Original Sayah liquor
26-7-2013
The Dutch Sayah drinks won silver with their spekkoek liquor during the International Wine and Spirit Competition 2013. Sayah is a real Indonesia liquor with the unique taste of spekkoek (a Dutch-Indonesian layered cake). Two Dutchmen’s with an Indonesian origin developed a liquor based on their origin, lifestyle and taste. Sayah has the taste of liquid cake, burnt sugar and spicy hints of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, anise, vanilla and nutmeg. The transparent liquor can be enjoyed pure with ice or mixed. Nice to drink with a rice table.
Les Halles NYC
26-7-2013
At this moment The French Bistro is very popular in New York. Leonie van Spronsen did visit one. She loves the French bistros in Paris so a small critical eye is unavoidable. But if you love the French bistro style and if you go to NY we recommend to try the French bistros with their American twists… Les Halles NYC – Park Avenue location.
You can see it from afar, the facade, the lanterns, even the tiny little terrace out front, there it is, Anthony Bourdain’s version of Paris! And yes, the food is delicious, prepared tableside, priced as it should in a French bistro and it is a lovely night out, don’t get me wrong I loved it, but I have to say, the feeling that I actually left Manhattan and stepped into Paris? Not really!
Alcohol free beverages and food pairing
26-7-2013
Alcohol free beverages and food pairing: Restaurant ‘In de keuken van Floris’ in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, provides a great example. They treat their guests, because of their their 7 year anniversary, on a free wine pairing during their nine-course dinner. For those who do not drink alcohol, they serve a freshly squeezed juices arrangement. They will treat their guests from Wednesday to Friday until August the 2nd 2013.
Portfolio-i
25-7-2013
Restaurant ‘t Schulten Hues (1 Michelin star) in Zutphen (The Netherlands) and Crystal Park New Media (also from Zutphen) presented the first Dutch interactive cook book for the iPad. With Portfolio-i you will meet the dynamic world around ‘t Schulten Hues in pictures and sound. De App is made under supervision of Chef Peter Gast, producer Gerbrand Pot (owner of Crystal Park New Media) and Paul Scholte (culinary redaction). On the app you will find interactive presentations of new dishes and recipes by Peter Gast; special wine-food combinations by host Jacqueline van liere; favorite recipes from 10 years ‘t Schulten Hues. With videos of local suppliers. Pictures by Peter Casell en Boy van Dulmen. Great to watch on your iPad during your holiday.
Foodtruck festival Haarlem
25-7-2013
The first edition of ‘Proefpark Haarlem’ will take place on 23, 24 and 25 August in Haarlem, the Netherlands. This festival is focused on food trucks, moving restaurants, chef cooks as artists, local produce and children festivities. Several moving restaurants will offer tastings and visitors are inspired to cook and eat more conscious and adventurous. The program includes cooking battles, cooking demonstrations of famous chef cooks from Haarlem and mini cooking workshops for children.
Douwe Egberts rewards yawns
24-7-2013
Douwe Egberts surprised travelers at the South African OR Tambo International Airport with a cup of coffee in a special way. The coffee machine has a special facial recognition program which treated yawning people with a cup of coffee. Douwe Egberts rewarded more than 210 yawns with a cup of coffee. I would like to see this coffee machine at the train stations in the Netherlands, for sure that I will get a cup of coffee when I am on my way to work! ^Laura
Tropicana city greenhouse
24-7-2013
The former swimming pool Tropicana will be converted into a city greenhouse where sustainability, creativity, entrepreneurship, food and coffee are the key. Where the old Wild Water Course was located, now rises a traditional coffee roaster and a coffee shop. The outdoor pool will be transformed into the summer terrace of restaurant ‘Picknick Rotterdam’. And at the mobile pizzeria Old Scuola you can order fresh pizzas made with mushrooms grown at the cellars of the former swimming pool. The new city greenhouse will be ready at the end of July 2013.
Creative variants of Gin & Tonic
23-7-2013
Bombay Sapphire asked five creatives and five enthusiasts of the hospitality industry to give their own interpretation of the classic Gin & Tonic. The result is ten interesting, creative and surprising cocktails. Like the cocoa hardcore of chocolatier Dominique Persoone or Hinky Pinky Robby by coffee roaster Eveline Hoorens. See all the creative approaches of the classic Gin & Tonic to get some inspiration here.
Urban Campsite
23-7-2013
Art and camping come together at the Urban Campsite. You can get acquainted with the Urban Campsite at camping Vliegenbos in Amsterdam from August 16 to September 30. Urban Campsite offers its guests the opportunity to stay in artistic, unusual and crazy mobile objects. They also offers all the other amenities like a normal camping. These six weeks are a pilot. It is thought that the concept settles in a number of years on a vacant ground in or around Amsterdam. For artists this is the ideal opportunity to exhibit their new objects and campers get the chance to camp near by a city in a special location.
Prepare meals with a drilling machine or hairdryer
22-7-2013
We all expect knives, forks and spoons in any kitchen, but what about hairdryers, drilling machines and paper shredders? At five restaurants in Chicago the chefs use power tools in the kitchen to prepare their meals. The cook at restaurant Primehouse uses a drill to drill off the ends of corn and makes cobs easier to hold. The cook at Bakersfield uses a paper shredder to cut tortillas into thin strips. Fun to see how to use these tools in the kitchen.
WineFoon Walk
22-7-2013
The first WineFood Walk was organized in Haarlem in 2010. In three years, this culinary discovery has become a success. This year there will be different WineFood Walks organized in nearly 30 cities in the Netherlands. The WineFood Walk is a culinary walk through cities, were all joining restaurants serve a wine food combination. For restaurants this is an ideal opportunity to increase their brand awareness and for hikers it offers the possibility to combine a city walk with food and wine.
Breakfast beer
19-7-2013
Martin House Brewing Company has developed a special breakfast beer with 5% alcohol, the ‘Day Break 4 Grain Breakfast Brew’. The beer is made of barley, wheat, oats, rye, local honey, milk and sugar. The honey, milk and sugar give the beer a unique sweetness. But whether this beer can really replace breakfast nor it is wise to have a drink before the afternoon starts… For youth at camp sites it might be a better breakfast than a beer to wash away their hangover.
Pay with your face
19-7-2013
A new payment system based on face recognition is introduced in Finland. The system is called Uniqul and guests can pay by showing their faces for the camera and wait for their profile to conform their purchase. No pin codes, credit cards, wallets or fingerprints anymore…. Uniqul wants to improve the safety and speed of transactions. We are curious how this technical system will develop the coming years. Who knows we will pay in a number of years with our face at a terrace or a hotel and we no longer need our wallet any more.
Restaurants with stunning views
18-7-2013
Tripadvisor gives an overview of ten restaurants with the stunning views all over the world. The video above is from restaurant Sierra Mar in California. The restaurant is located high at the cliffs, offering breathtaking views. The outstanding culinary dishes are complemented by wines from the award winning wine cellar of over 14,00 bottles. They have a 1,5 minute video on their website, showing us one of their biggest marketing values, their spectacular view during 24 hours. Watch the website Tripadvisor for more restaurants with stunning views.
Cola-flavored wine
18-7-2013
The French winemaker Hausmann Famille has introduced a special wine on the French market: the Rouge Sucette, a cola-flavored wine. The wine is composed of 75% wine and 25% of a mix of sugar, water and coke. The wine contains 9% alcohol and should be served cold. Hausmann Famille wants to interest younger generations in France with this cola-wine. However, you wouldn’t expect a wine like this of the most leading wine country, sounds to me like ‘If you can’t beat them, join them’. ^Laura
The Paris guide to tourists
17-7-2013
Frenchmen have the image that they are often unfriendly to tourists and that they only speak their own language. The French who work in the tourism industry can now read the book ‘Do you speak touriste‘. This booklet is an initiative of CCIR and CRT from Paris and includes information for taxi drivers, restaurant staff and shop workers how to deal with tourists from different countries. The Dutch people often go on vacation in groups, spend an average of € 139,= per day and approximately 55% of the visitors would love to return within one or two years to Paris, according to the booklet.
Toothpicks with Malt Scotch
17-7-2013
These toothpicks are very special! The toothpicks are infused with special Single Malt Nº16. Are you a real whiskey lover, then you should definitely try these toothpicks. These toothpicks have a subtle whiskey flavor and give a unique experience. Nice and original to offer these toothpicks to you guests after their dinner. Besides this flavor, Daneson also offers salt, cinnamon and lemon toothpicks.
Nutella web shop
17-7-2013
Nutella is very popular all over the world, but especially in America. The brand has recently opened a web shop in America where you can buy Nutella-related items, except the hazelnut spread itself! Items like t-shirts, coffee cups and smartphone cases are sold in the web shop. Nutella wants to give the fans the opportunity to prove their love to the brand beyond the kitchen. Up to now, the web shop only sends items within the U.S.
Three-course dessert menu
16-7-2013
Restaurant At Sea in Kralendijk, Bonaire has served their dessert in an original way. The restaurant recently offered their dessert in a three-course dessert menu. People who had eaten elsewhere (at home or another restaurant) and the regular guests could enjoy the dessert menu. One of the courses was a tortellini of chocolate and apricots with in vanilla marinated strawberries and vanilla cream. An nice way to introduce guests with the different kinds of desserts.
High Heel Friday
16-7-2013
A great promotion of the Swissotel in Zurich! During the High Heel Friday women get 3% discount on their bill for every centimeter of heel. An original way to give your guests discount on their bill. So lady’s, put on your highest heels!
+Pool tile by tile
16-7-2013
A floating pool in the middle of New York City’s East River, wouldn’t that be great? It might become reality thanks to crowd-funding. +Pool, a sustainable design project that would bring a giant filtration system disguised as a pool to the waters separating Manhattan and Brooklyn. Aiming to clean up to half a million gallons of river water each day. Architectural firm Family and the design office PlayLab, would allow New Yorkers the opportunity to swim in the East River safely for the first time in a century. The project scored headlines two years ago when ideas for the pool first surfaced on Kickstarter. Now the ambitious dream has inched closer to reality, as PlayLab/Family has achieved their goal last week at the Kickstarter page to gear toward creating a test pool. We think a cleaning pool like that would do great in the canals of Amsterdam or the port of Rotterdam. And the idea of the personalized tiles is great as well. Read more at The Huffington Post.
Heineken Departure Roulette
15-7-2013
Heineken sends travelers to a destination that they have not planned or paid for. Together with agency Wieden & Kennedy New York, the beer brand challenges passengers to play the ‘Departure Roulette’ at Kennedy Airport. Passengers with their passport and tickets already in their hands, could change their flight to an unexpected destination. The ‘Departure Roulette’ is inspired by the new Heineken campaign that previously sent four men to remote destinations and filmed their adventures, launched by Wieden & Kennedy Amsterdam.
40 interactive cheeseburger recipes
15-7-2013
A real cheeseburger lover or need inspiration for cheeseburger recipes? The Cheese & Burger Society offers an interactive burger menu with 40 cheeseburger recipes with beautiful and delicious pictures. The Cheese & Burger Society gives an overview of cheeseburgers made with Wisconsin Cheese. So browse through the different burger recipes! Great way to promote your cheeses, we also really enjoyed the American way of presenting the cheeseburgers. We could do the same with all our Dutch cheeses…..
I know it rocks but please do not steal it
15-7-2013
It sometimes happens that people steal a glass from the bar as a reminder of the night out. Cider-maker Kopparberg has developed a solution for this problem. They protected their new glasses with a security system with ink. When the ‘thief is more than 100 meters away from the bar the ink will ‘explode’. The goal is not to punish people but to dissuade them from stealing the glass.
Sailing boat as experience location in Amsterdam
12-7-2013
The ‘Titaan’ (Dutch for ‘Titan’) is a pure experience-location for meetings and private dining. Leon Verraes and het girlfriend Inge Vermeulen are the owners of the ship since March 2010. The ship is newly built in 2001 by Talsma in Franeker and finetuned in 2002 by SRF in Harlingen. It’s built by ING Real Estate as luxe meeting location for real estate developers and business relations. The ship has a capacity of 70-80 people while boarded, on the water it’s possible to sail with 55 guests.