Parmesan cheese above the dining table
11-11-2013
A lover of Parmesan cheese over the pasta or risotto? Well, you can hang it above the dining table as a lamp! Curelle and Tom, both Parmesan cheese lovers, were inspired during their visit to a Parmesan cheese maker in Italy. They came up with the idea to make a plastic replica of the Parmesan cheese. The Parmesan Cheese Lamp is available in two variants and it has the same size as a real Parmesan cheese with the same details. The caps are made of plastic material and they only differ from the inside. Funny detail for in an Italian restaurant or as centerpiece in you dining room at home.
Oathie bagel and muffin
11-11-2013
Last week Laura blogged about the trend healthy and superfood, with a number of restaurants as example. Bagels & Beans has introduced a healthy variation of bread this time; the Oathie bagel and the Oathie muffin. Oathie does not contain flour and wheat and barely gluten. Oathie is made of oats, flax seeds, germinated soybeans, berries and nuts. It contains many minerals and it is a source of omega 3 fats. These new products are available in seventeen Bagels & Beans stores in the Netherlands.
National Geographic augmented reality
8-11-2013
National Geograpic celebrates its birthday in the coming months. To promote this, an exhibition of 36 premium photographs will travel to several train stations in the Netherlands until February. A giant virtual reality show is set-up to promote the exhibition. Passers-by can see and photograph themselves with a rhino, astronaut and dinosaurs. See the video for an impression. The exhibition travels to Eindhoven (December), The Hague Central station (January) and Arnhem (February).
Happy Healthy
8-11-2013
Healthy food and superfood has become very popular over the course of the past few years. Look around and you will see more and more pictures of healthy food on Facebook and Instagram. Superfood is 100% natural healthy food and rich in nutrients like vitamins, minerals and more. It improves the immune system and may reduce the risk of heart disease. Popular superfoods are chia seeds, cacao, hemp seed, goji berries, bee pollen and more.
Theme park with Michelin-star restaurant
8-11-2013
Europa-Park (Germany) is the first theme park with a Michelin star. Within a year after opening fine dining restaurant Ammolite, located in the lighthouse of the ‘Bell Rock’ theme hotel, has received the star rating. The restaurant has 36 seats and the kitchen is successfully run by chef Peter Hagen (36 years old). For the design of the restaurant designer Claudio Carbone was inspired by a snailhouse, the name ‘Ammolite’ refers to fossil shells from the Rocky Mountains.
For fans of Franch chansons
8-11-2013
Marc Cruellas, de zingende patron van ‘Le Bistrot de la Place’ in Den Haag, treedt elke vrijdag- en zaterdagavond samen met zijn pianist Guillaume Marcenac op in zijn eigen bedrijf. Hiermee creëren zij telkens een Parijse sfeer van ‘Montmartre’ en ‘La vie en rose’ in de bistrot.
Op zondag, 1 december, treden zij echter samen op bij de Franse Bistro Bord’o in Leiden. Tijdens het optreden verzorgt het team van bistro Bord’o een 3-gangenmenu ‘Beaujolais Nouveau’, met typische Franse bistro gerechten. En Marc en Guillaume zingen en spelen alle bekende Franse chansons. Voor de liefhebber hiervan een heerlijke avond! En een mooi voorbeeld van samenwerken!
Turkey to go
7-11-2013
An increasing number of holidays are celebrated in the Netherlands, as well as Thanksgiving. Restaurant Midtown Grill, the steakhouse of Marriott Amsterdam, will introduce the ‘Turkey to Go’ concept on November 26 to get people acquainted with the American tradition to the Dutch. The restaurant will offer different to-go turkey packages, so people can eat a traditional Thanksgiving dish at home. The packages contain matching wines. It’s a good solution for those who don’t have time to cook or can’t prepare a juicy turkey. During Thanksgiving the restaurant also offers a special Thanksgiving menu for those who prefer to eat out.
Exclusive gastro-marathon in 24 hours for a charity
7-11-2013
An exclusive gastro-marathon specially for 3FM Serious Request (Dutch radio station). From December 22 to December 23 Restaurant EVI in the Netherlands will be the culinary center for 24 hours. Three Dutch top chefs will prepare three dishes per hour meaning that they will serve a total of nine top dishes with at least tree Michelin stars. There will be a long table in the restaurant with 30 chairs. The seats are available per session of three hours, so there are only 240 seats available. The total proceeds will go to the charity of 3FM Serious Request, the Red Cross. Amongst the Chefs that will cook during the 24 hours are Niven Kunz, Ron Blaauw, Menno Post, Maik Kuipers and Edwin Vinke. The seats are auctioned from 18 December via Dutch auction website vakantieveilingen.nl.
The feminine hamburger
7-11-2013
The Japanese fast food chain ‘Freshness Burger’ has developed a special ‘Liberation Wrapper’ for the Japanese women. The fast food chain noticed that their large size burgers were only a hit with the men and not with the women. Most Japanese women have an ‘ochobo’ (a small and modest mouth) and see this a paragon of beauty. During dinner they cover their mouths and eating a giant burger is not appropriate. Freshness Burgers has developed a special burger packaging with an imprint of a face with an ‘ochobo’ mouth. So, Japanese women can unabashedly enjoy a double cheeseburger.
Hospitality experienced in New York
6-11-2013
A blog about whether or not tap water; additional chips to the sauce and free Wifi or not? Experiences in New York City.
After visiting New York you won’t really understand the discussion of tap water in the Netherlands anymore. In the USA you are welcomed in each restaurant with the question, if you would like to have some tap water? Of course this is in the DNA of the American restaurant industry but the habit is very welcoming. You also hear a lot of complaints about the taste of chlorine in the tap water causing many people to still buy mineral water. In that respect I would have less problems with the taste of the Dutch tap water. However, especially in areas which are visited by many tourists , restaurant owners must realize that guests from America, are used to the ‘free’ tap water service . They don’t understand our policy to even ask money for tap water! Read more..
Optimal sound experience Wilmink theatre
6-11-2013
More and more inhabitants of The Netherlands have hearing problems. At the moment one in seven people has hearing problems. To provide every visitor with the optimal hearing experience Your Sense has installed YSFM hearing systems in the auditoria of the Wilmink theatre. People that wear a hearing aid can connect to a FM system for optimal listening quality. Apart from the acoustics the Wilmink theatre now distinguishes itself by offering an ultimate sound experience to its visitors with hearing problems.
Foodpairing with cookies
6-11-2013
The Flemish cookie baker Jules Destrooper has taken its authentic cookies to ‘taste professors’ of the University of Leuven (Louvain) and ‘Foodpairing’. Just like famous chefs, foodies, mixologists and taste professors they are on the lookout for the ideal taste combinations. The University of Leuven (Louvain) has a specialized device for it, a gas chromatograph connected to a mass spectroscope that measures aroma molecules in food and beverage. Products that have similarities in scent appear to combine very well and are visualized in a Foodpairing tree. The taste analysis of the Almond bread, Natural butter waffle and Cinnamon cookie products are surprisingly connected to taste allies like mushrooms, ginger and caviar.
Hertog Jan *** as pop-up bistro Yellow
6-11-2013
Joachim Boudens and Gert De Mangeleer from Hertog Jan *** in Sint Michiels (Brugge) renovate the Michelin star restaurant to a modern bistro from February to June 2014. The original Hertog Jan restaurant moves to a protected farmhouse in Zedelgem. They are so eager to keep on cooking that they’re opening a pop-up restaurant ‘Yellow’ in the center of Bruges.
All about grapefruit
5-11-2013
I hadn’t seen it on the menu for a while; half a grapefruit. During a brunch at The Breslin Bar and Dining Room in the Ace Hotel in New York I ate a super yummy grapefruit with ginger sugar flakes and mint. But again the same problem as always, the cutting isn’t easy and is often not done well, with the effect that you have to do it yourself or miss parts. I don’t understand why it’s not served in ‘clean cut’ wedges, much easier to eat! Marjolein van Spronsen
Crowd funded supermarket
5-11-2013
The first crowdfund project for a supermarket in France is started. The location is planned in the 18th district in Paris. Shoppers are expected to work in the supermarket for 3 hours per month to keep the labor costs and thus the prices low. A similar project is already set up in Brooklyn, New York. That supermarket has 16.000 members.
Kitchen video stream
5-11-2013
On the terrace of ‘A Taberna do Pescador’ in Albufeira, Portugal there is a television screen with a live stream from the kitchen. The terrace is situated in a busy shopping street and the screen combined with a glass display full fresh fish seduces passersby in an original way.
Glow in the dark ice cream
5-11-2013
Ice cream maker Charlie Frances has developed a glow in the dark ice cream. One of the secret ingredients is glow in the dark jellyfish, it’s calcium activated and glows when licked. One scoop is quite expensive, around € 165 euro’s. He created a non-jellyfish version as well, with quinine from tonic as UV reflective substance.
Light spectacle in the streets of Zwolle
4-11-2013
On November 1st, the opening of the light project Sassenstraat Allicht took place in Zwolle, the Netherlands. This autumn/ winter the ‘Sassenstraat’ (name of the street) is illuminated with over 300 lights. Business owners, residents, property owners, City Centre Zwolle, volunteers and more have worked in recent weeks to make this lights show possible. The goals is to create a meeting place where living, working and shopping comes together. Especially during the dark winter days, the light show will be very attractive.
Cry like a real wolf for Eristoff
4-11-2013
Cry like a real wolf and win tickets for the ‘I love Techno’ party in Gent, Belgium. Eristoff, ‘vodka from the land of the wolf’ started a partnership with ‘I Love Techno’ this year. The brand has taken the slogan ‘vodka from the land of the wolf’ very literally this time and launched a Facebook campaign. Till 6 November, everybody can send a video of their howling to the Facebook page of Eristoff and collect as many likes. On November 6, at 1 am, the 50 participants with the most likes will be selected. They can sit behind their computer and howl live with wolves in the UK Wolf Conservation Trust. When the wolf cries back within 1 minute, the participant will win 4 tickets for ‘I love Techno’.
Relaxation in a bathtub
4-11-2013
In a park in Paris, the French design studio ‘Bruit du frigo’ has created a resting place for visitors. A wooden installation with bathtubs is placed around a fountain. Visitors can relax and enjoy the art installations. A number of bathtubs are filled with water and some with pillows. The wooden sculpture shows that the park is open for everyone, friends and family to spend some time together. A place for relaxation, wellness and hospitality.
Chobani Story about real Greek yogurt
1-11-2013
Chobani, a Mediterranean Yogurt Bar in NYC, has a great slogan; ‘There are two people we’re 100% committed to. Mother Nature and You’. Chobani has been serving the highest quality and authentic strained Greek yogurt since 2005. They combine the yoghurt with only natural ingredients and fresh fruit. Some combinations; Blueberry + Power (blueberries, chia seeds, light agave nectar and walnuts), Cucumber + Olive Oil (cucumber, extra virgin olive oil, Coarse salt and fresh mint) and Peanut Butter + Jelly (peanut butter, concord grape jelly, red grapes and peanuts). Delicious yogurt and great combinations although we as Europeans didn’t dare to try the Peanut Butter + Jelly yogurt. The interior fits great within the philosophy. ^Marjolein
These plates make your food food bigger
1-11-2013
These plates are fun to use in restaurants that serve small dishes such as sushi, pastries or amuses. There is a print made on the plate with the outlines of a plate, knife and fork. It creates an optical illusion that makes the dish looks larger than it actually is.
Silence dinner
1-11-2013
Having a dinner without saying anything.. People who has no need of rowdy guests can have a dinner in silence at restaurant Eat in New York. The restaurant serves a four course diner with organic and local produce. Owner Nicholas Nauman was inspired by a silence breakfast during his time with Buddhist monks in India. By dining in silence, guests are not distracted and they can enjoy their dish with all their senses.
Miracle fish instead of fortune cookies
31-10-2013
Last week we ate at the seafood restaurant, The Mermaid Inn at the Upper West Side in NYC. They have two more restaurants in town and serve delicious seafood, lobster and oysters. They have no desserts on the menu, all guests receive a chocolate mousse served with, instead of a fortune cookie, a miracle fish who tells the future. Just like the fortune cookies in Chinese restaurants remain very popular, these fish are also very nice. And can be used in other seafood restaurants as well! ^Marjolein
Information about pensions at the PensioenCafe
31-10-2013
The Dutch pension fund Hospitality & Catering has noticed that the obligatory pension information sent to the customers is barely read. That’s why they have developed an accessible way to communicate pension information to the customers. The dynamic PensionCafé website contains information and videos to inform employees in the hotel and catering sector about their pension. Relevant information about, for example the influence of divorce and death on the future of their pension is easily accessible at the site.
