Inspiration from the Xiringuito Escribà: an ‘Airbag’ with Iberian ham

12-8-2015

At the xiringuito (beach restaurant) Escribà in Barcelona they serve an ‘Airbag’ with Iberian Ham, a great alternative way to serve one of the most delicious hams of the world. Because of the fact that the ‘Airbag’ is served hot the ham will melt a bit, creating a delicious combination.

Xiringuito Escribà

If we do visit a town we always check the Michelin guide and the internet for great places to eat. Recently we bought a great book (also available as app): Where Chefs Eat, a guide to chefs’ favorite restaurants, in which this beach restaurant is recommended by Albert Raurich, Ferran Adria’s right-hand man at el Bulli for seven years who left in 2007 to open the Asian tapas bar Dos Palillos. At this xiringuito you will have dinner or lunch in a relaxed atmosphere with simple but great dishes. If you want to have lunch at weekend days, you really need to make a reservation. Besides their ‘Airbag’ we loved their Escribà special paella or fidueà (Catalan noodles) and their choice of desserts.

A small hospitable gesture from the Xiringuito

The staff brings the bill in a hat with a small surprise. Old-fashioned but we saw a lot of adults play with it, a great place to enjoy a summer lunch or dinner if you’re visiting Barcelona! ^Marjolein van Spronsen

Coravin – drinking wine without opening the bottle

11-8-2015

10-8-2015 – Last Saturday our colleague Bram Kosterink attended a demonstration of the Coravin. Coravin is an innovation of Greg Lambrecht: “My dream was to magically pour wine from bottles without ever pulling the cork. The remaining wine could then go back in my cellar, so that I could enjoy it again, whenever I desired.”

Drinking wine without opening the bottle

Coravin is a way of opening a bottle of wine without having to remove the cork. Never before it was possible to pour a glass of wine without opening the bottle. Coravin makes this possible. Even the capsule doesn’t have to be removed. The wine glass via a stainless steel needle with a teflon coating, the remaining wine is pressured with the noble argon gas to prevent oxidation. The natural evolution of the wine in the unopened bottle will not be affected because the cork closes after the needle has been removed.

Natural cork

Coravin can only be used on bottles with natural cork. “Right now our focus is on targeting and market this system in Europe. After that we will start thinking about expanding our product portfolio, including to be able to use a similar system on wine bottles with a screw cap.” said Robert van Dijk (Marketing Communication Director at Coravin Europe BV). Coravin has different needles which makes it possible to positively influence the speed of the pouring, they even developed a ‘faster pour needle’ especially for the hospitality industry.

The best wines by the glass

The system is already for sale in many parts of the world. In Europe, the system is widely used in places like London and Paris. Some restaurants even have a separate section called ‘Coravin wines by the glass’ on their wine list. The Coravin section offers the best bottles of wine which are available by the glass. One of the best examples we encountered is the wine list at The Ritz in London. Here you can drink a glass of Burgundy, Le Montrachet from 2009 for ‘only’ £ 130, =. For a tasting glass of one of the most expensive wines in the world you can go to the wine bar Ô Chateau in Paris, they even pour the Chateau Pétrus per glass.

The financial impact

The Coravin will cost you € 299, =. For this amount you will receive a Coravin, two capsules filled with the argon gas, a display for the Coravin and a cover for a wine bottle (suitable for a blind wine tasting). The argon gas capsules are sold separately for € 19,95 per two pieces. They also sell a variety of needles besides the standard needle, like a the ‘vintage needle’ for wines with old corks and the ‘faster poor needle’ capable of rapidly pouring the wine, one needle is sold for € 29,95.

Ripples coffee printer

10-8-2015

With Ripples coffee printer, you can print images and text on cappuccinos or lattes.

Ripples coffee printer makes latte art

The Ripples coffee printer can personalize a cup of coffee. The printer can print messages on the coffee like for example birthday congratulations or your name.

Within 10 seconds

The machine costs about € 915, – and combines 3D printing with an ink-jet system. The ink is made of natural coffee extract and is available in so-called ‘Ripple Pods’. The images can be chosen from the online Ripple library or uploaded via the Ripple app. One print takes about 10 seconds.

Wifi

The Ripples coffee printer has a WiFi connectivity and automatically prints on coffee cups up to 17 cm high and 11 cm in diameter. Printing Latte Art was seen earlier in Taiwan, at the Lets Caffe. However, that system was based on printing with cocoa and was not available to third parties. Additionally Ripples focuses its marketing much more on printing catchy messages rather than portraits alone.

Buiten Adem: A sports festival for adults that leaves you breathless

7-8-2015

The Buiten Adem festival (translated Breathless Festival) is a sports festival for adults in Park Transwijk Utrecht on 29 August.

Breathless at a sports festival

There are many festivals this summer, at outdoor locations the weather plays a significant role and one weekend excluded, this is a perfect festival summer so far. All the festivals do their very best to be distinctive, but a handful are another league. Sometimes they literally jump across boundaries, with Jumping Fitness on the line-up for example!

New sports

The festival offers challenging new sports and workouts like XCORE and BRN, CrossXVest, Slackline, Jumping Fitness, High Intensity Impact Training (HIIT), but also good old favorites like yoga, boot camp, kickboxing, power lifting and hula hoop are part of the program as well. The day is filled with music from the emerging DJ’s La Fuente, Tim Hoeben and The Bear is Square.

Healthy eating and drinking (and a beer after the exercises)

Buiten Adem festival is a kind of sports day for adults, where alcohol is only allowed from 17.00 o’clock. The rest of the day there are plenty healthy snacks and juices from Grizzl, Sla-Gerei and the Aloha juice truck.

Earlier, we wrote about the sold out inflatables festival taking place in Amsterdam at the same weekend, that will be a sporty weekend!

Kornuit puts modern craftsmanship in the spotlight

6-8-2015

The brewers (and marketing department) of Kornuit work with the new generation of craftsmen and puts the spotlight on modern craftsmanship.

Modern craftsmanship

Kornuit works together with sausage maker Erik Waagmeester and blacksmith Joram Barbier and has made beautiful videos about them. Under the heading of ‘modern craftsmanship’ Kornuit will give them and other craftsmen the attention they deserve.

Sausage and upcycled beer opener

Waagmeester developed a sausage based on Cascade hop specially for Kornuit. The sausage is available at selected bars. Barbers has designed a bottle opener from an old beer barrel.  The opener which is available at a number of supermarkets in the Netherlands.

Happyhappyjoyjoy – An impression with photos

5-8-2015

Julius Jaspers has brought the colourful streets of Asia to Amsterdam with Happyhappyjoyjoy. Aren’t you able to visit this restaurant? We’ve  got a wonderful impression by photographer Wouter van der Sar via architecture and design company ‘concrete Amsterdam’.

Happyhappyjoyjoy – inspiration

Julius Jaspers leads people from Amsterdam directly to the bustling streets of Bangkok, Saigon and Hong Kong with the opening of Happyhappyjoyjoy in July. During his travels through Asia, the chef was inspired by the colourful culture and cuisine. His inspiration is now translated to the new Asian street food restaurant at the Bilderdijkstraat 158 in Amsterdam. Happyhappyjoyjoy brings together the contradictory tangle of influences from the Far East, where sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami are completely balanced on the menu.

The feel-good menu

Traditional starters and main courses on the menu are replaced with small feel good small plates like typical Asian steamed dumpling, buns with Peking duck or pork belly, hot & spicy shrimps’, clamps in XO sauce and Pad Thai. For the dessert menu Julius created dishes like Banana Fritters and Rice Pudding.

Asian drinks

The spicy dishes can be chilled down with roasted coconut juice or one of the other Eastern sodas. The extensive beer list is packed with Asian brands like Saigon Lager and the Chinese Tsingtao. Cocktails get a thrill with spices like ginger, pepper and Thai basil and Happyhappyjoyjoy serves Yumchatea tea from the Dutch computer science geeks Koh Ngai and Kenneth Touw.

A good-humored chaos

Happyhappyjoyjoy provides an upbeat, eclectic chaos. The vibrant décor is Asian with a wink and fully provided by concrete – which was the Gold Key Designer 2014.  The combination of neon lights and authentic materials, patterns and colours leads you to one of the many night markets that line the streets of Asia. With a jumble of Oriental posters and ceiling of Chinese umbrellas you find yourself just in a true Asian setting.

Unrecognizable 1RDJ plays one track and flies away

4-8-2015

It sounds bizarre. A DJ who will fly on stage with a jet- pack, plays one track and then runs off again. Then you probably haven’t heard of 1RDJ yet.

1RDJ

By spinning a few tracks from other producers you won’t make it as a DJ anymore. Basically all DJ’s produce tracks and scream for attention with crazy gimmicks like throwing cakes (Steve Aoki), wearing a large mouse mask (deadmau5) or robot masks (DaftPunk). Now a new phenomenon can be added to that list. A DJ / producer who is unrecognizable flies on stage at a festival with a jet pack, plays one track and then disappears. On the Facebook page of 1RDJ and on his clothes there is a clearly recognizable reference to the beer brand Bavaria. This might be a winning ‘summer 2015’ formula for the brand and the artist.

Spinnin’ records

The first track by 1RDJ is called ‘First’ and is quite catchy. The single is released by Spinnin’ records from Hilversum, one of the major dance labels in the world.

Internet coverage in rural Sri Lanka using Google Project Loon

3-8-2015

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, Mangala Samaraweera, announced on 28 July 2015 that the country will provide full internet coverage in collaboration with Google. It will be the first country in the world with affordable, universal access to the internet.

Project Loon

The Project Loon balloons drift in the stratosphere, twice as high as airplanes and above the highest clouds. Loon balloons are able to go where they are needed by increasing or decreasing their altitude and move to the layer in the atmosphere with the desired wind direction. Each balloon has a 4G wireless communication transmitter and a reach of about 40 km in diameter.

Facebook Aquila

Facebook is also working on the internet accessibility in rural areas under the name of ‘Aquila‘. The engineers of this company develop a solar-powered plane that can communicate with the ground via laser technology. Global Internet coverage for everyone is nearby now because these two Internet giants are working on it.

With these developments, communication during disasters and in remote areas will be cheaper and faster in the future, one of the motives of Google.

Swipe your favourite dishes with Tender recipe finder

31-7-2015

With the Tender app you can swipe through tasty recipes.

Tender – Food and Recipes

Inspired by the dating app Tinder, Tender replaced the pictures of potential boy- and girlfriends with food. Three alumni of the College of Charleston have figured out that it is also a pleasurable experience to swipe through recipes and they have developed the app Tender where you can do this.

Swipe

By swiping to the left, a dish is thrown into the trashcan. Swipe to the right and the recipe is stored in your own cookbook. This makes the search through food pictures very easy. The app is aimed at the youth of 18-30 years old who want to cook at home more often but look for easy and attractive recipes. By a number of filtering options they can filter for categories like vegan, drinks, desserts etcetera. The start-up is looking to improve filters in different cuisines, prices and other options.

Development

The functionalities are somewhat limited and the app can be more intuitive, but this app shows how consumers will determine whether something (or someone) is visually appealing for them within a tenth of a second. Do you already have attractive pictures of your catering business online, considering this visual future? Find the app in the iTunes store or the Google Play Store.

Workshop Gertjan Kiers at Julius bar & grill

30-7-2015

Julius bar & grill in Amsterdam opens its doors on Sunday afternoon 6 September for a workshop with the famous butcher Gertjan Kiers of butchery ‘Fontijn Vlees en Vleeswaren BV’. This edition Gertjan Kiers debones a pork and teaches how to get the best out of it. The learnings can be tasted right back during a four-course lunch.

Pork deboned by Gertjan Kiers at Julius bar & grill

The previous workshops on beef and lamb were sold out, this edition Gertjan Kiers will elaborate about pork. In the afternoon of 6 September, Kiers debones a complete pig and provides chapter and verse. He shows how quality meat is cut, shares how a butcher knife is handled and teaches how all parts of the pig are best cooked on the barbecue.

4-course lunch

With a four-course lunch at Julius bar & grill the guests can taste back the lessons about the pork directly. There is a special wine pairing menu for the grilled meat dishes available.

About Gertjan Kiers

Gertjan Kiers is a born butcher with a clear opinion about meat and the meat industry; “Many consumers prefer convenience over taste and some butchers and chefs attach more importance to marketing rather than the product. By broadening the general knowledge about meat, the consumer gets a better piece of meat on the plate and the butcher profession gains the respect that it deserves. ”

This unique workshop will be in Dutch and can be reserved online via www.juliusbargrill.nl/reserveren stating ‘workshop Gertjan Kiers’.

When: 6 September, 2015

Time: 13:00 to 16:00 pm

Restaurant Waag opened in Leiden

29-7-2015

This month ‘Waag’ opened in Leiden. The Waag was once the bustling center of Leiden but was barely used until recently. This summer, the monument is the vibrant heart of the city again.

The Waag as backdrop for traditional events

Guests can enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner at the Waag under the magnificent vaults of the monumental Boterhal or in the new glass construction. The Waag remains the backdrop for the traditional presentation of herring and white bread on 3 October and the Waag will be renamed the House of Saint Nicholas in late November.

Interior

Great Persian rugs and a special lighting plan transform the stately monument in a place where it’s pleasant to stay. A wall full of old scales refers to the past, when ‘The Waag’ was the commercial centre of the city and traders had their goods weighted.

Glass construction

To relieve the monumental Waag and Boterhal an additional glass construction was built behind the high, vaulted room of the Boterhal. Here is a large open kitchen located in the glass construction with a private entrance to the Mandemakers Alley.

Chicken in the lead

Freshly grilled chicken plays a major role at the Waag. On a Josper charcoal oven chickens are freshly grilled in French or Portuguese style. In addition there are salads, pastas and culinary classics like a sirloin steak, prawns, satay and a burger on the menu.

Terrace in 2016

The monumental ‘Waaghoofd’ will be the location of the new ‘Waag’ terrace in the spring of 2016, and has room for 150 guests. To achieve this the main bridge of the Waag is moved to Catharina Alley in late 2015.

Debut BV – Hospitality Management and Development

The Waag is part of Debut BV, which is responsible for several successful restaurant concepts as Mad Mick’s Breakaway Café Rotterdam, STAN & CO, Belgian Beer Café Olivier in Utrecht and Leiden, the Mexican restaurants of Popocatepetl, Hometown Coffee & More in The Hague and Stadscafé Progress in Eindhoven.

Your Take On #centerparcslol

28-7-2015

#centerparcslol

Center Parcs organized a contest under the title “Your Take On” where teens can film themselves in all kinds of activities both inside and outside of Center Parcs. The company works together with well-known vloggers (video bloggers) like the ‘Knol brothers’ that promote the contest. Contestants can upload their videos to Instagram with the hashtag #centerparcslol.

Performance by rapper Dio

The maker of the best video will win a day of activities and an exclusive concert by rapper Dio at Center Parcs De Eemhof. Dio is a Dutch rapper who is known from the songs ‘Dom, Lomp en Famous’ in collaboration with the Opposites and Willie Wartaal and ‘Tijdmachine‘ with Sef.

Enzo and Milan Knol

Among other vloggers Enzo and Milan Knol collaborate with Center Parcs for the campaign. Both are social media stars that focus on Dutch teenagers. Enzo Knol is a YouTube hero with nearly 800.000 followers and often new videos by him are viewed more than 200.000 times within a single day. Milan owns Youtube channel DagelijksHaaDee (550.000+ followers) and his other channel DitIsMilan is good for 320.000+ followers.

For more information: www.yourtakeon.nl

Solving the sunbed race during peak season with the ‘sunbreaker’

24-7-2015

One of the biggest irritations in the summer: claiming sunbeds! Other guests have already claimed all the sunbeds by placing their towel on it. This ‘Sunbed Race’ starts very early in the morning at most resorts during peak season. The sunbreaker is nothing more or less than a parking disc for sunbeds. Hotel owners can offer a sunbreaker with every sunbed to take away some of the frustrations on the subject!

A sunbed race is difficult to avoid.

The only way to avoid this is to provide enough sunbeds for all guests and enough space for all the sun beds. Because otherwise your guests will lay down their towel on the sunbeds at the best spot! At most hotels a sunbed race is inevitable, especially during peak season. Hotel owners who deal with those irritations on a daily base could start to use the ‘sunbreaker’ by entrepreneur Theo van den Dungen. Your guests can set the ‘sunbreaker’ at the moment they leave their sunbed. When they come back within the hour they can use their sunbed again, when they come back later, other guests may take the sunbed. Create a system around it, like for example have the belonging of the old guest handed to the pool attendant. The system is still somewhat susceptible to fraud but as hotel owner you’re showing that you at least try to avoid irritations. It’s possible to personalize the sunbreaker.

Do you have a secret menu?

23-7-2015

Hot in the USA: secret menu’s at fast food chains. From fast food chain In-N-Out, to Shake Shack to McDonald’s. Why not create your own ‘secret menu’ as a cafeteria or small fast food chain?

Last year I did visit the fast food chain In-N-Out in California, my daughter who worked and lived in New York already heard about their (not-so) secret menu. Recently I saw a video of Anthony Bourdain discussing his appetite for burgers of In-N-Out. This chain has been offering customer-created riffs on the menu which have been passed down through word of mouth since the 1960’s. At their official menu it has just three burgers (a hamburger, cheeseburger, and the ‘double-double’), it’s ‘not-so-secret’ menu adds six more. I tasted the iconic ‘animal style’ burger with a lot of grilled onions and mustard. Did I like it? Well it certainly was the most tasty fast food burger I have eaten on the West Coast. But I didn’t eat many!

How to create a secret menu

The appeal of the secret menu is a delicate matter for restaurants. You can’t promote them because of the fact that it will instantly lose its secrecy factor. It’s a matter of involving your fans and let them spread their favorite ‘secret menu’ through social media and locally through word of mouth. For more information read the article ‘Secret Burger Menus, Explained’ on Eater.

You can even check the secret menu’s at fast food restaurants in your vicinity at the website Secret Menus. At this website I even read that one of the secret menus at In-N-Out is called the ‘Flying Dutchman’. Just two patties and cheese, very trendy without gluten!  ^Marjolein

These catamaran hotel rooms would be great on our Dutch lakes.

22-7-2015

Design studio Salt & Water from Serbia created this floating hotel where guests can drift off in a private catamaran. At the waterfront guest find a reception and a restaurant.

Catamaran hotel rooms

The catamaran hotel recently won the Millennium Yacht Design Award. The project is developed with the aim to promote tourism on inland waters in Serbia that offer wonderful examples of untouched nature. When passing through the central floating construction, guests are reaching pathways which are connected to the apartment catamarans. Each hotel room is actually an innovatively designed catamaran which can be easily separated from the dock and navigated, allowing guests to choose the perfect location for their vacation by themselves. The catamaran hotel rooms consists of a salon, a galley, a bathroom, a hall with storage space and a sleeping area (above the salon). Each hotel room can accommodate 2-4 persons, thanks to the possibility of converting the salon into a double bed. From the beach platform it is easy to access the water.

On the Dutch lakes?

We think that a catamaran hotel like this from design studio Salt & Water would be an asset on our Dutch lakes as well! What do you think? Check the article on the website of the Daily Mail for more details and great pictures.