On September 16, 2017 it will be National Nacho Day at the restaurants of Popocatepetl in The Netherlands. As a tribute to Independence Day in Mexico. To highlight this happy fact, Popocatepetl organizes a contest where their guests can win memorable prizes including ‘free nacho’s for the rest of your life’. 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: a café in Australia charges 18% ‘gender tax’ to highlight pay gap and Fried Fried Chicken Chicken beer, which contains a small amount of real fried chicken.
If you would like to read the whole article, click the title. Enjoy reading! read more
Since last Monday, Café Ter Marsch in Rotterdam has a new vegetarian dish on the menu. The dish is a vegetarian steak tartare and was made in collaboration with a Dutch blog called ‘De Hippe Vegetariër’ (The Hip Vegetarian). This collaboration is the result of the Blogger Summer Vega Challenge, challenging bloggers to share a vegetarian recipe on social media for the restaurant. read more
IBEROSTAR Hotels & Resorts opened its newest hotel, the IBEROSTAR Grand Hotel Portals Nous, boasting a prime beachfront location in one of Majorca’s most exclusive areas. This grand luxury five-star hotel is the first establishment in the Mediterranean to be included in The Grand Collection, the company’s premium category, combining impeccable designer architecture with the most innovative and personalized services. read more
Due to factors such as global warming, the jellyfish has experienced an exceptional population growth in recent years. Also in The Netherlands you’ll see them more often, especially after stormy nights where they get washed ashore. There is a fair chance the jelly fish population will keep on increasing due to overfishing. The jellyfish don’t lay long on the beach, most of the time the jellyfish on the beaches are eaten by birds or cleaned up.
A scientist from the University of Southern Denmark came up with another idea rather than cleaning them up, he developed a method of turning them into a potato chip-like food. Jellyfish can be dried, as they do in Asia where dried jellyfish have actually been eaten for centuries. read more
At Horecatrends we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write articles about, the smaller trends we use in our column ‘Trends we spotted this week’. This week amongst others, a tool that helps you to cut your vegetables exactly as you like and the creator of world’s most expensive hamburger opens pop-up restaurants.
If you would like to read the whole article, click the title. Enjoy reading!
Latin-American restaurant Salmuera has a little brother, Little Sal opened last month in Amsterdam. Little Sal will be open until the late hours at the Rozengracht 106 for street food, ceviche, empanadas and homemade ‘agua fresca’s’. It’s is a dream come true for the owners of Salmuera. read more
On the Île de Ré island, situated at France’s westcoast it’s possible to buy oysters from a vending machine. Similar to those offering snacks and drinks at railway stations and office buildings, but just a little more luxurious and pricey. The idea came from Tony Berthelot, who wanted to sell his oysters outside business hours as well. read more
Whether it involves a large batch of craft beers or building materials; as an entrepreneur you don’t want to have a large number of unused products in your stockroom. It’s too expensive. Mischa van der Klei and Vincent Smit came up with an idea to solve this problem. An auction site where companies can sell their residual inventory. read more
Yes they do at 375° Fries in New York City! We have been spotting a lot of spectacular ice creams this summer but this is the superlative Milk ‘N Chips. Soft serve vanilla ice cream with honey glazed chips, a sweet and salty treat! Which Dutch snack bar is going to serve an ice cream like this? read more
Until Sunday August 6th, Rrrollend Den Haag XXL will be at the Malieveld with dozens of food trucks, specialty beer bars, a turning mill and more. With 22 editions a year, spread throughout the country, Rrrollend is the biggest food truck festival in the Netherlands. Rrrollend usually stretches down in the city centre, like the Lange Voorhout in The Hague a few months ago. But not this time during a XXL edition on the Malieveld. Due to the fact that this location is a lot bigger, it means that Rrrollend The Hague consists out of twice the amount food trucks than normal (over 40!). Besides, there is an extensive musical lineup and extra entertainment for the children. read more
At Horecatrends we spot a lot of national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write articles about, the smaller trends we use in our column ‘Trends we spotted this week’. This week amongst others, wellness specialists’ in supermarkets and a serie of wine lables with famous works of art.
If you like to read the whole article, click the title. Enjoy reading! read more
More and more famous chefs are praising the Skirt steak in various videos shared on the internet lately. A good reason for us to write an article about it so Dutch chefs can use this as inspiration. Even Gordon Ramsey came up with his yummy Skirt steak recipe with chimichurri. Below a short summary about the Skirt steak itself, Gordon Ramsey’s recipe and all the necessary ingredients. read more
The shakes are high this August! This year, Shake Shack have teamed up with renowned pastry chef Dominique Ansel – named World’s Best Pastry Chef 2017 – and Dominique Ansel Bakery London to introduce a new limited-edition shake for the occasion, The Banoffee. So if you’re in London or the UK in August, donate £2 or more to ‘Action Against Hunger’ and receive a voucher for a complimentary handspun shake on your next visit (valued at £5.25), 100% of donations going to ‘Action Against Hunger’. read more
Amsterdam will soon have a new chicken restaurant. Justin Brown, known for his various pop-up concepts and fish restaurant The Chippy, opens his new concept The Dirty Chicken Club. As the name suggests, it’s all about chicken, together with the raw design this new restaurant may become a new hotspot.
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
A marketing campaign with a dancing traffic light to increase safety on the road. Last July, car manufacturer SMART in collaboration with BBDO Germany placed a unique system in a traffic light in a busy street in Lisbon. The traffic light looked normal at first, but before people started to get bored waiting for the green light, the red man in the traffic light started to dance. The dance moves of the red man were recorded by volunteers in a large installation. The action doesn’t only look great it also served a purpose: because pedestrians were entertained, 81% more people were waiting for the light to turn green.
In 2009 we’ve spotted a ‘Wiki Traffic Light‘ on the website The Fun Theory, where car drivers could answer ‘wiki’ questions while waiting during the red light. Increasing safety with a fun factor, an idea for your town?
Serve your drinks in a spectacular way with the first dry ice machine JetChill. The patented technology of the JetChill machine converts liquid CO2 into dry ice which gives a smoking and bubbling effect to your drink. The machine has a charging time of only 10 seconds before the special glasses can be used. Pour your favorite drink into one of the glasses and immediately there will be a reaction. We’ve spotted spectacular cocktails made with dry ice before: in 2013 we saw the Mistystix that creates the smoking effect with a stick of dry ice.
Don’t leave your bike outside but take it with you to your room; In Japan, the Hotel Cycle is established as part of the Onomichi U2 building. The Onomichi U2 is a former storage place that has been turned into a hospitality venue with a hotel, restaurant, café and bakery. The hotel is situated on the coast of Hiroshima what is a popular place for bicycle tourists with its beautiful landscape and city. Each room has a bike rack so guests can store their bike when they’re not using it. The whole building of Onomichi U2 is designed for bicycle users: it even has a Giant bike service shop.
Whisky brand Johnnie Walker organized a two-day event ‘Symphony in Blue’ in London to promote the launch of their latest exclusive Blue Label Reserve premium whiskey blend. Johnnie Walker used experiential, content marketing to promote their new blend and to transform it into a luxury product. The ‘Symphony in Blue’ took place on 16 and 17 September and was an impressive journey of theatrical, musical and artistic events where the six different tastes from Johnnie Walker’s Blue Label were brought to live; fresh, fruity, malty, woody , spicy and smoky. There were several performances, glacier ice, burning barrels, a mist of whiskey and of course a tasting of the Blue Label blend. The behind-the-scenes video from the ‘Symphony in Blue’ gives a good impression of how a brand can present itself in a special way and what is involved in organizing such an event. How would you sell your restaurant or hotel if you had the opportunity to do it this way? Check out the website of ‘Symphony in Blue‘ for photographs of the event.
The Firmdale Hotels are known for their eccentric British design with bright colors and a quirky sense of humor. Their new project, the Ham Yard Hotel, opened in the city centre of London, close to the Piccadilly Circus, in June. The hotel stands out for its striking design: the interior is a mash-up of colors, patterns, design motives and bold wallpaper. Especially the lobby has an inspiring interior with wool chairs, folk art and various types of lamps. The hotel has several playful public areas such as a bowling alley, a bar with a dance floor, a cinema and a rooftop terrace with olive trees and a vegetable garden. For inspiration, watch the video to get an impression. On the website of the Ham Yard Hotel are more pictures available.
Yesterday, 22 September, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam launched yesterday a new marketing campaign. With the working title ‘magic’ the campaign shows the beauty of the collection and the beauty of the building. The campaign aims to show visitors that the Rijksmuseum is a place where people will be amazed and touched and where people love to be. A special aspect of the video is that it shows real people and true emotions. The music of the film is composed by violist Sietse van Gorkom and Sebastiaan Roestenburg of the Ambassadors especially for this movie. The composition was live recorded in the Passage of the Rijksmuseum.
Other viral marketing campaigns of museums that we have spotted over the years: an action of the Rijksmuseum where people could visit the museum via google in 2012 and a Street Museum app from the Museum of London in 2011.
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.
At this year’s Chefs®Evolution of Jonnie and Thérèse Boer all dishes of the chefs were photographed, captured and spread through the social media channel of apicbase.com. APIC is a solution for chefs who always want to photograph the development of their dishes without losing precious time in the kitchen. All images are quickly taken with the special device of APIC and are immediately send ‘to the cloud’ where the pictures are ready to use. Chefs can choose to keep the pictures for themselves or choose to give their guests the opportunity to post quality pictures on their social media channels as well. APIC is giving the control back to the chefs about what pictures are published online: no more blurry or incorrect photos online that doesn’t temp potential guests to visit the restaurant for dinner. Apicbase gives you an insight into which photos appear online. Check out the pictures, made by the APIC camera, for an impression of the dishes prepared at Chefs®Evolution.
In April 2014, we already wrote about a #dinnercam that was used at El Burro restaurant in South Africa.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
Researchers of the Fraunhofer Institute IAO developed a ‘Future Hotel’ together with partners from the hotel and their supply industry. Via the video you get a brief impression of the future opportunities for a hotel room. Examples are a mobile check-in via a smartphone; round shapes in the hotel room; innovative communication systems, systems that are voice controlled; the fiber of the glass that could be adjusted from see through to non transparent; the ability to change the color of the room; taps with a light and temperature display and a whirlpool with a heated wall, by infrared. The hotel bed of the future (‘an energy-bed’) provides an electric motor for swing movements that makes guests fall asleep more easily and rise and shine the next morning.
We have seen more hotel rooms of the future, striking similarities are the round curves in architecture, the use of the smartphone and the tap and the possibilities of changing the color in the room. We didn’t see the ‘energy-bed’ before…
In February 2013, another future hotel room was presented at the Fiturtech, the International Tourism Trade Fair, in Madrid, that was called the ‘ITH Room Xperience’.
Restaurant Den Draeck in Utrecht was recently restyled. Den Draeck is located in a 12th century cellar and is one of the hidden historical gems of the city Utrecht. The present and past of the location were brought together by combining a modern design with the ancient exterior: the walls were covered with old prints and photographs of the city and the old stones of the arches are brought at their best with new lightning and fresh colors. Watch the photos for an impression of the end result.
From 9 September the Bilder & De Clercq grocery store from Amsterdam introduced an interactive wall at the Google Office in Amsterdam. The grocery store weekly offers fourteen tasty, healthy and easy to prepare dishes with all the necessary ingredients in the right amount. YES.TAP makes it even more easy for consumers to order a meal: they only need their smartphone to touch a dish on a screen. The interactive wall was introduced as a response to the trend of online groceries ordering. Customers can order the fourteen dishes and other products via the Bilder & De Clercq Wall and via the app at home. If the order is send before 4 o’clock pm the cooled groceries can be picked up from 5 o’clock pm
More interactive walls? In 2011 we’ve already spotted a virtual wall from supermarket chain Tesco in a subway station in South Korea.
We’ve spotted ice hotels and a hotel made of salt before, but this summer the first sand hotel opened. The sand hotel opened temporarily in the Dutch city Sneek in response to the annual Sand Sculpture Festival Friesland. The hotel is inspired by ice hotels located in Sweden and Finland but because of the limitations of sand the organization has chosen for a combination of high quality facilities hidden in a sand sculpture. The sand sculpture of nearly 8 meters represents the town of ‘Bedrock’ from the Flinstones. This design is chosen because of the Hollywood theme of this year. The initiative of a sand hotel is already a great success for the organization: several countries are interested in building a sand hotel as well. A night in the sand hotel in Sneek is bookable until 28 September.
Restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions can use the trends #selfies.
Regardless of your opinion, too narcissistic, often poor quality, you aren’t fond of those flashes of the phones of those young people, the #Selfie is incredibly popular. Especially during this holiday season it struck me how many people make selfies at tourist spots, in well-known restaurants, on the beach, drinking a cocktail etcetera and posted it on their social media channels. In America they already came up with a new term, ‘The #Braggy’, from to brag.
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,-.
BYOB, better known as ‘Bring Your Own Beamer’ is an event where artists and film makers bring their own beamer to project their art work. The event is an internationally recognized recipe, but SETUP organizes the largest BYOB editions worldwide in the Netherlands. In cooperation with the Dutch Film Festival the recently opened Tivoli Vredenbrug in Utrecht will transform into a large canvas where about 75 artists exhibit their work. The artists and film makers will beam their artwork on walls, windows and escalators on 26 September from sunset to midnight.
From the first of October the Basque cuisine can be found in Rotterdam. The menu of the new restaurant BasQ Kitchen is inspired by the traditional Basque kitchen, modernized by chef Alvaro Martinez. Chef Alvaro Martinez worked at El Bulli and Arzak, and at this moment he is chef of restaurant Sukam in San Sebastian. BasQ Kitchen opens its doors in the new market hall of Rotterdam. The two floors of the restaurant have a contemporary interior and 85 seats, a bar and an open kitchen. Besides in the restaurant, delicious Basque food can be ordered at BasQ To Go at the market side as well.
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.
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.
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.
Eerst even flink zweten om vervolgens te genieten van een ambachtelijk kopje koffie. Bij de pop-up koffiebar Black Box aan de Forelstraat in Gent is dit mogelijk. De specialty coffee bar bevindt zich in een garage box van CrossFit Gent, een sportschool gericht op de nieuwe vorm van fitness, CrossFit. Vanaf 4 september schenkt barista Yf Feller een maand lang verse koffies waarvan de bonen geroosterd zijn in de beste branderijen van Europa.
Een bijzondere koffie op de kaart is de ‘bulletproof coffee’. Dit is een romige koffie met boter van gras gevoerde koeien, kokosvet en French koffie, die zowel lichamelijk als mentaal een boost geeft.
Voor mensen die niet van koffie houden vinden er op locatie ook verschillende activiteiten plaats zoals een tweedehands kledingmarkt en een overdekte picknick.
Bijzonder aan Black Box is dat er geen prijslijst aanwezig is. Gasten geven een vrije bijdrage en bepalen dus zelf wat zij willen (eerlijk vinden) te betalen. De koffiezaak Black Box is een voorbeeld van een ‘pay as you wish’ concept. Al in 2007 hebben we hier voorbeelden van gezien onder andere in Wenen bij Der Wiener Deewan. Ook voor goede doelen wordt deze methode met enige regelmaat gebruikt. Zoals in 2007 bij restaurant Trien in Herpen. Een recentelijk voorbeeld is Trust in Amsterdam.
Hand picked oysters from Zeeland in the south of the Netherlands, mussels, scallops, parsnip, mackerel, ‘gortepap’ (kind of porridge) and wines from Dutch wineries. The chefs of restaurant Karakter in Rotterdam, Pety Breugem and Nathan Vermunt, prove that Dutch cuisine taste great with their menu that consists entirely of products from Dutch soil, both the wines and the dishes. Horecatrends was invited to taste the menu, along with a number of food bloggers. Inviting food bloggers for the release of a new menu, is a great idea to generate more attention. If you are reading this and you own a restaurant; have you ever give this idea a thought, instead of or next to your standard advertising? Especially with food bloggers with many local followers, this might be an addition to your marketing strategy.
Bram Kosterink consultant at Van Spronsen & Partners hospitality consultancy
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.
“In the past we have seen that ‘popular diets’ like for example Montignac and Atkins, did wonders (sales wise) for restaurants offering meals prepared within the limits of those diets. Would this be possible with the Scandinavian diet as well?” Our guest writer, Julia Soldic explains….
The masses are embracing the Scandinavian diet, the eatable solution to prolonged life expectancy – Why?
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.
A temporary potato store will open in Amsterdam on 26 September. The pop-up store ‘Pieperboetiek’ (pieper is a Dutch nickname for a potato) will be opened for two weeks and is dedicated to potatoes. Besides giving information, 30 kinds of potatoes are sold as well. All types of potatoes are organic and grown locally in the Netherlands. The goal of the store is to reduce the gap between the city and countryside. Visitors can ask questions to potato farmers, a fries-debate is held and a potato dinner is organized. The ‘Pieperboetiek’ is an initiative of Krispijn van den Dries, a biodynamic farmer and slightly a potato activist. Earlier Krispijn protested against the low prizes of potatoes by dumping 6.000 kilos of potatoes on the Dam in Amsterdam. Krispijn is, together with city farmer and journalist Felicia Alberding and the Youth Food Movement, committed to an honest food system and better relationships between the city and the countryside.
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