Smallest sushi in the world
13-3-2014
Sushi chef Hironori Ikeno makes the smallest sushi in the world, so small that it fits on a grain of rice. The mini sushi looks exactly like a regular sushi and it took the sushi chef years to make the perfect replica. Each sushi weights about 1 gram and it takes five minutes to prepare the sushi. Very long compared to a normal sushi that takes less than one minute. According to guests of the restaurant the mini sushi has a lot of flavor. The mini-sushi originated years ago as a joke when Hironori Ikeno served a mini sushi to a customer.
Workout beer
13-3-2014
Drinking a beer after a workout as a sport drink? The Canadian brewery Vampt has introduced a new type of beer as a sport drink, called ‘recovery ale’ Lean Machine. The Lean Machine is developed by a team of nutritionists and contains only 77 calories, 0,5% alcohol and has antioxidants, electrolytes and nutrients. The beer contains the right ingredients to replenish lost moisture, salt, carbohydrates and protein after a workout. Researchers say that the Lean Machine can indeed have benefits for athletes.
Sleeping in a honeycomb hotel at festivals
13-3-2014
No more difficulties with tents at festivals, but sleep in this luxe honeycomb hotel called ‘B&Bee’. The honeycomb hotel consists of several boxes in the shape of hexagonal cylinders. The boxes can be stacked up to four floors and each box offers place for two persons. There is space for luggage, power supply and the honeycomb hotel is fire- and weatherproof. Developer Barbara Vanthorre got the idea for this hotel after a night out in Ghent and this summer they are testing the ‘B&Bee’ at various festivals in Ghent.
non-alcoholic whiskey and rum
13-3-2014
With the Dutch prohibition of alcohol under 18 recently and the attention to healthy food alcohol-free alternatives are becoming increasingly popular. The Happy Drinks website offers recipes for exciting non-alcoholic cocktails, especially targeted at young people. Via the importer La Source it’s now possible to get non-alcoholic free whiskey and rum, aimed at an older audience. Non-alcoholic specials are a serious niche to focus on this summer.
Amsterdam turns bread into energy
12-3-2014
Inhabitants of the Kolenkitwijk neighborhood in Amsterdam threw their bread on the streets because their religion prohibits throwing it away in the garbage bin. This caused a rat plague and other problems with unwanted animals. As a solution the government placed special bread dumpsters in the area. The bread from these dumpsters is used by Pink Pony Express for a national energy experiment in collaboration with micro-biologists. They developed it into a permanent bread digester that can process 10 kg bread into 3000 liter of biogas a day. To celebrate the opening there are three bread baking workshops in the neighborhood on Friday 14 March.
Dessert on the table at Mambo Beachclub Curacao
12-3-2014
During the Valentine dinner Mambo Beachclub served a very special dessert on the table, accompanied with Prosecco and three different love potions. An original way to serve desserts, we’ve seen it before but it’s still rare. Check the video.
Milk and cookie shot by Dominique Ansel
11-3-2014
The latest invention by chef Dominique Ansel is the Milk & Cookie Shot and was introduced at South by Southwest in Austin. Each chocolate chip cookie is shaped into a shot glass and milk is infused with Tahitian vanilla. From Friday March 14th, the Milk & Cookie Shots will be made available in the New York store of Dominique Ansel Bakery as an “after school special” starting at 3pm. The inspiration for the cookie came from the American tradition to dip cookies in milk, something we wrote about before in the ‘cookie monster‘ article.
Slow food at the Milano Centrale station
11-3-2014
In the home of the slow food movement (northern Italy) Autogrill (from the resto stops) has opened Bistrot Milano Centrale in collaboration with the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo. In the former 3rd class waiting room of the Central Station of Milan, one serves local traditional dishes, taking into account the seasons and as healthy as possible preparations, like the use of sourdough and of traditional maturing and ageing processes. The Bistrot Centrale is a vibrant ambience evoking a typical covered market, where high quality goes hand in hand, with food islands like a bakery, cafe, street food, wine bar and gourmet cuisine. The objective is to provide a sustainable venue, with a special focus on respect for the natural environment, local culture and economy, also through use of natural materials, the limiting of waste and the promotion of virtuous practice amongst the clientele as well.
Nocospray at Van der Valk Arnhem
11-3-2014
Van der Valk Hotel Arnhem is the first hotel in the Netherlands that cleans rooms with the ‘Nocospray “, this device removes all micro-pollutants biologically. The hotel works together with Dutch Smart Solutions for the pilot and it takes about half an hour to complete the cleaning with the Nocospray. During the pilot period, the hotel provides the cleaning as an extra service.
Fizz Las Vegas in co-crreation with Sir Elton John
10-3-2014
Champagne lounge and bar Fizz Las Vegas opened in November 2013 inside Caesars Palace . FIZZ Las Vegas features a selection of high-end champagnes by the glass and carefully-curated spirits. Working with David Furnish and Sir Elton John’s personal chef, exquisite choices of caviar, gourmet paninis and small plates complement the beverage selection. The 2,750-square-foot lounge celebrates the crossroad between champagne and couture cocktail offerings with art, fashion and design. The art consists out of Elton John’s and David Furnish’s extraordinary colored photography collection.
The making of restaurant Het Witte Paard
10-3-2014
The self-service restaurant of the Efteling, named ‘Het Witte Paard’ (the white horse) has been renovated and reopened on 1 March. The new restaurant looks like a tea house of the early 1900’s, with six different rooms each unique and nostalgic. The video above shows the making of the restaurant. A nice way to show the ambience and progress of the rebuilding of the restaurant.
Flagshipstore Delice Delikatessen in The Hague
10-3-2014
International gourmet food retailer ‘Delice Delikatessen’ has opened a flagshipstore in shopping mall New Babylon The Hague. Delice Delikatessen has a range of over 700 selected products from Europe with their own story, such as a 100-year old in different wood barrels aged balsamic or a truffle paste. Besides the wide range of products the flagshipstore has also a petit café and organizes various tastings. The flagshipstore has an authentic kitchen design. Last year Delice Delikatessen was nominated for the Global RLI Awards in London in the category: Rising Star.
Street Lofts
7-3-2014
In Vienna you have Street Lofts. The Urbanauts project turned abandoned stores in design hotel rooms for adventurers. You can sleep in a spacious and comfortable Street Loft where the history of the former shop is still visible. Explore Vienna from your loft. Check in via a key-safe and for breakfast, spa or dinner they have made arrangements with the neighbors of the loft (nearest breakfast cafe etc …) The brainchild of a group of local architects.
Rooftop hot tub resorts
7-3-2014
Rooftop bars, restaurants and swimming pools have been popular for a quite some years. The website Trendhunter.com recently published a related luxury at the rooftop; a luxury hotel in a ski resort with a hot tub at their rooftop. The hot tub at the L’Apogée Courchevel Luxury Ski Chalet is impressive, especially the view.
Envyted by Michael Wolf with two starred chef Edwin Vinke
7-3-2014
A new version of ‘Envyted by Michael Wolf’ will take place on April 7th and 8th. Chef cook Michael Wolf of restaurant Envy in Amsterdam invited two star Michelin chef Edwin Vinke of restaurant ‘De Kromme Watergang’ to prepare an exclusive five-course lunch and eight-course dinner. Edwin Vinke is one of the most talented chefs at this moment and for his restaurant he grows his own vegetables and herbs on a piece of land in Zeeland. During ‘Envyted’ the salty and earthy flavors of restaurant ‘De Kromme Watergang’ will be combined with a number of Michael Wolf’s favorite dishes.
How do we order a pizza in the future?
6-3-2014
How will we order our pizza in the future? Perhaps by creating your own pizza through a touchscreen table. The Pizza Hut collaborated with Chaotic Moon Studios and they launched a movie about an interactive concept table that could be the future of the Pizza Hut ordering and dining process.
Golden tickets for lunches at the Food Film Festival
6-3-2014
Food Film Festival (FFF) organizes a lunch + movie, themed ‘Proefwerk’ on Friday May 9th. Proefwerk was the heading of the famous culinary critic Johannes van Dam for the newspaper Het Parool. FFF brought three of his favorite chefs from Amsterdam together, all assed with a 9,5 or higher, to prepare a lunch. Chefs Iwan Driessen of Rijsel, Richard van Oostenbrugge of Bord’Eau and Michiel van Eerde of Bault will prepare a unique lunch together. The lunch is served in the pop-up restaurant of FFF at the Westergasfabriek (Amsterdam). By buying a golden ticket you support the FFF pop-up restaurant. The golden tickets cost € 80,= per person and are available via the site. The first golden tickets were sold last week for a lunch + movie by the Pourcel brothers (and still available!).
A note for the pizza delivery companies
6-3-2014
Scott Wiener, a NYC-based pizza aficionado, has judged the VENTiT, a different pizza box as the world’s best. He is the Guinness World Record holder in collecting pizza boxes, so he should know. With VENTiT, Vinay Mehta created a revolutionary new box, that puts a stop to steam getting trapped within the pizza box, creating a soggy mess. The video explains it all. Vinay Mehta has a patent on the box an is planning to produce and distribute the VENTiY boxes with international partners.
Sightseeing on the run
6-3-2014
#Throwback Thursday. We started in August 2007 with horecatrends.com / hospitalitytrends.eu, one of the first trends we did post was about running tours in New York, Washington DC and Chicago, where you could run through the city with a guide along historic and tourist attractions. The guide supports the runnin and gives historical and tourist information. Meanwhile, the organization City Running Tours is located in 13 U.S. cities among them Boston, San Francisco, Denver and San Diego. #isstillagoodidea
BrusselKale a new vegatable
5-3-2014
BrusselKale is a brand new vegetable that’s a cross between two ‘super foods’, Brussels sprouts and kale. BrusselKale has a flavor that’s milder than either Brussels sprouts or kale and contains double the amount of vitamin B6 and vitamin C of Brussels sprouts. ‘BrusselKale’ is a registered trademark of Rock Garden, USA. For an extensive taste report, read the article at The Kitchn. I wonder when we can taste it here in Europe?
VanChefs Special Tour
5-3-2014
At VanChefs it is possible to book a private cook, but next week they organize a special chef’s tour in Amsterdam. The day starts with a morning coffee at Jos Timmer (@ Frankendael, restaurant Merkelbach), then continues at brunch place ‘staring at Jacob’ Noah Tucker Anthony & Joseph, and Joris Bijdendijk (restaurant Bridges *) to turn him inside out with questions. The final element in the tour is a dessert demo by Edwin Sander Food Creativ (Talent of the Year) in the Rockstart Ballroom. The tour is designed for talented chefs and ultimate foodies. It lasts Friday 14 March from 9:30 to 14:00 o’clock.
KitTea cat cafe in San Francisco
5-3-2014
After a cat café in Japan and London it seems that San Francisco is ready for a cat café as well. There the crowdfunding campaign started for ‘KitTea’. Watch the video.
GreenBowl healthy fast food The Hague
4-3-2014
Green Bowl in The Hague is a new “healthy fast food express” concept: an affordable and healthy takeaway with 18 seats. The founders are Soontat Yeung and his wife Liting Leow. Escpecially the ‘create-your-own salad small’ (€ 4.50) is a big hit. Visitors can choose from spinach, mixed lettuce or romaine lettuce and as filling red and white quinoa, puy lentils, potatoes and whole grain spelled pasta are available (hot steamed on request). These are accompanied with unlimited toppings from the salad bar (vegetables, fruit, cheese and nuts) and different gluten, dairy and nut free dressing. Premium toppings like smoked chicken are optional. Next to the salads different Froojiez, healthy fruit juices, are served which are prepared on the spot and wraps are served as well.
Toss Your Boss from the Hyatt Regency SF
4-3-2014
Rappeling from the 23-story Hyatt Regency in San Francisco, this is possible at the 27th and 28th of March! On the 28st various VIP’s will be rappelling and labelled as ‘City Rappel Day’. With this promotion Outward Bound California and the Hyatt Regency will raise money for OTE (Over The Edge). This is an organization in America that offers outdoor learning opportunities for people with low incomes, and teach those people that they can achieve more than they ever thought possible. One can register as an individual, but it’s also possible to ‘Toss Your Boss’ as a company. Make your reservation at cityskylinechallenge.org. Learn more about the Hyatt Regency via their YouTube video.
Haircut at the bar
4-3-2014
Every Tuesday Lotte Maas (35) cuts at café bar Baarsch, Amsterdam. As ‘Amsterdam pop-up hairdresser’ they cut some eight clients a night in the pub. Previously she cut include at Club VLLA, festivals and soon at OT301. Easy for anyone with too little time for a haircut during office hours and weekends. In addition, waiting is a lot more fun with a beer and for the bar owner it’s a win as well because there is extra traffic on a Tuesday night.
