JRE Streetdine
22-9-2014
Jeunes Restaurateurs d’Europe (JRE) organized a surprise campaign ‘JRE Streetdine’ on 13 September. All 28 Dutch restaurants affiliated with JRE went to unique locations and served culinary delights to passers-by. Some people were even invited to take place at a set table for a culinary flash lunch. Chairman Rik Jansma, of restaurant Basiliek in Harderwijk, hopes this initiative will encourage potential new guests to visit the restaurants. Check out the pictures for an impression of this ludic action.
Packaging design for beer
19-9-2014
A creative beer packaging design that shows the colour of the beer inside: Spanish creative agency Txaber developed a packaging design that combines the type of beer with the matching Pantone colour code. In this way you only have to look at the package to know what kind of beer is inside. For example, the package of a ‘lager’ beer has a golden colour with Pantone code 123C and a ‘stout’ beer has a dark brown colour and code 4975C.
Behind the packaging design
Txaber was born in 1969 in Bilbao and studied Graphic design at CVNP (Bilbao). He is not only developing packaging design but is specialized in text and color design as well, as seen on his website. He quotes “They say everything is invented and I struggle every day to go against.”
Packaging-free supermarket
19-9-2014
Many initiatives are designed to make supermarkets more sustainable: we have spotted the first dump supermarket in Amsterdam, there is a supermarket chain in Denmark selling local products and we have seen how supermarkets work together with restaurants to reduce their waste.
Bay & Buy
Wim van Dijk hopes to open a new concept through crowdfunding: the first packaging-free supermarket in the Netherlands ‘Bag & Buy’. In this store customers can pick their own products from containers, barrels and jars and can thereby determine the amount they need.
International developments
A comparable initiative can be found in several countries. In Germany packaging-free supermarket ‘Original Unverpackt‘ was funded by crowdfunding as well. The starting capital for this supermarket was collected in one day. Earlier this year ‘Robuust, the zero waste shop’ opened its doors in Antwerp and in France, Spain and Austria are a packaging-free grocery stores as well.
The crowdfunding for the supermarket ‘Bag & Buy’ in the Netherlands starts on 1 October. The crowdfunders also determine the location of this store: “Bag & Buy will open where there is the must enthusiasm” as said by Wim van Dijk. The initiator thinks he will need € 100.000,- to open the grocery store.
For sale: the VeloPresso
16-9-2014
We already wrote an article about the VeloPresso in 2012. After three years of developments the last details are worked out as well and from 16 September the mobile coffee bar can be ordered online. The VeloPresso is a unique and highly innovative coffee tricycle. It has a great mobility and does not require electricity. The VeloPresso can be ordered from £9,995,-.
Pop-up coffee bar Black Box in Ghent
12-9-2014
Pop-up coffee bar
A work-out followed by an artisanal cup of coffee. This is possible in the pop-up coffee shop Black Box in the Belgian city of Ghent. The specialty coffee bar is located in a garage box of CrossFit Gent, a gym focused on the new form of fitness, CrossFit. As from 4 September Barista Yf Feller serves freshly made coffees, for a month.
Bullet proof coffee
A special coffee on the menu is the ‘bullet proof coffee’. This is a creamy coffee made from butter from grass-fed cows, coconut oil and French coffee, what gives a boost, both physically and mentally.
For people who don’t like coffee, various activities are organized on location as well. For examples, a second-hand clothing market and an indoor picnic.
Pay-as-you-wish
A special aspect of Black Box is that there’s no pricelist available. Guests give a contribution and are allowed to choose what they think is fair to pay. Black Box is an example of a ‘pay as you wish’ concept which we may years ago in Vienna, Der Wiener Deewan. The system from ‘Pay as you wish’ is used for charity as well, like we spotted in 2007 at restaurant Trien in Herpen. Trust is a more recent example that opened in Amsterdam last year.
Bionina the organic drink
11-9-2014
Bionina is an organic drink made of fresh fruit and sparkling water. The ingredients find their origin in Italy. The mineral water is from the Italian mountains and the fruit is from the organic farms in Sicily. No colorants, fragrances, preservatives and flavoring are added to the drink. Bionina is available in four distinctive flavors: cranberry/pomegranate, blood orange, grapefruit and lemon. Another trendy, non-alcoholic drink.
Gordon Street Garage, West Perth
10-9-2014
The Gordon Street Garage in West Perth is located in a former garage. The restaurant is based on the idea of simple and local produce. The coffee is for example roasted and ground on location which allows the garage to daily serve different types of coffee. The dishes on the menu are yard-to-table inspired and mostly designed to share. The restaurant has an industrial-chic interior which shows the origin of the building. A lot of furniture and fittings are even made from the wood and steel of the original garage itself. The large space of the Gordon Street Garage is divided into different zones to create a wide range of dining experiences. A part of the space is arranged for a quick cup of coffee, the large bar and high tables are created for a cocktail and a bar snack and another part of the area is used for extensive lunches or dinners. Watch the video for an impression of the Gordon Street Garage.
The Netherlands, Land of Whisky
9-9-2014
The documentary ‘The Netherlands, land of Whisky’ will premiere at the film festival ‘Film By The Sea’ in Vlissingen on 20 September. The initiative of film maker Gwen Jansen shows the remarkable whisky culture in the Netherlands: Over 2,5 million people drink whisky, world’s largest whisky fair is in the Netherlands and a lot of whisky media and whisky writers are Dutch. The first whisky camping is even founded in the Netherlands. The documentary is produced by JansenJager, Beeldmakers and is mostly established by crowdfunding and without use of subsidies. It will appear on DVD and Blu-Ray at the end of this year in Dutch and English and can be ordered via the website ‘NederlandWhiskyland’.
Veuve Clicquot ages champagne in Baltic Sea
5-9-2014
Champagne house Veuve Clicquot dropped hundreds of bottles of champagne in the Baltic sea on 18 June. The Baltic sea offers unique aging conditions for the bottles of champagne with its low level of salinity and a constant temperature of 4 degrees. This was discovered four years ago when divers found a cache of more than 165 bottles of champagne near the Äland island near Finland. The bottles were dating back to 1839, but were preserved perfectly. The bottles champagne of Veuve Clicquot currently lie 40 meters below the surface where they will be monitored by a ‘cellar master’. The bottles will be brought back to the surface in 2054.
Restaurant ‘t Klooster was opened in Wijk bij Duurstede
4-9-2014
Jonnie and Thérèse Boer of ‘De Librije’*** and ‘Librije’s zusje’** opened restaurant ‘t Klooster at Wijk bij Duurstede on 1 September. This restaurant is taken over by former employee Jeroen van Hensbergen and his wife Natasja van Hensbergen. Jeroen and Natasja transformed brasserie ‘t Klooster into a restaurant where high-quality, creative and affordable dishes are served. A special aspect is that the restaurant serves a menu especially for people who had a gastric bypass or gastric sleeve. Natasja herself had gastric bypass surgery and realized that it was very difficult to join others in dining for a full evening. “Jeroen cooks in ‘t Klooster a special menu where the portioning is adapted to the wishes of the guests and where the intolerances and the use of sugar are taking into account.”