Champagne vending machine
22-11-2013
To approach the shoppers in the British department store Selfridges in London, Moët & Chandon sells mini champagne bottles in a vending machine. The champagne vending machine is located at the Christmas section at the department store. The 200ml bottles cost $29,- and are packed in a gold with crystal packaging. Moët & Chandon wants to make the luxury drink more accessible to a broader audience.
Luminous carpet
21-11-2013
Philips started a partnership with carpet specialist Desso. The companies will develop innovative light-emitting carpets based on LED lighting. It will be possible to integrate LED lighting in surfaces, which also gives the carpet a safety function such as painting out emergency exits and escape routes. The luminous carpet brings atmosphere and inspiration in areas and it will appeal to the senses of people. It is a new innovative way to inform people in areas like offices, hotels and conference centers. Philips and Desso are working on pilot projects, but in 2014 they will introduce the product name.
NIX18
21-11-2013
The age limit for buying alcohol and tobacco in the Netherlands will increase to 18 years on January 1, 2014. The Ministry of Health has launched the campaign NIX18 in collaboration with a number of partners. The campaign was kicked of on November 18 in the Feyenoord Stadium by Ronald Koeman and the secretary of Healthy Martin van Rijn. NIX18 draws attention that young people under the age of eighteen should not smoke or drink. Some famous Dutchies tell their story about not drinking or smoking under the age of eighteen on the website of NIX18. Partners of the campaign also organize some one-on-one activities for children and their parents to encourage to explain that they are not allowed to buy alcohol and tobacco.
YESTAP puts the FAST back into fast food
20-11-2013
Startup YES.TAP is removing the annoying queue’s at fast food restaurants. They’ve developed an app that lets you order by tapping your smartphone on a poster of the product you want to order. Through this innovative approach, they expect to attract new customers and retain loyal customers by offering a simple one tap mobile solution. The YES.TAP team are supported by Startupbootcamp to boost their concept. Visit getyestap.com to learn more.
Ghee Easy
20-11-2013
Ghee-easy makes traditional Indian cleared butter from Holland. In India Ghee is used to bake and fry food. It doesn’t splatter nor burn and has a smooth nut-alike taste. According to the traditional Indian Ayurvedic philosophy, Ghee is healthy, stimulates the digestion and supports the absorption of nutrients.
YES.TAP puts the FAST back into fast food
20-11-2013
Startup YES.TAP is removing the annoying queue’s at fast food restaurants. They’ve developed an app that lets you order by tapping your smartphone on a poster of the product you want to order. Through this innovative approach, they expect to attract new customers and retain loyal customers by offering a simple one tap mobile solution. The YES.TAP team are supported by Startupbootcamp to boost their concept. Visit getyestap.com to learn more.
Baileys Chocolat Luxe cocktails
19-11-2013
The dark days before Chrismas deserve special winter cocktails. Baileys Chocolat Luxe inspired us with three different cocktails. The Rococo serve is created by Bompas & Parr from the U.K. and served in a high glass with ice and raspberry. Liqueur expert Missy Flynn from London came up with the Chocolate Black Forrest (with cherry liqueur) and Chocolate mint (with mint frozen into ice cubes).
Streetsmart project in Amsterdam
19-11-2013
Sandra Chedi (Amstel Botel) and Bert van der Leden (Supperclub) are entrepreneurs in Amsterdam’s hospitality industry that took the initiative to launch Streetsmart Amsterdam. The initiative asks restaurant visitors to pay one euro on top of the bill to prevent people to get homeless. If the project is successful in Amsterdam it will be deployed nationwide. Check streetsmart.nl for a list of all participating restaurants. For the occasion a book with recipes of chefs from Amsterdam is published as well.
Truth Coffee Shop
18-11-2013
A beautiful authentic coffee bar with the smallest details, located in Cape Town, South Africa. The Truth Coffee Shop is designed by Heldane Martin, who incorporated each detail in the interior. Steel railings, copper tubes, vintage typewriters, old chandeliers and mirrors give the coffee shop an authentic look. Truth Coffee Shop stands for honestly and serves the best coffees with simple machines. The store shows the transparency as regards a cup of coffee, something different than the modern coffee shops of today. Click here for more pictures. Truth Coffee HQ interior design by Haldane Martin, Photo Micky Hoyle.
Sugar Factory American Brasserie
18-11-2013
Saturday night, 11 PM, New York City. As expected, the bars, restaurants and cafes in the meatpacking district and throughout Manhattan are bursting with people. But what I did find to be unexpected, were the insane crowds at Sugar Factory American Brasserie, I mean eating desserts is not exactly my idea of a crazy night out! The Vegas native restaurant with a focus on sweetness opened in the Meatpacking District April 2013 and has not had a silent moment since! They feature a “normal” menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner but the crowds get wild for the candy store at the front, the endless desserts and the candy cocktails. We know New Yorkers love places that are new, unique and fill a specialized niche and this is exactly what sugar factory does. Where else would you go for a fishbowl of gummy bear cocktails (or any other cocktail inspired by candy), chocolate fondues with 6 special types of chocolate and 15+ types of dippers or specialty desserts as red velvet pancakes or specialty variations of the classic sundae? If you are planning to visit New York, get on that reservation because they are hard to get and will remain that way for a while I expect!^Leonie van Spronsen
Build your own burger at McDonald’s
18-11-2013
McDonald’s is testing the concept of ‘Build your own burger’ in Laguna Niguel, California. Consumers can make a choice between different toppings and create their own customized burger. The new Dollar Menu gives consumers the opportunity to choose from five types of sandwiches and different sauces and toppings. McDonalds thinks that customization is an opportunity and wants to respond to the shifting eating habits and compete with the other major players in the market. Whether the concept will be implemented is the question.
Elegant bottle packaging transforms into ice bucket
18-11-2013
Veuve Clicquot has introduced a new limited edition packaging. The packaging looks like an elegant bottle sleeve, but can unfold into a functional ice bucket. De packaging has the characteristic yellow and black colors and the inner part consist of a water-resistant coating against leaking. Convenient and stylish!
A theater of wines
15-11-2013
A tent at a festival or celebration for wine lovers. Register Viticulturist and Sommelier Barbara Verbeek is the creator of this concept together with Barend Havenaar of Champagnebar.nl. They want to put all your senses to work in their wine theater. Barbara completed the wine academy for viticulturist in 2001. She got her title sommelier and wine and foodpairing expert in 2002 and recently became a Registered Viticulturist. She runs the wine theater events and celebrations at events like Manifesto, Valtifest and “A Day at the Park ‘.
New Year’s Eve dinner at the Waldorf Astoria
15-11-2013
Since 1931 the Waldorf Astoria NY has been a legendary destination for elegant New Year’s Eve celebrations. They now want to see how many Waldorf Astoria NY New Year’s Eve photos they can collect! They ask their fans at Facebook and their Twitter followers to find and post photos, everybody can vote and the person who did make or found the winning photo will receive a dinner for 2 at the Waldorf on New Year’s Eve! A great promotional campaign, simple to execute and who knows they might even run into some great photo’s from private albums.
A theater of wines
15-11-2013
A tent at a festival or celebration for wine lovers. Register Viticulturist and Sommelier Barbara Verbeek is the creator of this concept together with Barend Havenaar of Champagnebar.nl. They want to put all your senses to work in their wine theater. Barbara completed the wine academy for viticulturist in 2001. She got her title sommelier and wine and foodpairing expert in 2002 and recently became a Registered Viticulturist. She runs the wine theater events and celebrations at events like Manifesto, Valtifest and “A Day at the Park ‘.
A theater of wines
15-11-2013
A tent at a festival or celebration for wine lovers. Register Viticulturist and Sommelier Barbara Verbeek is the creator of this concept together with Barend Havenaar of Champagnebar.nl. They want to put all your senses to work in their wine theater. Barbara completed the wine academy for viticulturist in 2001. She got her title sommelier and wine and foodpairing expert in 2002 and recently became a Registered Viticulturist. She runs the wine theater events and celebrations at events like Manifesto, Valtifest and “A Day at the Park ‘.
Landal lief! family bungalow
15-11-2013
Landal GreenParks started an unique partnership with baby and children’s clothing brand lief!. At Landal Coldenhove on the Veluwe, two six-person holiday bungalows are decorated in the lief! theme. The lief! family bungalow has space for two adults and up to four children. It is characterized by the colorful atmosphere of lief! with various accessories of the clothing brand. Landal GreenParks introduced a bungalow for the hearing impaired at Landal Rabbit Hill in Nieuw-Milligen as well.
Tilburg Frying
14-11-2013
Tilburg is a town in the South of the Netherlands. On the eve of ‘Tilburg Sings’ Sjors Kleinsman suggested to organize a more appropriate event in the city: ‘Tilburg Frying’. It was a kind of a joke, until he thought: ‘that’s not such a bad idea at all’. A thought for a new culinary event was born, ‘Tilburg Frying’! Best cafeterias of the city, who will present their finest products. Homemade snacks, fresh fries, wonderful sauces etc. Sjors Kleinsman will do everything to make it a real happening.
Fish Tales by Bart van Olphen
14-11-2013
With Instagram videos of 15 seconds, the Dutch fish expert Bart van Olphen shows dishes, tips and tricks about cooking with fish. With this, he wants to demonstrate that it is easier to cook with fish than most people think and in the meantime raise awareness of responsible fishing. Chef Bart van Olphen committed to consuming sustainably caught fish and is author of a couple of Dutch fish cookbooks ‘The Fishes Cookbook’, ‘The Dutch viskookboek’ and ‘Working with fish’. And it’s the first Instagram cooking show!
Starbuck on rails
14-11-2013
Today, Starbucks Coffee Company and SBB unveiled the first Starbucks store on a train – offering travelers a new place and way to enjoy their favourite Starbucks coffee. The first official voyage for the Starbucks train will take place on the train line running from Geneva Airport to St.Gallen in Switzerland on November 21. In a pilot project, two dining cars are changed into Starbucks locations: on the lower deck, a take-away and the coffee is served on the upper deck. And a Starbucks trolley circulates through the train. The design is contemporary and focused on comfort, yet at the same time functional with a color scheme inspired by coffee. The opening of this train coffeeshop marks the rollout of a new B2B model for Starbucks. They will – together with partners – start selling coffee in places like drive-through’s (already active in Germany), shops in supermarkets and department stores (Galeries Lafayette) and vending machines in offices.
Lidl pop-up restaurant at Michelin-star level
14-11-2013
Restaurant Dill opened on September 13 in Stockholm. London-based chef Michael Wignall** made the menu and organized the kitchen. A 9-course menu was prized at an astonishing € 55,-, and the restaurant was fully booked from day one on. Too good to be true? Yes it was! It appeared to be a marketing stunt for Lidl. Only four ingredients (including liquid nitrogen) that were used for the preparation of the courses weren’t part of the supermarkets assortment.
Culinary artworks
13-11-2013
Samantha Lee, mother of two children, makes beautiful artworks of dishes. Samantha Lee started creating these artworks to ensure that her children never skip their lunch. It is a great way to let your children eat vegetables and fruit. The creations range from animals and Hello Kitty to cartoon characters.
Gluten-free festival
13-11-2013
Increasingly we’re noticing more attention to gluten-free products. McDonald’s has recently joined the trend with a gluten-free bun. But we spotted a gluten-free pizza at Domino’s pizza in London in 2012. The gluten-free products provide a good example of transparency. Both companies ensure that the bun and pizza crust are gluten-free, but they also indicate that they are prepared in a kitchen where gluten are processed, which mean that traces of gluten can be found in the meal. The only way to avoid this is to fully dedicate your restaurant to gluten-free meals. Read more…
Inspiration from NOMA
12-11-2013
By Julia Soldic.
Last Thursday, November the 7th, we were at a lecture of René Redzepi (Noma. Copenhagen) about his new book ‘A Work in Progress’. Organized by Babooka, a bookstore in Leiden and LeidsLekkers to herald the Restaurant Week in Leiden. During this lecture René rapidly exchanged reading passages from his diary with images and videos of his restaurant and chefs. Julia Soldic, a Norwegian who recently graduated from the Hotelschool The Hague, has had an internship of a few weeks at Noma in 2012. She was at the lecture with us and writes in her column below of her experience and leaves between the lines a number of ‘learnings’, such as encouraging creativity and the importance of team building and contact with your guests.
Dutch’ Game
12-11-2013
There are barely any products available from wild goose. Approximately 10% of all shot goose are left in the nature, a much larger percentage is partly used. ‘Hollands Wild’ finds that inacceptable food waste and wants to use the goose meat sustainably. Earlier we wrote about small producers that process goose meat into products like Gans Lekker and Schiphol goose croquettes. ‘Hollands Wild’ will focus on bringing the individual initiatives together in producing a sustainable goose meat connection from hunter to producer, including the collection, chilled transport, storage and distribution of goose meat. With this connection they are able to provide the growing demand for natural, sustainable meat.
Breakfast buffet in the kitchen of Hotel B Design & Spa
Breakfast buffet in the kitchen of Hotel B Design & Spa
Breakfast buffet in the kitchen of Hotel B Design & Spa
