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.
Starbucks tea house
20-6-2013
Earlier this year Starbucks opened a new concept near the Megura Station in Tokyo. The new store is inspired by the surrounding neighbourhood, traditional Japanese architecture and gardens. The Starbucks doesn’t look like a coffee shop but more like traditional Japanese tea house. The interior design includes elements of wooden walls and Shoji sliding doors and the store sells Japanese ceramic mugs, exclusive to Starbucks Japan. Earlier we’ve spotted a Starbucks in Amsterdam with a interior design made of old bicycle tires and the Starbucks in Japan where you are surrounded by trees.
The wearable movie
20-6-2013
Again a brilliant advertising of Coca-Cola to share ‘happiness’. In the animated movie ‘The wearable movie’ Coca-Cola wants to deliver fans all of the world a smile. The concept was developed by Ogilvy and created by Psyop. Each frame of the movie was put on a t-shirt and sent to fans. The fans were asked to take a picture of themselves with the t-shirt. These pictures were combined to recreate the animated movie of all Coca-Cola’s fans.
Student dinner blog
19-6-2013
At the website GEWOONWATEENSTUDENTJESAVONDSEET.blogspot.nl former student Leonie writes about her simple and decent dinners. She mostly creates her own dishes, but sometimes she is inspired by cookbooks. Her blog is viewed 1,400 times a day and her Facebookpage has received nearly 25,000 likes in two years. A student restaurant in Amsterdam can respond to this blog by inviting Leonie for a dinner and let her write a blog about it. This way restaurants generate a lot of free publicity.
The Offline beer glass
19-6-2013
Does it often happens that you are drinking something in a pub and your friends only pay attention to their phone? A bar in Brazil has found a solution for that problem: ‘The Offline Glass’. This beer glass can only stand up straight when balanced on a mobile phone. You so have to put your phone down to keep your beer glass standing.
Hot Tub Cinema
18-6-2013
Last year we posted a video about the Hot Tub Cinema on our website. Meanwhile we got these beautiful pictures that we don’t want to hold back from you. The Hot Tub Cinema is a combination of hot tubs and great films on special locations. Hire a hot tub with your friends or buy a single ticket and share the hot tub with strangers.
Innovative billboards
17-6-2013
IBM has designed special innovative billboards to promote its ‘Smart Cities Program’ in partnership with Ogilvy & Mather France. These billboards do not only have an informative function but function as useful surfaces as well. The billboards can be used as a bench, a shelter from the rain or a ramp over stairs. The aim of the project is to encourage smarter thinking when it comes to the development of ‘solutions’ for the city.
Variation Chef of the year
17-6-2013
The ‘Variation in the kitchen’ foundation stimulates consumers, restaurants and caterers to cook healthy, sustainable and creative without meat or fish. This year the foundation organizes the competition ‘Variation Chef of the year’ for the third time. The foundation is looking for the chef that prepares the best vegetarian dish of 2013. Per region a winner will be chosen during the five regional qualifying rounds and the final winner will be chosen at restaurant Librije’s Atelier on October 16. The ‘Variation Chef of the year’ wins an internship at the 100% vegetarian restaurant Joia in Milan.
Public painting machine
17-6-2013
A nice gimmick for vacant shop-premises! German artist Niklas Roy developed the Public Painting Machine in collaboration with Kati Hyyppä. The Public Painting Machine was placed in vacant shop-premises in Poland. People on the street could pull the ropes to create an artwork. This pop-up art store causes a lot of fun and bustle in the shopping street.
Gourmet Bus Barcelona
14-6-2013
The Gourmet Bus in Barcelona combines a sightseeing tour with a haute-cuisine lunch or dinner. This combination makes the bus with modern interior and a panoramic roof unique. The Gourmet Bus offers a sightseeing tour through Barcelona along the main attractions. The guests will be provided with an iPad containing additional information (in eleven languages) and pictures. The bus has a top deck with 30 seats and the lower deck features the kitchen, toilets and an extra table. During the tour the guests will get a lunch or dinner served by the famous Spanish restaurateur Carles Gaig.
Amsterdam water promotions
14-6-2013
‘Waternet’ organizes activities on the water in Amsterdam to ask the attention for the importance of clean water in the canals. During Queens day the ‘Emergency Boot’ with toilets was launched. This boot prevented that people would pee in the canals or on the street. Three islands with toilets floated at the center of the water. Useful during the watersport season or when there are events on the water!
‘Waternet’ will do an activation on the canals to launch the ‘canal website’ on Saturday June 15. A photo boat of ‘Waternet’ floats around in the Amstel River in Amsterdam and takes photos of people with their boat. The pictures can be found on the ‘canal website’ and the most popular photo will be enlarged on canvas. The canal website contains tips, experiences, photos but also information about terraces and water events.