Edible art silhouettes
4-7-2013
A real fashionista and love to eat? Visit the lounge bar ‘Sorel’s Midtown Bar & Lounge’ at the Amsterdam Marriott Hotel on Saturday, July 6th and Sunday, July 7th. The lounge bar is fully dedicated to fashion during the ‘downtown’ program of the Fashion week, where fashion and food are the main ingredients of the lounge bar. Five conceptual dress silhouettes made from organic vegetables and fruit juices will be exhibit in the lounge bar. These dresses, also known as ‘eat patterns’ are made by the ‘Culinaire Werkplaats‘ with the aim to set people thinking about sustainability and the roll of the fashion world. The lounge bar also offers a stylish menu of fresh dishes and snacks.
Sushi with edible QR-codes
4-7-2013
Earlier we saw QR-codes of lemons and avocados or edible QR-codes made of cookie dough. Restaurant Harney Sushi in San Diego and Oceanside labels its sushi with edible QR-codes printed in edible ink on rice wafers. By scanning the QR-code with a smartphone, the guests will get more information. Including information about the sushi served and the origin of the ingredients. Very useful, because usually when I get sushi served it is always difficult to determine the type of sushi and ingredients ^Laura
Bathtub hammock
4-7-2013
Offer your hotel guests the experience of relaxing in a hammock in combination with soaking in hot water with the ‘Vessel’ bathtub. This bathtub is fixed with stainless steel brackets on the wall. The ‘Vessel’ is designed by Splinter Works and available in the colors black, red, blue, yellow, pink, bronze and silver.
No ordinary park bench in New York
3-7-2013
New York has many parks, where New Yorkers enjoy some time to relax after the working day and rest on a bench. Aircraft company Virgin Atlantic has surprised the park-goers in a funny way! Virgin Atlantic placed a red bench in the middle of a street in New York to give the people a taste of what they could expect during a flight. Watch the video to see the reactions of the people. Let this inspire you and treat the people who are sitting on a bench in the neighborhood of your restaurant with a snack or a drink. Take some pictures and publish it on your website and Social Media. Earlier we saw that people in a subway in New York were surprised with a 6-course dinner.
Vacation in your own city
3-7-2013
Inhabitants of The Hague get the possibility to stay in a hotel in their own city. The first edition of the ‘Hotel night The Hague’ will take place on September 7th and 8th. Inhabitants of the city can stay in the most special hotels for a special rate on 7 and 8 September. With the Hotel Night ticket they can also join the culinary, creative and cultural events organized by the participating hotels. The tickets are also valid for several touristic attractions. The complete program will be announced at the end of July. Earlier this year the Hotel Night was organized in Amsterdam.
Bring your own cocktail spirits
3-7-2013
Cocktail bar B.Y.O.C. in London asks their guests to bring their own alcohol, while it supplies the mixers. The cocktail bar doesn’t have an alcohol license, so they let guests bring their own drinks. The bartenders have a cocktail trolley with ingredients that go well with the alcohol brought and mixes them together to create their cocktail. The cocktail trolley contains ingredients such as syrups, juices, fruit, spices and soft drinks.
The longest tasting meal
2-7-2013
Carrie and Simon from unearthed® attempted to set a world record for the ‘World Longest Tasting Menu’. On Thursday 13th June they ate 193 bite-sized courses, one from every country in the world in 24 hours (that’s 8 courses per hour). Carrie and Simon were joined by colleagues, suppliers and journalists. A team of four chefs spent 130 hours prepping and cooking the 193 dishes. All the money raised is being donated to the foundation ‘Action Against Hunger’. To get an impression of what they ate, check out the instagram feed.
Meatopia London
2-7-2013
Meatopia, a feast for the real meat lovers, will be held in London this year on September 7th for the 9th time. They promise real fire, locally sourced meat and every piece of meat will come from naturally raised animals. The meat is free of added hormones, anti-biotic and cruelty. The meat will be served nose to tail. They promise the best in beverages, live music and entertainment. Meatopia originated from NY and took place in San Francisco last year. It’s a line-up from great chefs preparing the meat, presented by Whole Foods.
Happy Meal show-boxes
2-7-2013
McDonalds has asked illustrator Helen Musselwhite to develop a series of Happy Meal show-boxes to promote reading and the natural world. The show-boxes are very detailed with beautiful prints. We wonder when the Happy Meal boxes will be released.
Ibis France
1-7-2013
A part of the Netherlands has gone on vacation last weekend. For those who drive to France the situations in the commercials of Ibis France are perhaps recognizable. Ibis offers a solution for driving at night or annoying children in the car.
Wikipearls
1-7-2013
Eating yogurt without the need for spoons or an ice cream that does not melt quickly…. The Wikibar in Paris offers a special menu of food with an edible coating, the ‘Wikipearl’. These ‘Wikipearls’ have a heart of yogurt, ice cream, coffee or cheese that is protected by a special edible skin. When taking a bite you will be surprised by a liquid or frozen content. The food can also be taken home in a 100% biodegradable packaging. The Wikibar was founded by David Edwards en François Azambourg.
Menu with one main course
1-7-2013
Restaurant ‘La Maison de L’entrecôte’ in Berlin has unlike most restaurant not an extensive menu. The restaurant only serves one main course, a steak with a side of salad and fries for € 19,90. The dessert is a changing ‘cheese of the week’ to complete the main course. The restaurant has the focus on a steak of good quality with the right preparation.
Pop-up beach
28-6-2013
It is a rainy summer in the Netherlands, but the sun is shining in Leiden this year. So put on your swimsuit and enjoy a cocktail on a beach chair! The pop-up indoor beach ‘Waagstrand’ opened yesterday in the historic building ‘De Waag’. The indoor beach consists of 20 cubic meters of sand and has palm trees, beach chairs, cocktails, beach activities and DJs. This indoor beach is an initiative of ‘Stadspodia Leiden’ and will be open from Wednesday to Sunday from 13:00 pm to 01:00 am.
Signature dishes at high altitude
28-6-2013
During a KLM flight from Amsterdam to Hong Kong passengers were surprised with signature dishes of two-star chef Richard Ekkenbus. The served dinner was part of his final test as an SVH-certified Master Chef. KLM serves meals of Dutch qualified chefs in the World Business Class for several years. But never before a Dutch chef has cooked dishes ‘live’ on board an aircraft as part of his final test to become a Master Chef. Richard Ekkenbus has completed his first part of the test successfully, the second part takes place in Restaurant Amber at The Land Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong.
Fooddrome
27-6-2013
Fooddrome will open its doors in Villa Flora (Venlo) around June 2014. Fooddrome will be a location of 7,500 m2 where retail, food service industry, education and recreation will meet. According to the initiator Gert Benders the classic supermarket sells standard products for the lowest price, while the quality of the pure products and the buying experience get lost. Fooddrome is a fresh food concept with authentic, special and sustainable products of mainly Dutch soil for consumers and business users. Healthy and honest food for an affordable price is the key for Fooddrome. The products can be tasted and bought to prepare the dishes at home. The products can also be ordered through the internet or smartphone and will be delivered refrigerated.
Sushi as inspiration
27-6-2013
Over the years we have had several variants of ‘Sushi’ at horecatrends.com which can easely be used by restaurant owners. Like the German ‘Goshi‘, a sushi with European flavors or the Wichy, a sushi at sandwich-size. In 2011 there was an attempt to bring a sweeter rice variant with fruit, Frushi, on the market in the Netherlands. In Australia, somebody invented the squared sushi and in 2010 we spotted the first sushi sorbet, a dessert you can eat with chopsticks. For pancake restaurants a sushi made from pancakes is a nice appetizer. There are also recipes for sushi sweets and chocolates available on the internet. The shape and taste combination of sushi are perfect to combine with other flavors and ingredients. Catering Hanenburg of cookery school ‘Lokaal 55’, combines Frisian (North of the Netherlands) ingredients and tapas, but also Frisian sushi with smoked eel from the Sneekermeer at a sushi rolls from beetroot with a cream of potato. Use the sushi once as inspiration.
Glamping is hot
26-6-2013
According to a study of beslist.nl an increasing number of travelers likes to camp in luxury, also known as ‘glamping’. Beslist.nl made an infographic about glamping, is it a real trend or a marketing tric? ‘Glamping’ is the combination of ‘glamour and camping’ and is derived from the popular luxury safari lodges in Africa. A ‘glamper’ overnights on a family camping in a caravan, a luxury tent or bungalow. Comfort and luxury are the most important. Earlier we saw that Landal Greenparks implented ‘glamping’ by building luxury safari tents in 2011. Or what about this luxury hotel-caravan? Unfortunately the infographic is just in Dutch, but bottom-line the researchers indicate glamping as a trend and not as a tric.
Largest beer bar
26-6-2013
A real Belgian beer lover? The largest beer bar in the world will be opened in September in Leuven, Belgium. Beer bar ‘The Capital’ will get an assortment of 2,500 Belgian beers and they will also serve foreign beers. Beer lovers will be thrilled by the glass floor through which the guests can admire the large beer stock. ‘The Capital’ exceeds the Delirium Café in Brussels with a range of 2,400 Belgian beers.
International Comfort Food
25-6-2013
Restaurant ‘Delicatessen’ in Soho, New York City, has a nice interior but the description of their ‘cuisine’ is more special! They indicate their Cuisine as “International Comfort Food ‘, in all their communication. And I also really experienced it this way. With on the menu dishes like, Mac & Cheese, all kind of Burgers, Lobster rolls and for example tacos. But also, ‘flash fried tuna roll, a kind of sushi roll with tuna fried very quickly. ‘Cheeseburger spring rolls’, spring rolls with cheese and crumbled burger in it, served with ketchup and mustard! The whole party really enjoyed them, they where delicious! Some examples from the desserts; they served the “The Un-Birthday Cake’, just a slice of the typical American birthday cake, ‘ It might not be your birthday but who says you can not have the cake? And ‘smores in a jar’; a small glass with some kind of marshmallow liqueur served beside a jar of chocolate mouse topped with piece of graham crackers and then on top of that marshmallow fluff. Great way to present it this way and delicious! Great restaurant to eat if you are in New York. ^Leonie van Spronsen
Shoppable store windows
25-6-2013
Clothes & Accessories store Kate Spade Saturday uses the busy sidewalks in New York City, by creating a shoppable store windows. They have placed interactive windows in formerly vacant retail stores where you can shop online. The storefronts are painted yellow with black and white elements and a selection of clothing and accessories are displayed on hangers and hooks inside the windows. Through the large touch screen display, passers by can browse the entire collection and get more information. Only a mobile phone number is required and a confirmation will be send, payment will be done at delivery, the order will be delivered for free within one hour. The four stores are open 24 hours a day between June 8th and July 7th.
Top 10 treetop hotels
24-6-2013
Tripadvisor gives an overview of ten extraordinary treetop hotels from around the world. Each treehouse is surrounded by nature and the examples varies from modern to simple treehouses. The photos are from ‘Chateaux Dans les Arbres’ in the Dordogne, France. The Chateaux Dans les Arbres offers three treehouses in the form of a castle, in the middle of the forest. The tree houses have a modern interior with furniture and elements of wood and a private hottub on the ‘balcony’. For more treetop hotels check Tripadvisor.
Cup of coffee with your own picture
24-6-2013
Earlier we saw baristas that turn a simple cup of coffee into a wonderful creation, like Mike Breach. At Lets Caffe in Taiwan they make a very special and creative latte art of photos. The café serves coffee with a print of your own photo. Guests can give a picture of themselves or their label and it will be placed in the coffee machine. The coffee machine makes a perfect copy of the picture of cacao powder on the cup of coffee.
Pop-up single restaurant
24-6-2013
Pop-up restaurant ‘Eenmaal’ opens on Friday June 28th and Saturday June 29th. The pop-up restaurant is the first single restaurant in the world. Where you normally go out for dinner together, at restaurant ‘Eenmaal’ you will sit alone at a table. The restaurant serves a four course dinner and only has tables for one person. The purpose of the pop-up restaurant is to make a public place more attractive for single people and change the image of being alone in public. The pop-up restaurant is a social design project of Marina van Goor along with branding agency Vandejong.
Maastricht hangs the laundry outside
21-6-2013
This morning Maastricht welcomed the summer in a special way. In serveral streets freshly washed laundry was hanged out to promote the quest for the ‘cleanest’ photo of the city. The promotion is an initiative by VVV Maastricht and Townhouse Designhotel Maastricht.
Sustainable geWoonboot
21-6-2013
This inspiring floating meeting room in Amsterdam is called the ‘geWoonboot’ and created by Joan Kramer and Jan Huisman. The object has 120m2 floor space and is divided in two rooms with a view on the IJ or NDSM-wharf. The boot is self sustainable in energy use and has sun collectors, waste water filtering, warmth pump and sun heated water system. It has a biological and/or local catering as well.