The Too Good To Go app lets you eat food which restaurants normally throw in the bin at the end of the service. Take away from your favourite restaurants for next to nothing: that’s the idea behind this new app and meanwhile preventing food waste! read more
One box, two beers and a unique flavour. That, in a nutshell is the WIP/WAP beer from the VandeStreek brewers in Utrecht (the Netherlands).
WIP/WAP beer is created to mix, that’s why they are sold in one box. WIP, the White IPA has the fruity and fresh aroma of American hops, is full of flavour through the wheat and thirst-quenching as a white beer. WAP, the oaked Barley Wine is high in alcohol and has a full, round flavour. Create your own beer by mixing both beers and be surprised by the balance. read more
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We have seen quite a few examples of restaurants, hotels and leisure centres using the Olympics in their benefit. The Olympic Experience on the beach of Scheveningen is a great example. As well as storytelling in advertisings! One of the best is probably the Olympic anthem of Samsung.
We checked the web to see what has been organized in the hospitality and leisure world with the Olympics in mind.
Did you spot other great examples or did you organise an inspiring Olympic event? Let us know, we like to complete our list! 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 among others about a rooftop bar in London you will be able to sip a cocktail in the nude and Yannick Alléno about fermentation to enrich his sauces.
If you like to read the whole article, click the title. Enjoy reading! read more
In 2010 we spotted Finger Limes for the first time and wrote about it. But we never saw an opportunity to taste the Finger Lime, which originates in Australia. Although we came up with great ideas to combine these citrus caviar with for example a Gin & Tonic, oysters, in fruity desserts, as garnish at hors d’oeuvres or in salad dressing. But still we hardly spot them in Europe! Well at least we know this is going to change because they are now cultivated outside Australia as well. We spotted them in the USA and in Italy.
March last year we wrote about a new twist to the cocktail at the Sky Bar, Bangkok’s highest rooftop bar at the Lebua State Tower hotel. Poptails are premium classic cocktails paired with brain-freezing popsicles. It’s kind of maths: Poptail = popsicle + cocktail. This was the first time we spotted the poptail. Tasting Table now published a recipe for Strawberry Sangria Ice Pop Cocktails…. Created by People’s Pops. read more
Credit: Stränd en SträndFränds 
Credit: Stränd en SträndFränds 
Stränd en SträndFränds 
Credit: Stränd en SträndFränds Zwolle (a city in the East of the Netherlands) has gained a temporary city beach: Stränd! Late July the proverbial doors of the beach opened, located near the canal in Zwolle. For five long weekends you can ‘relax, drink, socialize, eat and above all … enjoying the summer in a Zwolsch manner’ as indicated by the initiators on the website. read more
From today on FG restaurant (Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 2 Michelin Stars) will be situated at a new location. François Geurds will serve the best dishes in the restaurant, which is located next to FG Food Labs. We were invited to check this new place out and can only indicate that their future guests will be in for an even greater culinary surprise than at the last location! We wish François and his team the best of luck and a lot of fun at the new location and with their path to the top of gastronomy, the third Michelin Star. read more
Once the red cups were only destined for drunken partiers, but the game leaves the student dormitories and house parties with official tournaments between beer pong enthusiasts and experts. Strandzuid brings the Beer Pong Knock Out to Amsterdam on Saturday, August 13. 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 among others a Floating beer garden in London and a Peruvian model opens a restaurant in New York City. Besides that would you try cockroach milk? Researchers claim it might be the next superfood!
If you like to read the whole article, click the title. Enjoy reading! read more
Gastronaut Ice Cream, the first organic and unmeltable ice cream. Freeze-dried so you can enjoy this premium ice cream anywhere. read more
Would you use a luggage assistant? We know the drill: your plane or train leaves late in the afternoon, so you want to spend the day in the city. Or you arrive very early and don’t want to waste time bringing your suitcase to the hotel. Most probably you do what we always do: pack your bags and leave them with the doorman or reception. That will cost you time in the afternoon: having to return to the hotel to pick up the luggage. Well in Paris, you can ask Gustave to be your luggage assistant! He will pick up your luggage at the hotel, seal it, insure it and secure it in a safe place till he drops it off at the requested rendez-vous point. Ensuring you and your family of more time in the city and no return way to the hotel! Bag-free traveling. The motto of Gustave in Paris: Keep calm and enjoy your day! read more
Snapchat LogoMore than one million Dutch people use Snapchat currently. 56% of the users are between the age of 15 and 19 and 11% are between the age of 20 and 39. Only 2% of the people that are 40+ downloaded Snapchat. This is shown in the ‘Nationale Social Media Onderzoek 2016’, a Dutch research about Social Media. Would you like to attract a younger public for your business like a club, disco or leisure centrum? You should try-out Snapchat! read more
A Picnic behind the ‘Grote Markt’ (the big square) of Nijmegen (the Netherlands). You can order a picnic basket at Bairro Alto. Take your blanket and your receipt and you can go and enjoy the spot already. When your order is ready, your number will show up on a board. Once you picked up your basket, you’re able to enjoy the sun and the food! 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 among others beer glasses that communicate with an app, Otima port who has to be drunk really cold, Black Lime and fermented French fries?
If you like to read the whole article, click the title. Enjoy reading! 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
Hotel chain Marriott has launched ‘Xplor’, a mobile game trip. During this game you will visit five cities (NYC, Paris, Beijing, Dubai, Sao Paul), you get sight-seeing challenges, solve puzzles and answer trivia questions. Players can create their own avatar, ranging from backpacker to jet-setter. For each city completed the player will receive 100,000 Marriott Reward points. Those who complete all levels before November 25, will receive three major prizes. The game is developed for all ages.
The Spotted Pig- New York. A one Michelin star restaurant that is in nothing comparable to our European idea of Michelin star restaurants. The restaurant looks like a combination between a nice little cafe and flea market, the waiting staff wears t-shirts and jeans, no reservations can be made and things as amuses/greetings from the kitchen is far from what is happening in this place. Al together I do understand why Michelin inspectors decided to award this restaurant a Michelin star. When you compare the service (for American standards you get a lot of time to enjoy your food and company, the waiters know what food they are serving and what wine they are pouring and they are very alert) and the food (everything is fresh and combinations are all spot on) with what you experience in other restaurants in New York you see a clear difference. Combine this with the cool atmosphere, all the pigs collected all around you and the beautiful location, I can understand Michelin’s decision. But my question remains is this decided based on comprising with other restaurants in the city or solely on the quality of this place? When you are in the neighborhood, definitely try to get a table, it’s the best price/quality ratio you will ever see in a Michelin star restaurant! ^Leonie van Spronsen
Inspired by ‘The Hunger Games’, the ‘Waldorf Astoria Grand Wailea’ in Hawaii offers a ‘Wilderness Survival Program’. During the program children ages 5 and up learn how to survive in the wilderness, a unique experience during their stay at the hotel. Children can practice archery, their endurance is tested, they learn more about food and edible and non-edible plants and they will work on their camouflage skills. The hotel has four water slides, a white water rapids slide and a Tarzan pool where the skills of the participants will be improved.
The Meatball Shop in New York. Upon entering you know you are in a cool place, everything looks a little crooked, a little worn out but is beautifully put together. The menu that is presented to you is no nonsense, its balls, balls on a sub or balls plus a salad. There are a few specials on the board but basically you choose what meat you want with what sauce and you are ready to go. The portion seems really small but don’t overestimate yourself, it is more than enough! This is not the place to have a nice evening filling dinner but it is definitely a cool alternative for other fast dinner options! My tip; take their specialty sauce ‘Parmigiano sauce’ it’s amazing! ^Leonie van Spronsen
Customers can win a Warsteiner bike by purchasing a six pack Warsteiner Radler in the supermarket or on the beach. The promotion is only available at locations where there are special Warsteiner teams and will be until August 24. With the special Warsteiner app consumers can scan the label of the beer and see if they have won the bike. They can also win small prizes such as caps, bottle openers and covers. The bike is made from recycled frames with durable materials. The bike has a six pack holder made of used conveyors, specially made for Warsteiner bottles.
To celebrate the mile stone of 10.000 Twitter followers we’ve visited one of our connections, Kitch& in Leiden, the Netherlands. We entered the restaurant with a bottle of Limonchili and were welcomed by co-owner Edwin van den Akker. He got acquinted with Horecatrends during one of our regular trend presentations. Kitch& uses Twitter to start an easy accessible dialogue with guests. Next to Twitter the restaurant uses DineRate to promote feedback on dishes and service, feedback through this service is rewarded with culinairy rewards on next visits. Edwin van den Akker uses Horecatrends.com to keep himself up-to-date with the latest trends in hospitality. “I don’t check the website every week, but if I do, I browse a few weeks back. The trends are for approximately 10% inspiring for my business, so definately worth to look at.” We would like to thank everyone for archieving the 10.000 followers, please keep sending tips via @horecatrends and tip@spronsen.com.
To celebrate the mile stone of 10.000 Twitter followers we’ve visited one of our connections, Kitch& in Leiden, the Netherlands. We entered the restaurant with a bottle of Limonchili and were welcomed by co-owner Edwin van den Akker. He got acquinted with Horecatrends during one of our regular trend presentations. Kitch& uses Twitter to start an easy accessible dialogue with guests. Next to Twitter the restaurant uses DineRate to promote feedback on dishes and service, feedback through this service is rewarded with culinairy rewards on next visits. Edwin van den Akker uses Horecatrends.com to keep himself up-to-date with the latest trends in hospitality. “I don’t check the website every week, but if I do, I browse a few weeks back. The trends are for approximately 10% inspiring for my business, so definately worth to look at.” We would like to thank everyone for archieving the 10.000 followers, please keep sending tips via @horecatrends and tip@spronsen.com.
The Mexican restaurant Wahaca surprises guests with chili seeds that comes with the bill. The guests receive a small booklet with some Serrano chili seeds to grow their own chili at home. To help people growing the chili, the restaurants has published a number of expert videos to show people how to grow and take care of the seeds. A nice gesture.
Yesterday the famous Dutch television chef Pierre Wind presented two healthy cocktails. The two non-alcoholic cocktails ‘Happy Vink’ and ‘Way of Life’ contain less than 30 calories and are meant to make people more conscious of their choice of beverage. The cocktail ‘Way of Life’ is based on water, corn and a mix of cucumber, the ‘Happy Vink’ is based on vanilla water with a date mixture.
Cities around the world are faced with vacant shops. Earlier we’ve spotted the Public painting machine in empty stores in Poland. Now Niklas Roy has found an interesting marketing solution to target vacant spaces in Sherbrooke. The sign ‘for rent’ follows the passers-by if they walk in front of the shop window. Watch the video to see how this system works.
Beverage brand SanPellegrino has launched a new campaign called ‘Three minutes in Italy’ in partnership with Ogilvy NY and Deeplocal. Facebook users in the U.S. can get a virtual tour through the city Taormina in Sicily, Italy through the eyes of a robot. With a special Facebook application they can control the robot for three minutes. The robot is equipped with a translation system and through an audio and video connection Facebook users can communicate with the locals. The Facebook profile picture is displayed on the head of the robot. The beverage brand offers Americans an extraordinary Italian vacation experience through this campaign.
Earlier we spotted a vending machine that you need to hug to get a Coke, or a vending machine where you need to yawn to get a free cup of coffee. But with this Amstel vending machine you don’t have to do anything at all to get a can of beer. In an effort to give young professionals a few minutes rest after work, Amstel Bulgaria and Next-DC have developed a special beer vending machine. You only need to take a rest for three minutes and you will get a can of Amstel. The video shows how difficult it actually is….
After the laying wine glass rEvolution of Martin Jakobsen, the designer developed a special glass for lemonade together with VINICE. The lemonade glass Halm literally puts every drink upside down. Fill the glass with lemonade, a cocktail or an other drink and put the white stopper on the glass. Then turn the glass upside down, shake and put a straw in the glass so you can enjoy your drink. Stylish, innovative and wasps don’t have a chance! Watch the video about the Halm glass to see how it works.
This Year ‘Get Dirty Farm Tours’ will be organized in Oregon, Portland. During the ‘Get Dirty Farm Tours’ unique local farms will be visited and in a quest to find the culinary secrets of Portland. The participants will get in touch with the local farmers and get the opportunity to see how the products grow and are produced. One excursion will be organized a month, each month has a different season based theme During the food tour at least two sustainable farms will be visited and a lunch on location.
This Monday café Vrijdag opened on the corner of the Amsteldijk and the Vrijheidslaan in Amsterdam. Owners Sikko de Jong and Reinout Ezinga want to create a ‘second living room’ for neighbours and offer an alternative for people in the South of Amsterdam for the (over)crowded city center. The interior is designed by ‘Koelhuis Frigo’ and has characteristic raw elements like stone, wood and steel.
Until October 1st Chef’s Table is located at pop-up location ‘Undercurrent’ in Amsterdam. Chef Jeffrey Verwey and his team will present accessible classical dishes on this floating restaurant at the IJ. From August 15 onwards there will be a recycle art gallery in Undercurrent as well. Curator Naleye Sultan Buddista will exhibit special –buyable- artworks in the build up to the Art & Design Recycling Fair 2014. The pop-up location is the former information center of ‘IJburg’.
The Spa at the Four Seasons Hotel Houston has introduced a Spa Happy Hour. Guests and locals can get USD 30 off at a 60 or 90 minute massage, facial or body treatment from Monday through Thursday from 12:00 to 6:30 pm. They can also choose a special Happy Hour menu that includes free Spa cocktails and snacks. The promotion continued to December 31. A new kind of happy hour, not just like the Happy Hour at a bar…
In Japan a phone-holding camera stand is installed on tourist spots so tourists can take pictures of themselves without the help of others. The camera holder can rotate 360 degrees and is installed at the right height and distance to take a group photo. The stand is suitable for any smartphone and even tablets.
Waving tentacles, a dish that breathes or wriggles around? Sounds unreal, but it is possible! With the project ‘Living Food’ Minsu Kim brings food to life. Through synthetic biotech artificial life can be created in dishes. The synthetic biology pearsin haute cuisine and molecular gastronomy, but Minsu Kim brings this to another level with the project ‘Living Food’.
Artist Alex Schweder has developed a floating pop-up hotelroom named ‘Lloyd in the Sky With Diamonds’ for hotel chain ‘The Curtis’. The inflatable hotel room is located on top of a van and can be lifted up 22 ft in the air. The room has a bed, couch, curtains and a small bathroom with a shower, toilet and sink. Because the wall and ceiling are transparent guests can enjoy the view of Denver when the van is parked. One night in the hotel is now offered for $ 50,000 as part of a special package.
An ice cream soda, refreshing, old-fashioned and blessed! The last couple of warm days I experimented with this drink from my childhood. The base is a soda with a scoop of ice cream. You don’t see this drink in the most restaurants, while it is a easy drink to make! My daughter especially liked the sweeter varieties with vanilla ice cream. Personally I find the variant with a dash of lime juice and lime ice cream with sprite delicious! Yesterday I served this drink to my colleagues and they found it wonderfully refreshing! I also made the Mojito ice cream soda with lime ice cream, it was very tasty! ^Marjolein.
There are more and more food sherpas in touristicareas. Food sherpas are local people who receive tourists and show them the city. Unlike tourist agencies, the food sherpas lead you to local restaurants where you normally wouldn’t come as a tourist. They take you on a local culinary discovery tour and not only tell you where to go, but also what to order in restaurants. For example food sherpas can be found in Paris, where they guide tourist to the not so touristy Paris.
Hotels could set up an agreement with local people to guide the hotel guests through the most local hotspots. This as reaction to the deployment of an AirBnB host, because the success of this concept is that tourists can stay at the local people
In the area around São Paulo, Brazil residents can share stories in a special and direct way. The project ‘Mensagens Que Brilham’ equipped the street lights with special lenses with printed text. In the evening when the streetlights are switched on, different messages of residents are projected on the streets. This project is developed for AES Eletropaulo, an energy company. But we think that this is a special way to transmit a message, or fun for events or as an eye catcher for the entrance of a restaurant or hotel.
Most hotels charge the same price for a double room, whether you are alone or with two people. The website of Easynest enables solo tourists to share a hotel room with another traveler and share the costs. When you sign in on the website you can start looking for a companion to share your hotel room with. Although the focus of the site is on saving money during your trip, Easynest also provides a way for travelers to make friend, or even find a companion, while visiting a city. Looking at their website we imagine that the service will specially be used at big events.
Briggo has developed a robotic coffee machine in conjunction with Yves Behar and Fuseproject. The coffee machine ‘Briggo Coffee Haus’ offers people the opportunity to order a coffee through a touch screen or via a smartphone app. The range consists of many types of coffee, even with coffee syrups. The app will remember your favorite coffees. The Briggo Coffee Machine offers a fast and easy way to order a coffee, without any hassle or wait. At this point the coffee machine is tested at the University of Texas and will soon be at Bergstrom airport Austin.
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