Food films are popular
30-1-2015
Food films are popular. We have the Food Film Festival in Amsterdam since 2011 and at the Berlinale they will also exhibit various food films during the Culinary Cinema program. Including the documentary ‘Cooking Up a Tribute’.
Last Tuesday we wrote about the popularity of food films in an article about the trailer of the film ‘Fucking Perfect’ of Sergio Herman. We used various examples from the past, but recently the program of the Culinary Cinema at the Berlin Film Festival (known as the Berlinale) was published. Which includes the documentary about the owners of El Celler de Can Roca, entitled ‘Cooking Up a Tribute’ which will premiere on 10 February.
Trailer of ‘Cooking Up a Tribute’
The documentary was directed by Luis Gonzalez and Andrea Gomez and is about Summer 2014 when Josep, Joan and Jordi Roca closed their restaurant for a period of 5 weeks. In these 5 weeks, they did a tour of the American continent: Roca n’Roll World Tour 2014. They visited six different places; Houston, Dallas, Monterrey, Mexico City, Lima and Bogota.
Food films are popular and easy to combine with a good meal
In Amsterdam we have the Food Film Festival and we hope that during the next edition they run most movies that are exhibited at the Berlinale. During the Berlinale the Michelin-starred chefs Paco Pérez and Christian Lohse (amongst others) will serve menus inspired by the films. The American chef Alice Waters and the president of the Slow Food movement Carlo Petrini will be honored during this Culinary Cinema. We wonder if it will be such a great tribute as Alain Passard received in 2014. And whether the menus that are inspired by the movies will be prepared by the chefs at the Berlinale as original as the chefs at the Dutch Food Film Festival did during last year’s lunch (Proefwerk). In the article from the website Fine Dining Lovers you can see the list of all the culinary movies shown at the Berlinale. You can book tickets on the website of the Berlinale.
Watt a Hub!
29-1-2015
We Watt is a professional and original charging place for your restaurant. Give your guests the ability to charge their mobile or laptop while cycling and let them do what is good for their health!
In more and more articles we are kindly notified that sitting is the new smoking. We’ll explain what that means later on but in short it means that we have to get moving! As the owner of a restaurant or grand café you can motivate your guests to do so by placing a We Watt table in your company. Your guests can charge their mobile phone or laptop and charge themselves as well while enjoying your coffee or lunch.
Watt a hub in practice
We Watt offers the opportunity to combine to multitask; chat with friends or work while you recharge your device and move! The installations from We Watt are currently mainly found in businesses, public spaces (for example in France at various stations) and in a couple of restaurants. For example in one of the Amsterdam locations of Bagel & Beans, at Schiphol and in the Utrecht Medical Centre (UMC). With the latest version of the ‘Watt a hub’ – table you have a 500W generator, LiFePO4 battery 12.8V 10AH, 4 USB ports (5V) + Qi charging (19V) and your guests are able to set their own resistance. Watch the video of the launch of We Bike at the Belgian company Telenet.
Sitting is the new smoking.
We are already banning smoking from our environment. The new mantra for the next few years will be starting to move. Various studies show that if you as an adult sit more than four hours a day behind a computer screen, you’re 50 percent more likely to get sick. You burn less calories and the blood flow through your body diminishes while sitting behind your desk, which increases the risk of heart disease, vascular disease and diabetes. But apparently, the fact that we get more and more jobs where we sit behind our desks also affects our evolution! It’s recommended to walk when you can, regularly stand up from your chair and now you can also go to a restaurant where you can charge your mobile or laptop while you treat your body to some movement and a lunch!
Dutch food truck special | Pastaiola
28-1-2015
The Summer of 2014 was one of thriving food festivals. With several events focused on mobile kitchens and a lot of food trucks on smaller festivals throughout the country, the open air food offer grew tremendously. This was partly due to the efforts of The Food Line-Up, ‘Vleesch Noch Visch’ and ‘Rollende Keukens’.
Dutch food truck in Amsterdam
Recently an article on Dutch news website Nu.nl announced that the municipality of Amsterdam starts with giving out permits for food trucks on the streets of the city.
A great trigger to start a Dutch food truck special at Horecatrends.com and highlight some of the food trucks mentioned in the (Dutch) book ‘Reizende Sterren’ (Travelling Stars).
The food truck you see on this page is called Pastaiola and is owned by Jolanda Vrijenhoek. This truck offers Italian pasta and originated in the bicycle scene offering nutricious meals during sport events. Monica Abdoel write about it in the book ‘Reizende Sterren’, unfortunately it is only available in Dutch. If you want to show your (favorite) food truck at the website please write to tip@spronsen.com. If you’re interested in the Dutch food truck scene we can definitely recommend the annual ‘Rollende Keukens’ event in Amsterdam with over a hundred trucks on one location every May.
Dutch food truck special | Just Like Your Mom Catering
28-1-2015
The Summer of 2014 was one of thriving food festivals. With several events focused on mobile kitchens and a lot of food trucks on smaller festivals throughout the country, the open air food offer grew tremendously. This was partly due to the efforts of The Food Line-Up, ‘Vleesch Noch Visch’ and ‘Rollende Keukens’.
Dutch food truck in Amsterdam
Recently an article on Dutch news website Nu.nl announced that the municipality of Amsterdam starts with giving out permits for food trucks on the streets of the city. A great trigger to start a Dutch food truck special at Horecatrends.com and highlight some of the food trucks mentioned in the (Dutch) book ‘Reizende Sterren’ (Travelling Stars).
The food truck you see on this page is called Just Like Your Mom Catering and is owned by Etjen van der Vliet en Sandra Smit. ‘Just like your mom, we’ll take care of you. The book they’re mentioned in, ‘Reizende Sterren’, is only available in Dutch. If you want to show your (favorite) food truck at the website please write to tip@spronsen.com. If you’re interested in the Dutch food truck scene we can definitely recommend the annual ‘Rollende Keukens’ event in Amsterdam in May with over a hundred trucks on one location.
Dutch food truck special – Fritèz
28-1-2015
The Summer of 2014 was one of thriving food festivals. With several events focused on mobile kitchens and a lot of food trucks on smaller festivals throughout the country, the open air food offer grew tremendously. This was partly due to the efforts of The Food Line-Up, ‘Vleesch Noch Visch’ and ‘Rollende Keukens’.
Dutch food truck in Amsterdam
Recently an article on Dutch news website Nu.nl announced that the municipality of Amsterdam starts with giving out permits for food trucks on the streets of the Dutch capital. A great trigger to start a food truck special at Horecatrends.com and highlight some of the food trucks mentioned in the (Dutch) book ‘Reizende Sterren’ (Travelling Stars).
The food truck you see on this page is called Fritèz – Haute Friture and is owned by Ruben Kruit. This truck offers organic ‘French Fries’. The book ‘Reizende Sterren’ is only available in Dutch. If you want to show your (favorite) food truck at the website please write to tip@spronsen.com. If you’re interested in the Dutch food truck scene we can definitely recommend the annual ‘Rollende Keukens’ event in Amsterdam in May with over a hundred trucks on one location.
Fucking Perfect
27-1-2015
The trailer of the film “Fucking Perfect’ about master chef Sergio Herman is released last week. The film runs in the Dutch cinemas as from 19 March.
Films about chefs
We have already seen a few great examples of films and documentaries with chefs in the leading role, like “The taste of the soul‘ about chefs Erik van Loo and Cees Helder and their restaurant Parkheuvel in Rotterdam (Cees Helder was the first Dutch chef to receive 3 Michelin stars in the Netherlands). Great examples are also the movie about El Bulli and the documentary about Michel Bras. All wonderful movies where the chef and his passion are playing the leading role. The chefs often give the viewer an insight into how they work, but also in their life and their passion for the products they work with. The trailer of ‘Fucking Perfect’ promises this as well.
Fucking Perfect is about ..
The film ‘Fucking Perfect’ follows Sergio Herman from March 2013 until the summer of 2014 and shows the enormous drive of the chef. The pursuit of perfection and the sacrifices he makes to reach his goal. The trailer promises an intimate and honest portrait of Sergio Herman with a peek into the kitchen, his private life and shows the choice he made to start making new dreams come true at the peak of his culinary career. In 2003 he closed his 3-star restaurant Oud Sluis, to start building a new ‘dream’ in Antwerp (Belgium), restaurant The Jane.
Build your own pop-up restaurant
27-1-2015
Soullmate pop up furniture offers every catering entrepreneur or enthusiastic home cook the opportunity to open their own pop-up restaurant for one day or longer. Without having to invest in a kitchen or furniture.
Build your own pop-up restaurant with the Soullmate Event Truck
The trailer of the truck is filled with a complete restaurant for at least 60 people. This consists of seating and a professional outdoor kitchen. The idea behind the seating is based on old fruit boxes, with Sit & Heat, an energy efficient outdoor heater in the form of a cushion providing warmth and comfort. The trailer optionally provides the ability to be used as a stage.
Do you like to show your cooking skills or culinary art to people in other parts of your country? This truck will be easy to use as handy pop-up location! You can quickly calculate how many guests you have to welcome to earn enough: the truck has 60 seats and the rent will be € 1.750,= a day. Great to use at festivals or company parties as well!
Creative dreams in the hotel rooms of The Hospital Club
26-1-2015
The Hospital Club launched fifteen unique new hotel rooms in their creative hub in the heart of London.
Sleeping in The Hospital Club means…
The luxury boutique bedroom extension to The Hospital Club provides members, guests and clients with a welcoming home-from-home where they can work, rest and play. Guests can fuel their creativity at the restaurant. The hotel rooms have a unique twist, like in their amenities which include inspiring turndown cards (brain power tool kits by the School of Life) and an erotic mini bar by Holloway Smith Noir available for those wishing to explore their creativity in other ways! There is a cocktail trolley at 7pm each evening and suite guests can enjoy a bespoke bartending experience in their rooms, with their own personal bartender. Rooms are available in four sizes: small, medium, large and suite.
Association with the contemporary art world
Continuing the strong heritage and association the Club has established with the contemporary art world, each room features the works of individual artists, including Alyson Mowat, James Alec Hardy, Dominic Beattie, Noah da Costa, Rick Guest, Jacob Love, Harriet Clare, Kristof Jeney, Christian Thompson and David Degreef.
Being part of the creative hub as guest
All bedroom guests have full access to the facilities of the Club including the production and screening facilities and the enviable schedule of member events which include comedy nights, mixology classes, industry networking drinks as well as premium ticketed events such as chef master classes.
About The Hospital Club
The Hospital Club is a unique hub in the heart of London, offering the members of the creative industries the environment and facilities they need to create, connect and collaborate. As part of London’s creative community, the role of the hub is to discover and host the best creative talent and produce, publish and celebrate their work. In addition is The Hospital Club Studio London’s most central and luxuriously appointed TV production facility (which regularly hosts WATCHDOG (BBC), THE AGENDA (ITV) as well as clients including Disney, MTV and BBC Comedy.
New York meets Brabant in café ‘De Vooruitgang’
23-1-2015
City café ‘De Vooruitgang’ (re)opened the doors in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) on 8 January 2015. A fire in the kitchen in April 2013 almost completely burned down the monumental building. Now the monumental façade is restored and the interior and layout are completely renewed.
City café ‘De Vooruitgang’
The new layout creates a lot of light in the building. This makes the café suitable for every moment of the day. The interior is based on urban influences from New York combined with the domesticity of Brabant (The Netherlands). This is created through the stairs behind the bar and the Dutch design prints at the kitchen wall. Other interior design elements: Persian carpets at the wall and there is a wall of plants with over 2.000 plants.
Eat, drink, read, meet, talk and listen
In city Café De Vooruitgang everybody should feel at home. In the middle of the big open kitchen there is a specially designed BBQ grill where the chef prepares his dishes. On the new menu of the café there will be dishes from the grill like burgers with bacon, steak and their specialty: chicken. Besides that, you can go to the café for a pasta or fish. The bar offers a range of specialty beers and wine.
During the lunch at café ‘De Vooruitgang’ there will be wraps, croques and sandwiches with salmon, cheese or a home-made meatball.
Dancing in the café
Every Friday and Saturday the café is opened till late. There will be DJ’s to create an ambiance to dance after dinner. Every Thursday night the DJ-wannabe’s can show their talent during the ‘Spin-inn’.
CORK2CORK sustainability initiative of the NH hotel group
22-1-2015
NH Hotel Group recycles two tons of cork in its hotels. The CORK2CORK initiative from the NH Hotel Group has so far yielded more than 1994 kilograms of recycled cork.
More than 75 hotels of NH Hotel Group in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy and Germany have collected corks from wine bottles since the start of the project, which were then used for the construction and isolation of hotel walls and floors. This CORK2CORK makes a substantial contribution to the realization of the sustainability goals of NH Hotel Group.
CORK2CORK
CORK2CORK is part of the sustainability policy of the NH Hotel Group and has been rolled out in cooperation with Amorim, a global producer of cork and building materials of cork. It’s their goal to give a second life to bottle corks used in hotels by reusing it as construction and insulation material. The collected corks account for 8000m2 of wall and floor space used for the construction and renovation of more than 300 hotel rooms.
“We are very proud of the result of this Cork2Cork program. We have given a beautiful natural product a second life. This is one of the example projects which shapes our sustainability policy towards internal and external stakeholders,” said Mónica Chao Janeiro, Director of Environmental Management and Sustainability of NH Hotel Group. “The enthusiastic response and the beautiful result of this action motivates us to continue on this path with sustainability projects in our operations.”
Natural cork as material
After recycling natural cork, it is excellent to use for the production of wall and floor covering. Thanks to its insulating effect, cork is capable to counter sound effects and contribute to energy-efficient heating or cooling a building.
Ice cream without fat and only 99 calories
21-1-2015
NIZO food research has produced a soft ice cream without fat. The unexpected creamy ice cream also contains 25% less sugar than other soft ice cream and contains only 99 kcal per 100 grams.
Properties of ice cream without fat
Regular ice cream has more than 160 kcal per 100 grams. The unhealthy characteristics are mostly caused by sugar and saturated fat. The reduction of these ingredients in ice cream normally have a negative effect on the texture and other properties. With the implementation of natural proteins, the creamy properties of fat and the body of sugar are replaced.
Horecava
During Horecava NIZO was present with the ice without fat at the ‘Innovation Lab’ and recently they’ve published an introduction video of the product combined with an explanation of the company which was partly made during the event. The research center has been researching proteins for more than 60 years now and is focused on creating healthier foods based on vegetable and animal protein.
Valentine’s Day at a restaurant
20-1-2015
The annual day of love declarations is in our sights again. Every year it’s an exciting day, especially for singles. Will they get an anonymous rose at work or in the classroom? As this year’s Valentine’s Day is on a Saturday, it offers a valuable opportunity for the hospitality industry. A lot of people will enjoy Valentine’s Day at a restaurant. Both for a romantic evenings eating out as well as for the bachelors looking for a singles-only dinner.
Valentine’s Day in the USA
Last year, Valentine’s Day was on a Friday and because many restaurants in America were fully booked, Wieden + Kennedy New York created a social media campaign on behalf of Heineken. By using the #DateInABox hashtag on Twitter women could provoke a declaration of love from their (future) boyfriend. The guys who received the social media love declaration had to share the message to all their Instagram-followers declaring their love via the channel like real romantic ‘softies’. With the hashtag #DateInABox the couples could win a surprise date for two.
Valentine’s day at a restaurant and hospitality / leisure industry
In recent years we have collected inspiring examples for Valentine’s Day at a restaurant and in the hospitality / leisure industry. Some examples are a romantic egg , the ultimate attention as a gift (by putting your phone off) , running a race with your sweetheart or share a gigantic dessert .
The popularity of cotton candy
19-1-2015
Bon Puf is a new gourmet cotton candy company operated in Los Angeles. Cloë Lane company offers a modern spin on the classic cotton candy and shows the popularity of it.
Natural cotton candy
The modern cotton candy carts from Bon Puf are for hire for parties or events throughout California. The cotton candy is created with organic sugar cane and all natural flavours and colours like Mango chilli, Strawberry Lemonade, Salted Caramel and Honey Rose.
We have seen a lot of cotton candy creations in time. The first time I got a – very petit – cotton candy with my coffee was at restaurant ‘De Leuf’ in Ubachsberg, The Netherlands (1 Michelin Star). It was coloured orange because it was Queens Day, my kids loved it and the kid in me as well! A year later we saw a small pink one as promotion for a gay bar. We also saw ‘glow in the dark cotton candy’ on glow in the dark sticks. And only a couple of years ago Restaurant FG (which used to be restaurant Ivy) created a cloud of cotton candy.
Just like popcorn, a traditional treat, creatively adapted to the circumstances! ^Marjolein
See examples of the creations at the Bon Puf website.
The Six Friends Theory by Mercure
16-1-2015
The six-degrees-of-separation theory claims that everyone on this planet is connected with each other by a maximum of six people. Mercure hotels introduced a worldwide digital campaign: ‘The Six Friends Theory’ and is looking for the perfect candidate to test the theory. From 20 January till 20 February the perfect candidate can apply through a worldwide selection process.
Purpose
The purpose of the campaign is to select a candidate from somewhere over the world, then let him/her meet an Aboriginal of the Bundjalung tribe and prove that they are only six links away from each other. They don’t know each other but they will get together via friends and friends of friends whom connect them.
Participation
From 20 January adventurers are invited to post a video of themselves on the Facebook page of Mercure. In the video they have to tell who they are, what talents they have, what their motivations and passions are and why they are the best friend of the world in just one minute. A video can be posted till 20 February.
The 50 videos with the most likes are directly going to the finals. A jury that consists out of six people including Jean-François Julian (a Movie Director) and Isabelle Musnik (Editor-in-Chief of INfluencia) will select the winner in a final interview. The selection takes place between 20 January and 10 February 2015 and the results will be announced between 17 and 24 February.
The Six Friends Theory
The first prize of the campaign is a trip around the world with stays at several Mercure hotels. The winner will be on his way for seven weeks from the beginning of March. ‘The Six Friends Theory’ exists out of six meetings, six destinations and six Mercure hotels worldwide. At each destination the winner will hear where he is going to find the next friend. These friends will give him a local experience and guide him to the next assignment towards the Aboriginal.
The winner will be on his way together with a film crew, directed by Jean-François Julian. It is his job to capture all the meetings and experiences of the winner.
There are also different rewards for the other 49 candidates from the finals like overnight stays at Mercure hotels and Samsung tablets.
Nuna popsicle is art!
15-1-2015
Will Nuna be the next big thing in popsicle trends? Nuna is a popsicle created by a team of specialists in the disciplines of culinary art, architecture, design and science.
The Nuna Design, ‘Form follows taste’
Nuna popsicles are unique in the unwillingness to compromise while realizing a simple idea. The crystal/pyramid shape is just the starting element in the design language of Nuna. It’s supposed to reflect the sensation of ice crystals bursting on the tongue while causing a unique and intense tingling in the mouth. The visual experience of the crystal/pyramid shape thus continues as a sensory experience on the tongue. The crystal taste must be an adventure for the tongue. This is made possible with the help of the molecular cuisine. The internal product development theme was „Form follows taste“. The popsicle has a bamboo stick which provides a sturdier grip than the typical narrow wood one.
The Nuna taste experience, The flavours
The team that developed Nuna wants to offer an unlimited variety of flavours: seasonal, regional and depending on the kind of occasion and event. The popsicle is made with organic fresh fruits, fruit juices and selected spices completing each flavor. Some of the flavours contain alcohol – turning the frozen popsicle into a frozen cocktail on a stick.
The flavours that might go in production are at the moment; Framboise, Strawberry Mint, Pear Ginger, Muro (Blood Orange) Honey, Mango Lemon, Peach Lime, Matcha (Green Tea) Lemongrass, Red Starrenette (Apple) Cardamom, Cosmopolitan, Campari & Ginger Orange, Mojito and Vodka Lime.
Where can we taste Nuna?
This year Nina will have a slow launch and will be part of selected art openings (Nuna was exhibited as a design object at MART, Italy, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovere), fashion shows, music festivals and in selected clubs, (rooftop) bars etc. The possible cities where Nuna will be launched are Berlin, New York, Miami as well as London and Tokio.
This popsicle is art!
Cocktail presentation in a creative way
14-1-2015
Be creative and serve your cocktails in a flask or create your own merchandise. A great way of cocktail presentation!
Years ago I regularly went to eat at a Japanese Steakhouse in Houston that served cocktails in white Geisha or Buddha sculptures. In a bowl behind the sculpture, they put the cocktail in a plastic glass. The straw was placed through one of the nostrils (if I remember correctly). By paying a few more dollars, you could take your Geisha of Buddha sculpture home. A popular collector’s item amongst colleague stewardesses at the time.
Cocktail presentation in a flask
Recently I saw an article at Thrillist about cocktails served in a flask. They’ve posted eight different examples of cocktail presentation at their website. If you own a cocktail bar you can serve cocktails from these flasks, with the name of your bar on it. I suppose that a lot of people are willing to pay a bit extra to keep the bottle! And if more people are coming to your bar because of the delicious cocktails that you serve in these trendy flasks, you create your own merchandise!
Be creative…
This can also be done with other items, of course. If you have teenage daughters you probably know how popular the merchandising of the Hard Rock Café is. Wouldn’t you buy a cup of coffee (and the cup) if it’s served in a cup shaped like a wooden shoe? If you visited Amsterdam? Determine what you could offer to charm your guests! (And of course what brings them back more often) ^Marjolein
Second store for De Bakkerswinkel in Rotterdam
13-1-2015
De Bakkerswinkel opened the doors of their second store in Rotterdam (The Netherlands) on 9 January.
Everybody can go to the bakery for breakfast, freshly made sandwiches, a high tea, cake, coffee or a drink with snacks. Besides a big restaurant there is a takeaway shop where you can get a quick coffee and different sandwiches but also buy a cake or marmalade.
Interior
The bakery is located in a former bank office. Designer Piet Hein Eek designed the bakery. De Bakkerswinkel creates new products with respect for the traditional ingredients, Piet Hein Eek designed the restaurant/store in the same way, with respect and understanding of the materials.
De Bakkerswinkel
De Bakkerswinkel is a growing company with eight locations in Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague, Zoetermeer and Rotterdam (all in The Netherlands). ‘De Bakkerswinkel’ is not a chain, each location is unique and has its own atmosphere and identity tailored to the environment. Each branch contains a store, a restaurant, a traditional bakery and kitchen that can be seen by guests.
Piet Hekker is the founder and owner of De Bakkerswinkel. He wanted to create a place where people feel at home. The funding is realized through crowdfunding. With crowdfunding a lot of guests are participating in ‘De Bakkerswinkel’! We earlier wrote about De Bakkerswinkel in Amsterdam West who recently also opened in the evenings.
Dutch Stars Favorites
13-1-2015
The 4 favorite cresses from Dutch chefs who got a new Michelin star in the end of 2014.
The 2015 ‘Dutch Stars Favorites’ consists of Aclla Cress, Basil Cress, BlinQ Cress and Shiso Green. This is a balanced blend of subtle flavours according to Koppert Cress, however, each flavour has a distinctive effect on the taste experience of a dish. The ‘Dutch Stars Favorites’ includes 4 boxes of every kind, nice for smaller kitchens where a full box of one cress is too much. The selection is offered in a ‘Dutch Blue’ box.
Dutch Stars Favorites
The favorite cresses are selected by a number of chefs from Dutch restaurants who received a new Michelin star, end 2014. With the composition of the ‘Dutch Stars Favorites’, Koppert Cress starts a new tradition. Every year, after the presentation of the Michelin stars a new composition will be made by chefs. In the video François Geurts from Restaurant FG (Rotterdam, The Netherlands) indicates how he uses the cress.
The Crushi is crunchy sushi
12-1-2015
Jeroen van de Velde and Martijn Klein are the designers of Crushi. Crushi is sushi with a crunchy, tasteful layer.
Crushi
The crunchy sushi is a snack with fresh ingredients and has a low amount of calories. This makes the crunchy sushi a responsible choice. The crunchy sushi doesn’t contain artificial colours nor flavours.
Crushi is created at the kitchen of restaurant Inspired in Utrecht (The Netherlands), and is based on two different foodtrends: sushi and fingerfood. The crunchy sushi will be launched at the Horecava 2015 from 12 till 15 January. The California Crushi will be presented and consist out of: surimi, wakame and Japanese omelet. Later on there will be more varieties.
Piazza Duomo at Harrods
9-1-2015
Since September 2014 , Harrods welcomes five of Italy’s best restaurants in their pop-up concept #Stelle di Stelle. This month the three-Michelin-starred restaurant ‘Piazza Duomo’ by Enrico Crippa takes the lead
Piazza Duomo
Enrico Crippa is famous among the young generation of Italian chefs. Crippa has worked with Europe’s most famous chefs like Ferran Adrià, Michel Bras en Antoine Westermann. In 2005 Crippa opened Ristorante Piazza Duomo in Alba, Italy. Piazza Duomo serves raw ingredients selected from the restaurant’s own vegetable garden that encompasses 5 acres of land.
Piazza Duomo five-course menu at Harrods will feature:
– Veal in tuna sauce
– Alta Langa potato cream with quail egg and Lapsang Souchong
– Agnolotti del Plin stuffed with three roasts, served with roast meat juices
– Fassona beef braised with Barolo and polenta
– ‘Relanghe’ hazelnut cake and cold zabaglione with Moscato wine
There will be a lunch and a dinner round each day. The menu is priced at £ 65 for lunch (a reduced version of the menu), or £ 115 for the whole menu. You can make a reservation till 31 January.
Stelle di Stelle
Stelle di Stelle works together with Identità Golose, a culinary organisation that wants to promote the traditional Italian kitchen and gastronomic delights worldwide. There has been a Stelle di Stelle at London and New York. The next edition will take place in Chicago September 2015.
Restaurant recipes from Amsterdam at Bilder & De Clercq
9-1-2015
The restaurant recipes and ingredients from well-known Amsterdam restaurants are soon available at Bilder & De Clercq shops. From 22 January onwards the dinner-shops at the Clercqstraat and Ceintuurbaan will sell a new signature dish from a restaurant in Amsterdam. The step-by-step recipes come with the necessary ingredients measured in the right quantity.
Participating restaurants
The first three participating restaurants are Envy, Par Hasard and Americano Bar & Kitchen. The following participating restaurants that share one of their restaurant recipes are revealed after the launch. The shop creates a brilliant crossover with the Amsterdam restaurant industry and vice versa.
About Bilder & De Clercq
Bilder & De Clercq was set up by Roger Leopold and Diederik van Gelder. Both live in Amsterdam and daily had to contend with the question “what will I have for dinner tonight?”. Finding the right dishes and ingredients was a frustrating quest that they want to end for everyone with their shop.
Inspire with restaurant recipes
At the dinner-store it’s easy to get inspiration for the right dinner with 14 different dishes available, there is always plenty of choice. The right quantities are exactly measured. Each week, three new dishes are introduced and now monthly restaurant recipes with ingredients will be available as well.
Espressobar
Next to dinner inspiration, Bilder & De Clercq sells hand-made bread and a wide variety for breakfast, lunch and drinks as well. With a few tables and an espresso bar shoppers can enjoy a cappuccino with carrot cake while having a break.
Wallvertising by Pieter Ceizer for Warsteiner
8-1-2015
In 2014 the premium beer brand Warsteiner had several walls decorated with a unique design in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. These authentic ‘wallvertising’ was made by artist Pieter Ceizer (from Amsterdam) and is to admire at café PIEK (Rotterdam), the Ruyschkamer (Amsterdam) and the ‘We Are Labels’ boutique in the Pijp (Amsterdam).
This project is inspired by the old New York phenomenon of ads that are painted on the sides of buildings, remnants of a lost era of urban life. Warsteiner wants to support the comeback of this traditional art form, because it brings back the craft and centers the artist.
Wallvertising – display the correct message
Pieter Ceizer plays not only with images, but also knows for each brand how to convey the right message in its own style. Expect unexpected puns that directly capture the essence such as “The biggest small family brewery” for Warsteiner. At the individual sites Pieter Ceizer knew how to subtly process the identity of cafe owners in his murals. “Brothers from other mothers” in the cafe De Ruyschkamer refers to the two young owners, who are brothers, but do not have the same mother. When entering café PIEK the intimate nature of the cafe is immediately clear by the artist interpretation: “Where everybody knows your name.”
Warsteiner + art and creative initiatives
The Warsteiner family has a special relationship with art and creative initiatives for generations . The family does not only has an impressive art collection, but also has close ties with several artists. Four years ago, Warsteiner Netherlands launched a seeding program in cooperation with BLEND \ BUREAUX. With this program the premium beer brand supports initiatives in the art- and fashion scene, such as exhibition openings and other events where a creative approach has been put central.
Bakery through crowdfunding
7-1-2015
BAQ, a bakery café in Groningen (The Netherlands) can open its doors through crowdfunding.
Patrick, Ellen and Evelien are the owners of BAQ. With already three locations in Drenthe they now want to open their fourth bakery in Groningen. This requires an investment of at least € 25.000, =. By a crowdfunding campaign via CrowdAboutNow they’ve already have raised 146% of the required € 25.000, =.
Funding
The funding will be used for the required bank guarantee to rent the property and for the purchase of an oven, pastry vitrine, a bread slicing machine, freezer, other kitchen equipment, the interior and marketing. When there will be raised more than the required amount, the additional funding will be used for the purchase of solar panels. The more successful the crowdfunding is, the more sustainable the bakery café will be.
Products
BAQ bakery café works together with local farmers and millers. The bread is made without additives, e-numbers and lactose. They are have a wide range of spelled bread and sourdough. You can go to the bakery for a cup of coffee with some cake or for a delicious lunch.
Thank you
The crowdfunding campaign takes 60 days and lasts until 12 March, 2015. Investments starts from € 100, = with a return of 4% each year for five years. BAQ bakery café is thanking their investors with different rewards per invested amount. For example they are giving a lovely high tea or offer a workshop for making bread to thank for the confidence in the company.
Book a room for a few hours
7-1-2015
When booking a room in The Netherlands online, Dutch hotels are often limited to a standard rate for one night. It’s hardly impossible to book a room for a few hours.
Minimum stay
There are website that gave it a try, such as ‘Day-Use Hotels‘ which we wrote about in 2012. That website is in the Netherlands still limited to Hotel & Spa Savarin and offers a minimum stay of five hours. The website of between9and5.com gives a little more options for a room, although even there fixed time frames apply with a minimum of five hours. It’s still not possible to book a room for a few hours.
Expanding time windows
With an emerging international 24-hour economy, arrival and departure times are no longer as set as they used to be. If guests themselves could indicate during which time they wish to use the room, hotels would get the maximum out of their available rooms.
Capsules in Asia
Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong are more familiar with booking rooms by the hour, since it is a regularity that tourists or businessmen rest a few hours in capsule hotels. Green Plaza Shinjuku Capsule Hotel even offers 630 cabins, but these are restricted to men only. A capsule measures 190cm by 100cm by 90cm and has air conditioning, a TV, radio, alarm clock and adjustable lighting.
Book a room for a few hours
Although sleeping capsules seem claustrophobic to us and do not fit our culture, Dutch guests from the region might find it pleasant to book a hotel for a few hours in the Netherlands as well. Only not like the tourists and business guests do in Asia. It can be an opportunity for dating purposes.
Dating in hotel rooms
The dating market is hot! There is an interesting market for the visitors of dating sites like Second Love and Ashley Madison. Apps like Tinder and Grindr are in high demand and it is becoming easier for ‘adventurers’ get in touch with like-minded people. This (online) dating market is an interesting business for hotels. There’s taboo on renting rooms for these occasions, but for hotels it’s a chance to earn extra money by renting rooms for a few hours that would otherwise still be vacant. Which hotel offers an easy booking system to book rooms by the hour? Let us know via tip@spronsen.com, we’ll be discrete.
The vending machine of the future
6-1-2015
The Luce X2 Touch TV vending machine uses facial recognition and could deny you an unhealthy snack if you gave the machine an insight in your medical records and the product could harm you. The future of vending machines in hospitals and schools and offices?
The future is near with this vending machine
The Luce X2 Touch TV vending machine is created by Italy-based Rheavendors and recently launched in the UK by Smart Vend Solutions, the machine features a touchscreen display to select an item just like a standard vending machine. However, customers with an account can go through a facial recognition check – to approve the snack (or not) before it’s delivered.
In the last two years, Rheavendors developed the facial mapping software for the machines to allow or disallow products based on the user’s age, gender or dietary needs. For example, if the machine is configured to identify an individual with a nut allergy, it will then prevent the user from ordering a particular item with traces of nuts.
Smart Vend Solutions managing director, Malcolm Standage, about the vending machine: “Now touch screen technology, cashless payment systems, Smartphone integration and automatic dispensing is shaping the future of the industry and we want Smart Vend Solutions to be positioned as a specialist in this marketplace. Through our exclusive partnership with Rheavendors, we are determined to explore unprecedented avenues and endless possibilities in vending. Launching the very first full production facial recognition technology represents an advancement which will bring unlimited benefits to businesses and consumers across the UK.” If you want to know more, contact their office.
