Gnoccheria by Luzzo’s is the first restaurant in NYC that is specialized in fresh homemade Gnocchi. It opened in 2016 and is created by Executive Chef Michele Iuliano, the man behind Luzzo’s La Pizza Napoletana, Ovest Pizzoteca & Da Mikele. read more
Glamtainer, a combination of glamorous and container, is a Dutch company that modifies 20 foot high-cube shipping containers into high luxury hotel rooms of 26m2, including a luxury bathroom, toilet, kitchenette, closets and a bed and lounge area. The bed can be fold up to the wall, and then offers an integrated dining table. The Glamtainer Skybox is designed from scratch and has got an official CSC Safety Approval. Meaning that it can be shipped all over the world, at any time. With the introduction of the Glamtainer Extendable, the company created an unique product which gets a lot of attention in the recreational and event sector but also in the care industry. read more
Restaurant Hemingway of the oldest hotel in the Netherlands, Grand Hotel and Résidence De Draak (The Dragon) in Bergen op Zoom, has a new dessert item at their menu. A ‘Drakenei’ or in English a Dragon egg. The new chefs of the restaurant will make a new dessert every season with what nature has to offer at that moment and serve it in a ‘Dragon egg’. read more
Credits: Joyce Goverde
Credits: Joyce Goverde
Credits: Joyce Goverde
Credits: Joyce Goverde
Credits: Joyce Goverde
Credits: Joyce GoverdeIn Amsterdam opened an authentic Japanese ramen noodle bar, Umaimon Amsterdam powered by Takumi Düsseldorf. This Japanese-style noodle bar is well known in Düsseldorf and now also serves ‘Japanese soul food’, a stone’s throw from the famous Leidseplein, on the Korte Leidsedwarsstraat 51. The new hot spot for noodle lovers! The authentic Sapporo noodles are imported from Japan and ripened to 18 degrees Celsius within three days in a special noodle climate cabinet. read more
Pod Brooklyn Exterior
Pod Brooklyn technology
Pod Brooklyn inside
Pod Times Square, exterior 
Pod Times Square
Pod 39 Exterior
Pod 39 Play Room Ping Pong
Pod 39 RooftopThe POD Hotels in New York make it possible to spend the night in neighborhoods like Brooklyn and Manhattan at an affordable rate. This winter their flagship property Pod Times Square will open in the center of New York city. This fall Pod BK in Brooklyn will open, the fifth asset in the Pod Hotel collection, following the success of Pod 51, Pod 39 and the Pod DC (Washington), the first property outside NYC. In these budget hotels, all unnecessary facilities have been eliminated and only the primary needs are provided in the capsules. As a result, they’re able to reduce the prize with as result an affordable overnight stay for their guests at A-locations.
At Horecatrends we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the smaller trends we use in our weekly column. This week, amongst others about a chatbot that consults tourists and gave them personalized tips to visit Antwerp. And it’s possible to meet Rembrandt in virtual reality.
If you like to read the whole article, click the title. Enjoy reading! read more
You might think, the combination of egg’s in coffee will not be tasteful at all, but Vietnam locals are drinking it for decades. The texture of the egg yolk is perfect to make a great creamy foam layer. In 2013, a couple brought it to Manhattan in New York, where they opened their own Vietnamese café named Hanoi House. Until now it is the only place in Manhattan where you can get this delicious egg coffee. read more
The Dutch ‘Nationaal Fonds Kinderhulp’ (National Child Support Foundation) thinks that all children should be able to read. Therefore, they initiated the National ‘Kids-sharing-books-day’ on October 4th. Everywhere in the Netherlands children books will find their way to multiple ‘kids-sharing-books-stations’. This day is initiated to stimulate reading amongst children, since reading is very important for the development of every child. read more
Hurts Donut
Hurts DonutInspired by Pennywise, the scary clown from Steven King’s IT movie, used by multiple locations of Hurts Donuts, to do scary clown deliveries as part of their services. Your donuts brought to you by a delivery guy dressed up as clown and with creepy smiles. He even has the popular red balloons with him! The movie was released on the 7th of September in the Netherlands, making Pennywise a popular topic in conversations. But to use Pennywise the way Hurts Donuts did? Scary but an effective marketing stunt…. read more
The weather in countries like the Netherlands and Belgium is unpredictable, even in the summer months of July and August it can rain for a number of days. That’s not what you hope for when you’re on a camping trip with friends. The Treck Hostel in Belgium has the solution: a camping in a an old industrial building with a roof upon you head. read more
Throne Room Game of Thrones Bar - photo credit Farrah Skeiky Dim Sum Media
Dracarys Game of Thrones Bar - photo credit Farrah Skeiky Dim Sum Media
ABQ Breaking Bad Bar - Photo Credit Toby Keane Photography
ABQ Breaking Bad Bar - Photo Credit Toby Keane PhotographyHotels, cafés, bars and restaurants with a specific theme, we do spot it more often. Whether it’s a pop-up concept or a permanent location, it’s always fun to see the weird themed bars created by entrepreneurs. A popular theme for a bar nowadays are inspired on TV shows, sitcoms or series, for example recently we wrote about bars named after series like ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Game of Thrones’. We created a list of 10 themed bars inspired by TV shows.
KHN (the Dutch entrepreneurial organization for Hotels, Restaurants and Cafés) announced a business initiative: a new reservations platform for and by restaurants: BookDinners. At this platform, restaurants will be in charge of their online relation with their guests, the guest data and the marketing activities. Restaurants participating will do this for free until mid-2018 and early 2018 BookDinners will be launched towards the Dutch consumer. read more
At Horecatrends we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the smaller trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’. This week, amongst others about new truffles species that are discovered in Thailand, let’s hope they won’t be as expensive as the real deal! And about a new product in the Netherlands: Meat Your Veggies, part vegetables, part meat. Who knows, maybe they can persuade meat lovers to eat less meat!
If you like to read the whole article, click the title. Enjoy reading! read more
STAN & COFrom the 20th of September, Utrecht will be the centre of Dutch Film Industry, during the ‘Nederlands Film Festival’. Restaurant STAN & CO, located in Utrecht, launched its own opening night at the 20th of September. They have created a special film menu which is offered during this Film Festival. The menu includes a ‘Golden Calf’ (the Dutch equivalent of the Oscar) as one of the main courses. Besides that, they’ve designed 3 cocktails which are linked with the movie industry: ‘Popcornstar Martini’, ‘Soldaat van Oranje’ (from the movie ‘Soldier of Orange’) and ‘Gooische vrouwen’ (a Dutch comedy/drama along the line of ‘Desperate Housewives’ or ‘Sex and the City’). When showing a movie ticket, guests will get two cocktails for the price of one. read more
City Guide
City GuideSir Hotels launched five city guides using Instagram, an innovative manner to inform guests about the city and its must-visit places and areas. Each of the hotels in the collection has its own Instagram account, which has been transformed into an easy-to-use city guide including local favorites and hidden treasures; Sir Savigny’s Guide for Berlin, Sir Nikolai’s Guide for Hamburg, Sir Joan Guide for Ibiza, and Two Guides for Amsterdam; the sophisticated Sir Albert in ‘De Pijp’ and the hip Sir Adam located in the A’dam Tower in Amsterdam Noord. read more
We couldn’t find an immersive Christmas Light Maze in Europe yet, howevere correct us if we are wrong. But we love the idea, another fun read more
We have been sharing inspiration on our website since 2007, inspiration that we find in the hospitality industry or by online spotting of what our read more
We have been sharing inspiration on our website since 2007, inspiration that we find in the hospitality industry or by online spotting of what our read more
For all those who visited the Netherlands and did taste one of our most famous delicacies, the kroket, Febo created a special ‘kroket’ for the festivities around ‘Sinterklaas’. A kroket with a spiced biscuits filling. Their video explains it all! If you check #speculaaskroket on Twitter you will a lot of reviews on the taste.
Designer Ernesto D. Morales has designed a spoon made out of magnifying glass as part of a series of absurd products for his fictional company Object Solutions. The spoon is intended to enable the user to inspect each area of a meal prior to consumption to ensure the absence of glass, hair, bugs or other contaminants. The food can be eaten using the same implement. Restaurant owners worldwide shouldn’t be surprised if their guests start scanning their dishes before they start eating with this magnifying spoon, if the spoon goes into production! At this moment the only possibility is to subscribe for a limited edition at his webshop.
Ernesto D. Morales about the magnifying spoon: ““You may be the victim of needless contamination, but you’ll be damned if you’re ever caught eating it.”
If you live in Australia you can create your very own pizza for the Domino’s Pizza menu! You have to share it online with friends and family and earn a slice of the profit for every pizza you sell. This is possible at Domino’s Pizza new brand – Pizza Mogul.
If you’re living in Australia you could create your Mogul pizza and publish it on the Mogul app. At the app you find a lot of very special combinations! These pizza-entrepreneurs could make money with their creations, how much depends on how often your Mogul pizza is sold. An indication; Domino’s sold more than 12.000 Mogul pizza from the ‘Pizza Master’. The chain does encourage the contestants to donate to charity. Domino’s Pizza is very happy with this marketing experiment, they even created a Mogul Masterclass!
Chefs who have been awarded with multiple Michelin stars often use their name to open ‘gastro bistro’-like restaurants. Some chefs connect their name to a bakery. For example this last year, some Fika’s (a rendezvous for coffee and pastry) opened in Stockholm. This summer I even stood in line at the Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller (two restaurants with three Michelin stars) in Yountville, California. Meanwhile, the Thomas Keller group already has five branches of the Bouchon Bakery, one with a café.
Recently I read an article in The Guardian by The Foodie Traveller who writes about the development of ‘Fika Bakeries’ in Stockholm. Some famous chefs with Michelin stars did open a bakery, where they use their talents to lift the original Fika coffee shops to a higher level in Stockholm.
The Green Rabbit bakery opened in May 2014 and is owned by Mathias Dahlgren (two Michelin stars with his restaurant Mathias Dahlgren at the Grand hotel) and his executive chef Martin Berg in Vasastan, Stockholm. They seem to include delicate blueberries and raspberries muffins in their Fika.
Wienercaféet is also an example of a Fika Coffeeshop. Wienercaféet opened last year by Daniel Lindeberg, who first worked with Björn Frantzén (Restaurant Frantzén, number 23 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Pelligrino). Daniel Lindeberg left Wienercaféet already to open Lindeberg Bakery and Patisserie in another part of Stockholm. In the culinary center K-märkt Daniel Roos (world champion pastry chef in 2012) opened a bakery, with chef Johan Gottberg and sommelier Jens Dolk.
Just a bakery where we can buy great sweet and savory pastries, fruit salads, cakes and specialties of the chef, possibly with a coffee-to-go. In the neighborhood of Leiden please. I’m in Stockholm late December and will take a look at the concepts and would love share my experience with chefs who do have plans in this direction! ^ Marjolein van Spronsen
The Beaujolais Primeur/Nouveau is becoming popular again. Do you already treat your guests to a Beaujolais menu?
Mid October, I went to Paris for a long weekend and I noticed that there are many restaurant announcements for a Beaujolais Primeur / Nouveau menu on November 20 around the ‘déblocage’. I still remember the years that certain Beaujolais Primeur wines often sold out in advance! Due to various scandals the popularity of the Beaujolais Nouveau dropped rapidly. But the Beaujolais is gradually becoming more popular again, thanks to the quality improvements that growers in the region have implemented.
People start celebrating The ‘déblocage’ again, so owners of restaurants dedicated to the French cuisine should celebrate this as well! Another reason for a party! Marc Cruellas, owner of Bistrot de la Place in The Hague remained faithful to the Beaujolais Nouveau, every year he treats his guests after the ‘déblocage’ with dishes from the wine region. This while enjoying a ‘pot of Beaujolais Nouveau’ and live French music.
The American soul artist Curtis Harding will have an in-store performance at the Coffeecompany in Amsterdam on Sunday 23 November. Record company Epitaph / Anti-Europe joins forces with the coffee chain that provides it’s visitors a soulful afternoon and the artist gets extra publicity.
In addition to his club tour in the Netherlands Curtis Harding will perform exclusively at the Coffeecompany on the Oosterdokskade in Amsterdam. An old tradition of in-store performances is hereby revived by the Coffeecompany and record label Epitaph / Anti-Europe. Various performances by Pete Philly & Perquisite and Michael Franti took place at branches of the coffee chain from 2005 to 2009.
The in-store performance will take place from 15.00 o’clock and is free of charge. Later that evening Curtis Harding will perform at the Paradiso. The last few weeks the popularity of Curtis Harding rocketed sky high with ‘Keep on shining’ being nominated as tip song at various radio stations, so we expect the event will attract quite a lot of fans.
Last Sunday the 16th restaurant de Wits was a temporary gentlemen club for the afternoon. With this Men’s Day in Movember the restaurant anticipates to public issues. This original approach can be an example for other restaurant owners.
The theme of the Men’s Day at Club de Wits in Rijswijk (NL) was ‘Let your beard grow’. During the event the guests could enjoy real men-things. A barber from the local ‘Headz for Hair’ barbershop was cutting beards, ‘Intermezzo Mode’ provided style and clothing advice, wine- and whiskyspecialist ‘van der Boog’ brought a selection of whisky and tabacco store ‘Van Renssen’ provided sigars. The activities were completed with a training for drafting beer, leaving the training glasses of course for the men to drink, and additional snacks. Completely in line with the theme restaurant De Wits donated 10% of the entrance fee to the Movember foundation.
This Sunday was not an isolated event, regularly the restaurant organizes events for its loyal guests by the name of ‘Club De Wits’. In 2012 we wrote about a member event by Club De Wits with a pasta workshop, wine and oyster tasting and a pre-tasting of the new menu.
Men’s Day is worldwide celebrated on 19 November. To have an overview of the days specific public issues are addressed worldwide, check the ‘IssueCalendar’.
A party by chefs for chefs & foodies to close off the young chef campaign by Flanders Promotion.
Another edition of ‘Jong Keukengeweld’ (freely translated as ‘Young Kitchen Violence’) with young Flemish chefs took place in Flanders this year. This Saturday 15 November the promotion will finish and the chefs change their pots and pans for decks on Sunday to celebrate the end of the successful campaign. Nick Bril (The Jane) will be one of the Dj’s in Café D’Anvers, a club that will be transformed into a culinairy Walhalla for this occasion. The cocktails are made by the mixologists of The Jane, The Pharmacy and Jigger’s and there is a wide variety of craft beers. Next to that you can taste creations by Foodpairing.com (BE), De Kromme Watergang (NL), Cuchara (BE), Fleur de Sel (BE), Kazen van Tricht and much more.
More than 7.000 youngsters from 18 to 30 years old enjoined the culinairy promotional campaign by Flanders Tourism. They could dine with discount at top restaurants where young talented chefs are part of the kitchen team. Next to the domestic promotion of Flanders Tourism, they aim for the international market as well. Chefs Dennis Broeckx and Seppe Nobels, both from Antwerp, went to Moscow to kick-off the international campaign.
The event reminds of the chefs-for-chefs lobster party at Bridges earlier this year, where chef Ron Blaauw transformed into DJ Ron Blaauw.
The Old Amsterdam Food Tour and restaurant MOES organize the ‘Golden Age Dinner’ with Marleen Willebrands on Sunday 23 November. A meal will be cooked at the basement of an old storehouse from 1646 according to original 17th century recipes. Because the dinner was served in the afternoon back then, the dinner will be served from 14.00-18.00 o’clock.
Between the courses stories are told about eating habits, table manners and the availability of food in the city back then. Culinary historicist and publicist Marleen Willebrands retrieved the recipes and will explain the background of old eating habits. Students of the department of old music from the conservatory will play music from that era.
Guests can enjoy oysters on entry, a Rillette appetizer of crab, Tersey with smelt, sweet chicken pie, salad with parsnips, Blancmange & roggebroodijs* *(Roggebroodijs is a rye bread ice cream – ever had rye bread ice cream before?!) and Hippocras with dragees.
Because of old habits only a spoon will be provided, please bring your own knife. The stories will be in Dutch; however, the food, wine drinks and experience speak a universal language for all to enjoy.
Location: MOES, Prins Hendrikkade 142-sous
Date & time: Sunday 23 November 14.00-18.00 o’clock.
Within exactly one month, every food provider in Europe is obliged to be able to tell his customers or guests which allergens are processed into a dish or product. It’s a complicated matter and time consuming to have to determine this yourself. Ingredient Information Netherlands supports.
Ingredients Information Netherlands (IIN) connects the allergens, but also the nutritional values and the E-numbers, to the products you use. Based on this information they give an insight in which allergens, nutritional values and E-numbers that are processed in your dishes. IIN provides you with the solution for the provision of allergen information within your organization; it does this for large or small restaurants, hotels and catering companies.
The philosophy behind the IIN software; ‘being transparent in a simple way about all the allergens in food’. The software design is based on your menus, recipes and the products involved and thus provides a custom made ingredients-information package. In addition to allergens you can also gain direct insight into the nutritional values (required by law in 2016) and the E-numbers. In short IIN makes the link between the information provided by your suppliers’ raw material specifications and your own recipes in one database. Through your own ‘My IIN’ you have a quick insight in which allergens the products contain in both your dish and menu. You can print the results and process in a separate allergen menu, display the information on a tablet or smartphone, or even mail it to your guests.
So no sheets of paper, but a web based solution. That means you have access to the information via a PC, tablet or smartphone. The system saves time, you meet the legal requirements, you can receive guests who suffer from food allergies and you create added value for nutrition-conscious guests. Check out the website of IIN, it’s possible to experience the capabilities of Ingredients Information Netherlands in a demo environment.
The Farchioni family brews lentil beer with lentils from the Umbria region in Italy.
The Farchioni family is involved in processing agricultural since 1780 and is one of the oldest agro-industrial families in the Umbria region, Italy. Nowadays its agro-industrial legacy culminates in Mastri Birrai Umbri as they focus all of their conceptual, organizational and strategic capabilities on fulfilling Pompeo Farchioni’s vision of a distinctive, desirable beer that complements other products from the family. It did work out very well.
The beers of Mastri Birrai Umbri are crafted from specially selected malts, grains, and legumes from the region of Umbria. The innovative use of spelt, chicklings, and lentils give the beers a distinct taste. Escpecially the Mastri Birrai Umbri’s artisanal stout, brewed according to the Cotta 74 recipe, is a winner. The beer is based on a stout and has a typical lentil taste that’s accompanied by a chocolate-like aftertaste.
“We want to make artisanal beers that are unique and enticing,
that are fully part of the agricultural traditions of Umbria,
easy to drink, and marked by the same unmistakable originality
that distinguishes all of our products.”
Pompeo Farchioni
“When in Rome… eat a Trapizzino.”
A new kind of street food originated in the heart of Rome, it’s easy to take-away and full of taste and called “Trapizzino”. The bread has a triangular shape and is made of white pizza bread. Because the bread is closed on two sides like a pocket, it perfectly allows moist and juicy fillings and can be eaten without any hassle. This makes the trapizzino ideally suitable for traditional Roman fillings.
The local delicacy is of high quality, easily eatable, traditional and very tasty. It’s affordable as well, which makes us crave for a Dutch seller soon. The bread is created with a hundred years old mother yeast (3%), beer yeast (0,2%), selections of wheat flour, salt and extra virgin olive oil. The Trapizzino was rewarded the title of “Best Italian Street Food” voted by “Street Food Heroes”, the first travel cooking show dedicated to street food which aired on Italia 1 in the summer of 2013.
Armand tasted the Trapizzino during Salone del Gusto and was directly convinced by its taste and appearance. It was by far the most popular dish of the Dutch Slow Food Youth Network delegation.
The Trapizzino was developed by Stefano Callegari from Rome. Together with Antonio Pratticò, Humayun Kabir, Gabriele Gatti, Paul Pansera and Fabio Giacomobono he continues to build and expand his dream.
At the moment there are two locations in Rome where you can get the Trapizzino, it’s in Testaccio, via Giovanni Branca n. 88 and Ponte Milvio, Piazzale Ponte Milvio n. 13. Definitely worth a visit when you’re around!
Ferdinand and Anja Eeuwes grow tropical vegetables, peppers and forgotten Old-Dutch vegetables in their greenhouse for years. During the sale in their regional shop they regularly received questions about the preparation of these products. This eventually led to the creation of a series of cooking classes.
The cooking classes were set up eight years ago and expanded to a larger modern kitchen in 2009, surrounded by a tropical garden and herb garden. There are 16 different classes available at the moment and the next cooking class is focused on the Pakistani kitchen on 17 November.
The company developed from a traditional horticultural company into a total experience from seed to food with a local shop, a plant nursery, cooking classes, excursions, educational programs, creative workshops and the hosting of children’s parties.
The entrepreneurs are ambassadors of AEG since 2014, people who subscribe at the AEG Cooking Club can join free cooking workshops. During these workshops consumers can get acquainted with various AEG cooking devices. The workshops are aimed on people who want to buy AEG equipment or want to learn how to optimize their own cooking skills with the AEG products they own.
The ‘Groene Schuur’ is located at the Lijkweg 9B in Groessen.
The Andaz Liverpool Street hotel in London has a ‘room with a view’-program aimed to emphasize the property’s intrinsic connection to London’s creative community. As from July 2014 to July 2015 the program is a collaboration with leading local artists who spice up guestrooms with bespoke designs.
The first room is the The Pearly Room that launched last July . This street art piece, hand painted by Londoner Chris Price and his wife and collaborator Delisia Howard, pays homage to the Kings and Queens of the East End, dating back to the late 19th Century.
The second room is an installment by artists Parick Vale and Paul Davis. The illustrations of the ‘One Day Walk Room’ are inspired by a tour through the East London Scene and its surroundings, history and stories. Imaging sleeping in this ‘One Day Walk Room’, you’ll start your walk with great enthousiasm the next day! Check the photo’s of the room on the website of Superfuture. What will be the next room?
A Toronto restaurant called “Signs” is staffed entirely with deaf waiters, a first for Canada. We complete missed this initiative but it’s certainly worthwhile the mention! So for all of you who missed this movie from July / August because we enjoyed the sun; Restaurant Signs opened July 2014. Guests are learning sign language from the menu and the waiters. We love their slogan; Signs, where noise meets silence.
^Marjolein
A relaxing Sunday brunch – Enjoying all the tapas style appetizers which are being served at your table while sipping unlimited cocktails or a glass of wine.
We don’t have a real breakfast culture at the restaurants in the Netherlands. Maybe breakfast in America is the meal that has the most influence from all kitchens. Brunch on the weekend days with the whole family in a restaurant is done regularly. In that perspective, we can take the breakfast culture in America as an example.
A family brunch in restaurant ‘La Cave’ in the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas on Sunday . The staff is constantly running around with tapas style breakfast and lunch dishes. A small indication; fresh fruit salad; yoghurt parfait with granola; French toast; eggs Benedict; pancakes with berry compote; flatbread with ham and eggs; mini burgers and unlimited cocktails.
Great companions – beautiful dishes – delicious wine or cocktails and everything is brought to your table. The ultimate Sunday brunch, why shouldn’t this work in the Netherlands?
The luxury Mandarin Oriental hotel in Paris created a new example of the use of the #selfie that benefits both the company as the consumer.
Marjolein wrote about it in the beginning of September; the #Selfie as a trend. In that article she provides a few examples, recently she spotted a new one from the luxury Mandarin Oriental hotel in Paris. The hotel launched a ‘Selfie in Paris’ campaign in August 2014. Offering their guests a tour of Paris’ best selfie spots with a private car and driver.
As from the end of November it will be booming with all the #Christmas decoration #selfies on the social media. In front of the Christmas Tree on famous spots, with the decorated windows at all the big warehouses et cetera. Make use of this #selfie trend by creating the perfect Selfie spot in your restaurant or hotel. As city you can organise your own best selfie spot tour to promote your most photogenic spots as well.
Gastronomy, art, design and music come together in the whirlwind of enthusiasm that is André Amaro. The Amaro Creative Industries company originated in catering on festivals but expanded into a ‘peerless creative monster’. André Amaro created a unique collection of ceramics in collaboration with Nanda Smits. The Stroomhuis in Eindhoven, studio and residence of André Amaro houses a unique ceramic studio nowadays.
A part of the collection is (re)produced by a small family owned factory in Portugal. Amaro found this ceramics worshipping family close to his native village. By outsourcing a part of the production the team keeps its hands free for the dev elopement of future products to keep the collection dynamic.
The fennel bottle is designed, baked and finished in Eindhoven, can contain 20 cl of liquid and weights 550 grams. A gracious item to serve just that little extra experience at the table. The ceramics collection also includes a kale bowl and a garlic-salt-and-pepper shaker which are great for decoration as well.
Inspiration for decorating the Christmas Tree. Claridge’s, London’s legendary Mayfair Hotel, had the famous designers Dolce & Gabbana design their Christmas Tree last year.
In the Netherlands we start decorating our Christmas Trees from 6 December. So another month and we will be in the Christmas spirit again and people will expect this in restaurants and hotels as well. The idea of the Claridge hotel is a great example of co-creation. The Christmas Tree from the hotel has already been designed by McQueens, Lanvin (Alber Elbaz) and Dior (John Galliano). The effect; many articles in high fashion magazines and many online hits.
To get your restaurant or hotel in the picture, it is important to reach the local press and spread pictures through social media. Co-create your tree with designers or other celebrities from your own city, to create rumour around the brand. For the ‘designer‘ it’s positive to get his or her name in the press as well.
If you unveil such a special tree, you need to give it a lot of attention, throw a party. Serve bubbles, eggnog or a winter cocktail when the lights go on. Together with the designers, your staff, local press, friends and local food bloggers. Interested in more inspiration for Christmas, check our hospitable Christmas gestures from last year.
In September hotel ‘The Beaumont’ opened in London, a hotel with the huge sculpture ROOM as façade. London has hereby gained a new public art object of the famous sculptor Antony Gormley. Gormley’s ROOM is both a monumental sculpture as an architectural extension of the hotel.
Sleeping in a sculpture like the suite of ROOM must be quite an experience! The interior, which is a dark fumed oak-clad bedroom in a one-bedroom suite, accessed up seven steps through a black curtain from a strongly contrasting, pure white marble bathroom. Besides the ROOM the hotel has a total of 50 rooms and 23 suites. It’s the first hotel by Jeremy King and Chris Corbin, located in Mayfair. The hotel includes a couple of restaurants including ‘The Colony Grill Room’ and ‘The American Bar, a Gymnasium and a Spa.
“I take the body as our primary habitat. ROOM contrasts a visible exterior of a body formed from large rectangular masses with an inner experience. The interior of ROOM is only 4 metres square but 10 metres high: intimate at body level, but open above. The idea was to reveal this slowly. I wanted to structure night as a preamble to sleeping and dreaming, and re-enforce the feeling of being fully enclosed so the window only gives a view of the sky. At night, the shutters allow total enclosure and provide total black-out. The very subliminal levels of light allow me to sculpt darkness itself. My ambition for this work is that it should confront the monumental with the most, intimate experience.”
The ‘Bakkerswinkel’ (Bakery Shop) in Amsterdam-West will start serving meals in the evening as from 14 November, starting on Friday and Saturday. Guests are welcome on these nights for a small or large meal.
Piet Hekker founder of the ‘Bakkerswinkel’ chain with 8 shops in Zoetermeer, Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam asked Andy Verdonk to coach and guide the kitchen team. All dishes will be freshly prepared in the kitchen and they will work with seasonal products. The menu includes dishes (entremets size) to taste, combine or share. Andy Verdonk will also teach his knowledge to the young (future) professionals who are educated at this shop in Amsterdam.
The ‘Bakkerswinkel’ is a meeting place focused on people, product and the environment. All branches of the Baker Shops are unique and have their own atmosphere and identity, adapted to the environment. This is consistent with the philosophy of Piet Hekker; through cross-pollination the city, the craft and the design reinforce each other. Each property consists of a shop, a restaurant and a traditional kitchen / bakery, which is preferably open so that guest can see how their bread and meal are prepared. Making the craft of cook and baker more visible, fits into the trend of transparency.
Bakery blurring
Shop and restaurant in one, another fine example of blurring. The ‘Bakkerswinkel’ does it for 40 years already. What once started as a bakery/shop evolved into a lunchroom (with an extended evening opening in Zoetermeer). Recently the venue in Amsterdam followed with an evening opening as well. The ingredients used at the evening are not for sale in the shop. Something that might change in the near future.
Lke the times the gas stations got permission to sell food and some restaurant owners asked if they could start selling gas, there will probably be restaurant owners discussing if they could start selling bread!
Maybe those restaurant owners can make a small wink to the concept; In France I have got a small loaf of bread home after a delicious meal a couple of times. This to discuss dinner at breakfast while still enjoying the crafts of the same kitchen. ^ Marjolein
As from October 21, 2014 SHIRKHAN brings the scent and the traditional flavours of Mumbai streetfood to the ‘Foodhallen’ in Amsterdam West.
Yossi Eliyahoo, owner and developer of the well-known international hotspots IZAKAYA, MOMO and The Butcher (West), has joined forces with top chef Hariprasad Shetty to introduce the first real Mumbai street food concept in the Netherlands. Chef Hariprasad Shetty was born and raised in India and has an unconditional love for Indian cuisine. His passion and knowledge of authentic Indian cuisine can be recognized in each of the streetfood dishes at SHIRKHAN.
Dishes like Lamb Seekh and Chicken Tikka are prepared the traditional way in the Tandoor oven or at the Indian grill in view of the guests. The impressive hand-made Tandoor oven is decorated with gold and bronze mosaic and obviously the showpiece of SHIRKHAN. The meat is served on metal skewers with homemade chutney, salads and fresh naan bread.
Yossi Eliyahoo’s idea for SHIRKHAN is inspired by the Indian cuisine in London. Indian food is served there at almost every street corner. In the Netherlands the supply of traditional Indian streetfood is however minimal. We wish Yossi Eliyahoo and chef Hariprasad Shetty a lot of success with their SHIRKHAN.
Tony van Rooijen is the Dutch brand ambassador for Glenfiddich and takes whisky lovers on a virtual tour during interactive whisky tasting sessions in Haarlem and Amstelveen.
At the tasting Tony van Rooijen gives a presentaino on stage while he guides the visitors through a virtual impression of the Scottish Distillery. During the presentation six varieties of whisky will be discussed, all of them are provided in a tasting box that’s included in the ticket price. This way the visitors can taste the variety of whiskys while being informed about it.
Both experts and beginners can enjoy the tasting, that provides immerses you into Scotland for the evening. This Friday 7 November the tour is at the Stadsschouwburg & Philharmonie in Haarlem (from 20.30 o’clock) and the Schouwburg in Amstelveen will host the evening on 29 November. The first tasting of the tour was in Purmerend.
Inspired by the pizza chain Domino’s Pizza that recently started selling pizza’s with a sausage in the edge of the pizza and sauerkraut as an ingredient and the success of pizza rolls and bagels, we’ve made a top 10 pizza inspiration varieties which we as guest really love to eat.
Recently I ate a fresh truffle pizza at a great lunch/brunch spot on Sunday in the Marais, Paris. At Le Dome du Marais they serve a ‘Pizza a la Truffe Noir, fontina & frisee blanche’ (Pizza with black truffle, fontina cheese and frisee salad).
Although more a flatbread or our flammkuchen variety, we ate a great flatbread with fresh tuna with a hint of shiso and truffle oil in Las Vegas. The perfect combination between Japan and Italia. The Yellowtail Japanese Restaurant & Lounge at the Bellagio hotel serves this great pizza. Friends already told us in advance; after having eaten one, you will order another one!
Meanwhile I understood that restaurant Le Garage in Amsterdam serves a similar pizza! We will definitively come to taste this version as well!
We already wrote about it in 2010, a branch of Domino’s pizza in Ohio started to serve a breakfast pizza. Last summer we had breakfast pizzas at various locations in America. The breakfast flatbread at the ‘Butler-style’ Sunday brunch in restaurant La Cave at The Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas was truly delicious, a rectangular piece of flatbread with a chef’s selection of ham and eggs. In the Netherlands we know that restaurant City Hall in Leiden serves a breakfast pizza with 3 eggs and bacon as well.
In the most recent newsletter of The Food People we read that pizza chain Papa John’s in England did bring a new pizza on the market in collaboration with producer Patak’s; The Spice Tandoori Pizza. The pizza is topped with authentic Indian-inspired ingredients such as Phal sauce, double Tandoori Chicken, green peppers, red onion, tomatoes and mint raita.
The Deep Dish pizza is a mighty and truly a pizza for big eaters! I ate it by Giordano’s in Chicago, hometown of the deep dish pizza. A smaller version would likely be better for the Dutch market, while the bigger one can be advertised as a ‘pizza to share’.
Since 2013 more and more flatbreads, or the German variant ‘flammkuchen’, are served in the Netherlands. This lighter version of a pizza is often used in America as ‘skinny pizza’. For example, The Cheesecake Factory has a separate menu, ‘skinnylicious’ with some skinny flatbreads for those who want to eat less calories.
We wrote about it in December 2013; Healthy pizza has toppings like mozzarella, cheddar cheese, cherry tomatoes, red pepper and garlic powder. The company made the pizza healthier with a secret ingredient, they added seaweed, a healthy alternative to salt. An average frozen pizza contains 300 calories and 13 grams of fat, the pizza by ‘Eat Healthy’ contains 172 calories and 5.3 grams of fat. It is introduced in England and Wales.
The Italian company Hasta La Pizza has introduced the ‘pizza on a stick’ at the Anuga fair in Cologne in the end of 2013. The ‘pizza on a stick’ is designed for the on-the-go market. Hasta la Pizza is available in the flavours Margherita, ham and salami and comes in packs of 60 grams. Kono pizza sells its pizza already several years in the form of a cone. They are sold in 16 countries, but not in the Netherlands yet, although they’re sold on Aruba.
We wrote about it in May 2013; Gourmet Pizza. The Italian ‘Pizzafestijn’ Catering serves a pizza-gourmet besides Italian snacks and a live cooking buffet with pizza appetizers. With the pizza-gourmet guests can cover small fresh pizza bases with pizza sauce and ingredients of choice. These mini pizzas are baked in a small pizza oven.
We can now start to uses insects on pizzas as the insects are also on the shelves at the supermarket in the Netherlands ((Supermarket Jumbo in Groningen). Early 2010 an Australian pizza maker did this also when the country was hit by a plague of locusts.
Written by Marjolein van Spronsen LinkedIn
Julia Soldic, our guest writer about the Scandinavian cuisine, writes about one of her passions: the sustainable food movement.
95% of the world’s ecological food products are being consumed in Europe and North America, leaving us the most conscious eaters in the world . In ten years, the turnover of organic food consumption has tripled worldwide, according to a report conducted by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. Switzerland is the most eco-friendly country in Europe, closely followed by the gastro country of Scandinavia: Denmark. Sweden and Germany are the runners- up whilst The Netherlands, Belgium and Norway are on a shared seventh place. Consuming eco-friendly goods, in the above countries, is not yet available for the price-sensitive working class, yet perceived as a more luxurious eating habit. What can we do to change this?
In April the Executive Vice-President of the renowned American multinational corporation Walmart revealed the news that a new low budget product line with eco-friendly food will be launched: “We know our customers are interested in purchasing organic products and, traditionally, those customers have had to pay more… We are changing that and creating a new price position for organic groceries that increases access.”
In Scandinavia, larger retail corporations have entered into lifelong supply agreements with ecological farmers supplying Danish supermarkets with sustainable food options – also on their lower shelves. A brave and forward-thinking push!
Serving ecological food is simply a result to the known equation: supply is altered after the demand. People want Eco-Friendly Eats, both portrayed in the ingredients on the menu, yet also the restaurant owners shown effort into taking care of the planet. The Sustainable Restaurant Association, in partnership with the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, awarded the Basque restaurant “Azurmendi” the Sustainable Restaurant Award of 2014. Why? Because they care about our planet and still manage to retain Three Michelin Stars. Chef Eneko Atxa leads by example for other restaurateurs by implementing solar panels, showing a massive effort into recycling, portraying free ranged menu items, serving sustainable fish- and a large variety of self-grown organic vegetables. Chef Eneko Atxa; “We have a respect for our greatest supplier: THE EARTH, OUR EARTH.” One can say that chefs like Chef Eneko Atxa, is the sustainable restaurant industry`s reply to a glorified soul like the Catholic Church`s Saint Mother Teresa.
Ecological food is still perceived as expensive, gourmet and food for idealists. It is not until we change this idea of ecological food, and make it food for the masses, that we will see the real change in consumer behaviour. In the second largest city of Sweden, Gothenburg, the city’s foodies have taken the matter of running eco-friendly eats to another level, introducing sustainable food panels lecturing startups on how to run a successful, sustainable and organic food operation. “Sustainability isn’t just a moral issue for restaurateurs – it’s fast becoming the hottest trend among hungry consumers”, says restaurateur, author and course initiator, Jens Dolk.
Change is difficult, but by being early adopters and support the rise of ecological agriculture, we will gradually change the idealist into you and me.
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