popular dishes from New York at Hudson Bar & Kitchen in Zoetermeer
9-10-2014
Hudson Bar & Kitchen, the New York-style restaurant with dishes like the Hudson Burger, Organic Hot Dogs, Chili Con Carne, Wraps, Nachos, Chicken Wings, Cheese Cake and cocktails such as the Royal Mojito and Long Island Ice Tea, recently opened in Zoetermeer.
Willem Post about the similarity between restaurants in NYC and Hudson Bar & Kitchen
During the opening there was a short speech by Willem Post (NYC expert) in which he indicated the similarities between restaurants in the city and the atmosphere and menu of Hudson Bar & Kitchen. He gave his new book, The Magic of New York, to Mariette van Leeuwen, who is alderman of Zoetermeer and officially opened the restaurant. She gave the owners an olive tree…. here we have to point out that currently the growth of the Hudson Bar & Kitchen chain is faster than an olive tree grows. Hudson Bar & Kitchen in Zoetermeer is already the 6th restaurant of the chain. The other locations are in The Hague, Naaldwijk, Rotterdam, Noordwijkerhout and Almere.
About Hudson Bar & Kitchen
The restaurant is located in the ‘Sara Lydia Hoeve’ in Zoetermeer. It’s a spacious, modern decorated restaurant with wall paintings and has a rural American look and feel. In the weekends they have the ‘Afterdinner Beatz’ with DJs and on Sundays the ‘family day’ includes entertainment for the little ones. The restaurant also serves a High Wine arrangement which we earlier wrote about. In the Hudson Suite on the first floor you can eat with a private group.
We wish the owners, Doina Jonkman – de Gier and Alain Reestman lots of success with their new business.
India Pale Ale for sale at Dutch grocery store
9-10-2014
Dutch grocery store Albert Heijn introduced India Pale Ale. The special beers Anchor and BrewDog Punk India Pale Ale (IPA) are now available in their stores. Although IPA is a global trend for years now, until recently it was only available at liquor stores and cafés in the Netherlands. Special beer retailer Bier&Co responded to the increasing demand for home-brewed beers with a distinctive flavor by introducing IPA to the big market.
Bier&Co
Wholesale Bier&Co has a passion for tasteful beer and was the first who brought special beers to the Netherlands. As the demand from consumers, liquor stores and restaurants increased, they have become a serious player in the beer industry as well.
India Pale Ale
IPA beer originates from England, where it was mostly exported to India in the beginning of the 19th century. Because the shipping could take months, extra hops was added to the beer which increased the durability. This process gives IPA beers its typical flavor.
The friendly twist by Coca-Cola
9-10-2014
Another fun marketing campaign of Coca-Cola to spread ‘Happiness‘. The brand introduced bottles that could only be opened with two people. This way Coca-Cola encouraged students to start talking: opening the bottle together was the icebreaker.
Other actions from Coca-Cola that we’ve spotted; the eco-bottles in 2012 and the ice-bottles in 2013.
Gastronomixs goes international
8-10-2014
During this year’s Chefs®evolution, the international website Gastronomixs.com was launched. Gastronomixs is already familiar in the Netherlands and used by a lot of Dutch topchefs. Gastronomixs is an online platform filled with ideas, recipes and inspiration about food. It inspires chefs to create new dishes or to adapt existing recipes. This website contains all the classic cooking methods but also the latest techniques all ordened by ingredient or product. Gastronomixs.com is designed to simplify the culinary creative process! Watch their video for more information.
The story of KETEL1
7-10-2014
The Dutch jenever brand KETEL1 launches a new commercial this week. In this video campaign Bob Nolet, 11th generation of the KETEL1 family business, gives a unique insight in his life. For over 300 years, the family business in Schiedam brews this artisan jenever. A special aspect is that in each generation only one member of the family receives access to the secret recipe of the drink.
Previous campaigns:
KETEL1 feels strongly connected with personal stories. They launched storytelling video before with Dutch singers Joshua Nolet (Chef’Special) and Willem de Bruijn (Opposites) in the lead.
What would tour story be?
Another example of Storytelling; ever thought about the story you could tell about your restaurant or hotel?
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.