Berlin’s first Salmon Kebab

21-10-2015

The so called ‘Lachdöner’ from Rauch Zeichen consists of juicy salmon, cucumber, tomato, crispy fresh onion, well-seasoned with homemade honey-mustard-dill sauce and conveniently packed in traditional flatbread.

Salmon Kebab

Berlin’s new specialty, the ‘Lachdöner’ is invented by the self-made entrepreneur and amateur fisherman Ronny Unger. Often there are long lines waiting in front of the ‘Rauch-Zeichen’- food truck, that drives from market to market around Berlin. Beside the Salmon Kebab they also serve a salmonwrap, fish fries, fish buns and smoked fish. Most fish is bought at the company ‘Fischerei Angermünde’ in Uckermark but the salmon comes from antibiotic-free fish farms in Norway. The smoked fish is smoked over beech wood. For his fish ideas Ronny Unger has been awarded the ‘Seafood Star 2015’ as best starter in fish in Germany. Check out the Facebook page of ‘Rauch Zeichen’ for more information.

Inspiration

Check out other kebab concepts;
Like the robotic arm that slices the meat at restaurant ‘Super Kebab’ in London. Or the first European location of Baba Rafi that recently opened in Alkmaar. In Asia, the chain has more than 1,300 locations and the location in Alkmaar serves a kebab adapted to the European market, Kebab 2.0.  And in Paris ‘Grillé’ serves a kebab that even the biggest snob can’t wait to be in line for! A Fancy Kebab or as the French say; ‘kebabs quasi gastronomiques’.

Croquettes made of 100% organic spelt

20-10-2015

An article about one of our Dutch prides, our ‘kroketten en bitterballen’ (croquettes and small croquettes). Royal Spelt created the first croquettes made of 100% organic spelt. Prepared with fresh herbs, vegetables and the best organic beef.

Royal Spelt makes croquettes made of 100% organic spelt

Royal Spelt wants to make the tastiest and best snacks in the Netherlands, made of 100% natural and organic ingredients and 100% spelt. Their slogan ‘Pure nature in a jacket of spelt’. Royal Spelt has chosen for the Eko-grain spelt, consisting of a mixture of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and fats. The Eko-grain spelt also has a high protein percentage and is rich in amino acids. In addition is the filling made of biological meat without artificial colors, flavors or fragrance and the salpicon is made with spelt flour.

Healthier snack

Okay, the croquette will still be fried, but for the group of people who consciously checks the ingredients of the products they eat, the croquette is a healthier alternative. The demand for organic and spelt products increases and as ‘organic snacks’, these croquettes are an addition for caterers, restaurants and snack bars.

Royal Spelt delivers their products to companies with a conscious mind for healthy but tasty food. The aim is to make the best and most responsible croquette of the Netherlands and develop more flavours.

Mini kiwi fruit: kiwi berries

19-10-2015

In Britain, supermarket Waitrose has started selling kiwi berries which are grown in Withers Farm in Ledbury, Herefordshire.

Kiwi berries

The berries have the size of a grape and can be eaten whole. It looks a lot like the original Kiwi fruit from New Zealand but is a fraction of the size and doesn’t have furry skin. It looks a bit like a gooseberry, but tastes sweeter. The kiwi berries are getting more and more popular, we already spotted the berries in America last year at specific high end food markets. Farmers around the world are now producing it commercially. Like the article in The Daily Mail tells, supermarket Waitrose even started selling them in its stores all over Great Britain. One of the sellers of the kiwi berries in the Netherlands is Nature’s Pride.

The kiwi berries are available during the months February, March, April, September, October and November. The berry grows wild in parts of China, north-eastern Siberia, Korea and Japan. The berries are high in antioxidants, Vitamin A, C and E as well as Potassium and Magnesium.

Another fruit at the breakfast buffet!

Robotic arm to slice kebab.

16-10-2015

Super Kebab in Stoke Newington, North London has introduced a new robotic arm to slice their döner meat. We noticed some technical improvements excluding a lot of manual labour.

At Super Kebab they’re working with a robotic arm

The user controls the robot with a remote control enabling him to adjust the speed and the thickness of the slices. If you watch the video, you will notice that the slices are very thin making your döner kebab more yummy!

The robotic arm is made by Atalay döner in Istanbul, Turkey. They installed the first Robotic arm in the United Kingdom at Super Kebab in London. The robotic arm glides up and down the tower of meat guided by sensors. The owner Hakan Gorenli is very happy with his investment (around 5.000 pounds) and thinks many kebab restaurants will follow. His customers are happy with the precise and hygienical way the meat is cut.

Robots in the hospitality industry

We recently wrote about the healthy fast food (lunch) restaurant ‘Eatsa’ in San Francisco that looks more like an electronics store than a restaurant. There is no staff to take orders and everything is fully automated. The founders of Eatsa promise faster, more nutritious, affordable and tastier meals. This is realized without staff at the front of the restaurant, like the robotic arm that reduces the manual labour. In the hotel section we spotted The Hen-na hotel that opened this summer and is staffed with robot receptionists, porters, cleaners and waitresses. Are robots slowly taking over? I hope that hospitality remains human. ^Marjolein

A breadstick crust at the pizza of Pizza Hut

14-10-2015

Pizza Hut created ‘The Twisted Crust Pizza’, this pizza combines pizza and breadsticks. The pizza features a tearable, dippable breadstick crust with a choice of 2 dipping sauces…

A breadstick crust?

Pizza Hut introduced the twisted crust pizza 21 September in the USA. The company loves to stretch the possibilities of the old-fashioned pizza. Like the hotdog pizza with a hotdog in the crust and their ‘doritos crunchy crust pizza’, we wrote about last year.

Jared Drinkwater, vice president of marketing at Pizza Hut: “We are not afraid to experiment with new and innovative flavor combinations for our food, but sometimes it’s the most obvious innovations that amaze us the most – and Twisted Crust is an example of an innovation that has done just that. We know America loves our pizza, but we have an enormous, loyal group of Pizza Hut breadstick lovers out there, too. We believe our new Twisted Crust Pizza is the ultimate flavor combination of these two popular items that consumers will absolutely love.”

Inspiration

We have seen some unusual pizza combinations in the Netherlands as well. Like last year, the sauerkraut pizza from Domino’s Pizza. Pizza Hut only serves a pizza with a crust stuffed with cheese in the Netherlands though. We wonder what pizza variations we will see this winter in the Netherlands! Anyway the ‘Twisted Crust Pizza’ can be added to the list of 10 times pizza inspiration.

Les Bols de Jean – the breadbowl is going French

13-10-2015

Leonie van Spronsen, lives and works in Paris and recently lunched at ‘Les Bols de Jean’ in Paris.

The bread bowl is centuries old and in the United States completely common as chili or clam chowder holder, but in Europe not so much. Well that’s all about to change if you ask internationally renowned baker Eric Kayser and ‘world-famous-in-France’ chef Jean Imbert!

Les Bols de Jean in Paris

Since 2 weeks Jean Imbert, former winner of Topchef France, has a new lunch place right in the city center of Paris where he serves only one type of meal and that is the ‘Bol de Jean’. A ‘Bol de Jean’ is an especially developed loaf of brioche (in collaboration with Eric Kayser) that’s hollowed and the top has been cut off as a type of lid. For in the loaf you choose the dish you would like to try that day, they usually have 5 choices and they change regularly.

A must-visit lunch spot in Paris

Guess what? Delicious! The brioche is amazingly balanced, has a great structure and doen’t taste to sweet. The dish is creatively thought out and seems to match perfectly with the bread each time. On top of that it looks beautiful and it’s a new lunch concept for all Parisians. ‘Les Bols de Jean’ – I say on it’s way to become a new classic!

From the Dutch editor: In the Netherlands the Bunny Chow foodtruck serves similar bread bowls based on recipes from South Africa. Check Jean Imbert’s Instagram account for more pictures.

Co-creation around new concepts

12-10-2015

Dick Middelweerd, chef of restaurant Treeswijkhoeve (** by Michelin), has great plans for the coming weeks. From 16 October up to 25 October you can enjoy his culinary talent during the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven as at 10 November he will cook at a pop-up restaurant at Buitenplaats Amerongen.

Allegory of the South

In the iconic Augustine Church, in the heart of Eindhoven, major entrepreneurs from the region join their traditional knowledge for the ‘Allegory of the South‘. Atelier van Asseldonk will realize a complete installation, based on a twenty meter long table. The company Oogenlust will decorate the church, supported by master builder Bruns. The nave of the Augustine Church transforms at night into a dining room, where Dick Middelweerd will offer a special menu for the occasion. Guests will toast with Beerze Beer from the region. This initiative is open to visitors during the Dutch Design Week from 16 to 25 October.

Pop-up restaurant at Buitenplaats Amerongen

On 10 November Dick Middelweerd and his team will serve a one-time pop-up five-course dinner at the historic venue ‘Buitenplaats Amerongen’. They will make some of his famous local signature dishes, like his ‘Worstenbrood’ (Meatbread), the smoked salmon (on cedar) in a humidor and ‘prol’. Location is the recently renovated coach house of the historic ‘Buitenplaats Amerongen’. Besides cooking Dick Middelweerd will take care of the music as DJ at the after party!

Co-creation around new concepts

The pop-up restaurant at the historic venue ‘Buitenplaats Amerongen’ is an initiative of entrepreneurs from Amerongen, Peter-Paul Swijnenburg of Buitenplaats Amerongen and Nico Donkelaar from the Olive Oil Shop, who already successfully brought two star chef Edwin Vinke to Amerongen. They combine a wonderful evening to enjoy the dishes of a famous chef with an after party to take the feet from the floor.

The ‘Allegory of the South’ will be a great addition to the Dutch Design Week because of the co-creation of all parties. Check out their video.

Virtual Reality pop-up cinema in Amsterdam

9-10-2015

&samhoud Consultancy brings the first Virtual Reality pop-up cinema to Amsterdam. The technology of virtual reality will be shown at their office on 31 October.

Virtual Reality pop-up cinema

In this pop-up cinema in the office of &samhoud Consultancy you will be centered in the middle of a movie with the help of the virtual reality glasses and headphones. The technique of virtual reality will be applied on a large scale for the first time in the Netherlands, in this pop-up cinema. Tickets will be 10 euros and can be purchased through a dedicated Facebook page. Jip Samhoud tells more about developments in Virtual Reality worldwide in an article in a Dutch Newspaper, het Parool. He thinks that the initial hype in virtual reality is over and that virtual reality will increasingly integrate. He also admits that the movie they will show, is especially made to show the effects of virtual reality. A big challenge for film producers to create new movies! The video above shows how to use the virtual reality glasses.

Flight Funding; KLM experimenting with crowdfunding

8-10-2015

KLM is the first airline in the world that uses its social media channels for a FlightFunding experiment. Basically an experiment with crowdfunding. It is also a fine example of creating a new word in the English language and we wonder how it effects their brand image.

Oké, you say FlightFunding?

Today Juanita from Schijndel gets 24 hours (till 9 October, 7 am) the opportunity to make use of KLM’s social media friends to ‘FlightFund’ a flight to her family in Canada. KLM wants to use this experiment to test the strength of its social network. KLM has been using social media for years, it all began with the award-winning campaign, KLM Surprise in 2010. Since 2010 KLM has 24/7 social media service in 14 languages. Per week more than 150 social media service employees answer 70.000 messages from customers and fans. Amongst those messages there are many wishes from people who can’t afford to buy a ticket, but would love to travel.

Karlijn Vogel-Meijer, Manager Social Media KLM: “We would love to help everyone, of course, but sadly this is simply not an option for a business dependent on the sale of tickets. The FlightFunding concept arose from a deep-seated wish to help people make their dreams come true. This social media experiment will allow KLM to assess how its social network responds to appeals of this kind. From the stack of requests, the care team randomly selected the story of Juanita. ”

“Trial and error has played an important part in establishing KLM’s leading position in social media. FlightFunding really is an experiment. Today Juanita’s appeal has been posted on KLM’s social media channels. Everyone can make their donation on flightfunding.com. With over twelve million fans worldwide it must be possible to fund the amount for a ticket? However, in each experiment there is a chance that it will not succeed. We are very curious about the results. ”

The creative concept for Flight Funding has been developed in collaboration with Code d’Azur. See how Juanita experiences the FlightFunding. 

Birthday Card biscuits; inspiration from Biscuiteers

7-10-2015

The bakery Biscuiteers in London makes birthday card biscuits. It’s something totally different than sending a regular birthday card or a bouquet of flowers.

Besides the normal assortment that most bakers have, Biscuiteers has an extra range with tins filled with biscuits for special events and birthday cards made of cookies. Besides the standard “cookies birthday cards”, you can personalize some birthday cards as well. They can put a name or a small text on it, for example. The bakery Biscuiteers has 2 shops in London and their biscuits are shipped worldwide.

Inspiration from Biscuiteers for the hospitality industry

Recently, we wrote about some great initiatives to bring attention to someone’s birthday, like the Refinery hotel in New York, which offers guests a birthday cake from the famous Magnolia Bakery if they celebrate their birthday at the hotel. By creating something special you can attract new guests, for instance a separate and festive ‘edible’ invitation for a dinner or lunch on a guests birthday! And when you do that, make sure your audience knows what you’re doing. Earlier we wrote that the use of local bloggers and youtube-bloggers can work. Check this video of Tanya Burr, she is one of those new stars known from Youtube. She especially appeals girls of 16+. In a more than 13 minutes long video, she shows all her birthday presents with at the end a birthday card made of biscuits by Biscuiteers. Until today this video has more than 873 000 views. That beats every ad!

Creating a healthier planet while having fun with the Scale Down Challenge

6-10-2015

The Scale Down Challenge allows you to play around with your habits and choices concerning food, energy, waste and water. Thirty simple and surprising challenges can be found on the giant interactive grocery scale that travels around to schools, festivals and public spaces. The device does not weigh people, nor products, but the choices made as a consumer.

The Scale Down Challenge

Small actions can make the world a better place. Here’s a selection of the sparkling challenges the Scale Down Challenge offers: Veggie on vacation, Peanut Butter Boost, WTFridge, Supermarket Selfie, Chili sin Carne, Bring a Bottle and Bye Bye Plastic. With the last you be challenged to buy nothing out of plastic for one whole week!

Merel Mirage designed the scale with the young designers of the Design Academy. As participant you have to step on the scale and push one of the buttons. On the output ticket is written what has to been done and a special code to login and upload pictures on Instagram. The HOLY foundation of Merel Mirage is travelling to schools, conferences and museums with the scale to challenge as many people as possible. You can even enter as participant to devise your own challenge and compete for the Scale Down Challenge trophy which will be announced on Earthday 2016.

It could work in our restaurants and hotels as well: small gestures to create less waste and having fun trying to achieve the challenge!

Pancake Art

5-10-2015

Barista’s could learn to manage new skills and become an expert on the pancake griddle as well. Pancake art is a new trend, spotted in Japan.

In the beginning of 2015 we’ve spotted the ‘PancakeBot’ that allows you to ‘print’ out pancakes into about any design you can imagine. Especially easy and fun for kids and a great gimmick at your breakfast buffet. But now there is another emerging trend: Pancake Art.

Pancake Art from Japan

In an article at Eater.com, a couple of American celebrity chefs have been immortalized in pancakes. And the Italian restaurant ‘La Ricetta’, located in the city of Zama in Japan, is making high end pancake art as a part of their trademark. Although for the most part, La Ricetta seems to be committed to preparing classic Italian dishes in the traditional way. As their website is only in Japanese, check out their Twitter account for examples.

Inspiration

Who is going to be immortalized in pancake art in your country? Would guests want to pay for eating pancake art of their own pictures? It would be great to be able to serve real prince and princesses pancakes or famous iconic characters for the little guests of your restaurant. When will be the first pancake art competition next to the well-known barista competitions?

Preparation is a key component of Restaurant C

2-10-2015

Restaurant C opens early October in Amsterdam. It’s a restaurant initiated by Michiel van der Eerde and his brother Lucas where different cooking methods are an important part of the menu.

Restaurant C: Michael and Lucas van der Eerde

In 2012 Chef Michiel van der Eerde opened the pop-up restaurant BAUT at the same location on the Wibautstraat 125 in Amsterdam. After the huge success he came with a sequel called ‘BAUTZUID’ a pop-up restaurant that’s a hit as well. Next to that, the Dutch public might know Michiel from the television program ‘Masterchef Holland’. Lucas has over twenty years of experience in the media, he was for instance commercially responsible for MTV Networks Netherlands.

Menu in temperature zones

The menu with small dishes is divided into temperature zones from 0 to 200 degrees. The method of preparation is more important than the products. One and the same product can vary completely depending on the cooking method at different temperatures.

Interior design Restaurant C inspired by L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon

The open kitchen is located in the middle of the restaurant. It is the heart of the restaurant and inspired by L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in London. The interior design is done by architect Ronald Hooft from &PRAST&HOOFT in collaboration with Sandra Shelves / Studio Noun and Donald Beekman / DBXL. It is a blend of sophisticated comfortable elements and raw materials. Brass, concrete shell, velvet, wood, leather and steel alternate.

Furniture and decoration

The barstools are made of steel and leather and finished with a leather belt and were custom developed by WDSTCK, Studio Noun and C. Bar lamps made from old gas cylinders are hanging above the kitchen. On the side of the restaurant there are green velvet sofa booths with round wooden tables. A melt lamp by designer Tom Dixon hangs above the tables. The acoustics are taken care of as well, there are acoustic panels fitted throughout the restaurant. The capacity is 120 persons, of whom twenty people are able to sit at the kitchen bar.

Reservations are already available: c.amsterdam

Foodpairing with olive oil ice cream

1-10-2015

Bertolli celebrated its 150 years with foodpairing on the store floor of Albert Heijn supermarket. Foodpairing with special preparations and surprising demo mobiles. Amongst others they served the first Italian caprese ice cream with Bertolli olive oil, tomato, mozzarella and basil prepared on a cold teppanyaki plate.

Caprese with olive oil ice cream

Recently we wrote an article about ice cream that tastes like Greek salad and ice cream with pizza flavor. In addition, many chefs are experimenting with preparation methods and savory flavors of ice cream, which often taste great! Patrick Peeters sent us a link to this video with a special method to make ice cream. At several Albert Heijn supermarkets this ice was made and people could watch the preparation and taste it ….

Dutch Tappies at the Mart Café in the Market Hall in Rotterdam

30-9-2015

The Mart Café serves Dutch Tappies in the Market hall in Rotterdam. The café celebrates the Dutch cuisine with the common sense the people of Rotterdam are known for with its own twist.

The Market Hall in Rotterdam (opened October last year) has a very international variety of restaurants. And in the midst of all the great international food restaurants, Mart Café from the Dutch Dudok Group, shows all the great treats from our Dutch cuisine.

Dutch tapas or as they say in Rotterdam: Dutch Tappies

Mart Café is an oasis of sobriety among all the exotic possibilities the Markt Hall offers. They offer coffee, beer and bitterballen (our famous small, round croquettes), picks with pickled onions and Dutch liverwurst, toast with mackerel mousse and ‘Kibbeling’ – our fried cod. Next to that Rye bread with cheese and of course the famous Dudok apple pie, and a matching Jenever (Dutch gin) menu with special Jenevers from the area. Café Mart wants to put our own homebrew spirits on the international map again!

The design of the Mart Café

Mart Café is located right next to the main entrance of the Market Hall, on the ground floor with a private terrace and entrance. The decor is minimalistic with raw concrete walls, wood and black and white tiles on the floor. The middle part of the ceiling is open so that a pleasant spaciousness is created between the floors. The arrangement of gleaming ceiling lamps is topped with a huge chandelier of Meccano.