Eastwood – assemble your own perfect dinner

9-6-2015

Last Friday Armand had dinner at Eastwood, the new pop-up restaurant from DoubleTree by Hilton which is within walking distance of the Central Station in Amsterdam. The restaurant officially opened on 22 May and the location has two functions. In the morning, it’s the breakfast restaurant of the hotel and every afternoon will be converted into a grill restaurant. The tabletops, chalk boards, paintings and lighting get another look. Even the clothing of the staff changes.

Eastwood

The restaurant is located below the hotel and has a great potential. Especially the terrace outside will attract passers-by, even though it is not on the usual route towards the center. The first announcement of the opening was focused on a ‘beer & grill’ concept, the description ‘assemble your own perfect dinner’ would fit better. It is not a restaurant for people that have difficulties with choices since there are so many personalization options possible to meet your unique taste.

Assembling the dishes

The menu includes various building blocks from which the dishes can be put together. Potatoes are served as mashed potatoes, thin fries or hand cut fries. There are several vegetables and other side dishes to choose from, like risotto. For the main course guests can choose between meat, fish or vega. For meat-lovers a great exclusive offer of proper serving up to 800 grams are available.

Choice palette for personalization

With a choice from five knives that are presented on a magnetic cutting board, even the most cynical knife critic will be pleased. Earlier we wrote about using a herb cart and the ability to cut some fresh herbs at the table yourself. Eastwood extends this service with a range of sauces in glass bottles on the cart as well.

Shared ice cream bucket with toppings

The dessert was served as a single bucket of homemade ice cream on the table accompanied with nine different toppings. It’s a feast to work on the dessert this way and share the bucket. It was difficult to keep the special toppings apart, so a stylish card with the ingredients would complete it.

Small details

At Eastwood every detail mentioned before is well thought of. Many of the trends and examples we’ve spotted and published about on this website are integrated in the restaurant. This in addition to details such as stamped paper bags for the bread, name badges for the staff, Amsterdam’s specialty beers, the convenient use of segments in the restaurant at the beginning of the evening (so it looks busy early on) and the view of the bustling city life through the glass walls. The menu is not yet available online (the website is still under construction) but the price level is very okay and it’s a convenient place if you want to adjust portions and styles easily.

Wild Dining

9-6-2015

Recently, a small collective started organizing luxury dinners at extraordinary locations. By the name of Wilddineren (‘Wild Dining’) a train compartment, the attic of the Beurs van Berlage (Amsterdam) and the red toilets of the Patronaat in Haarlem were used for surprising dinners.

Unique Wild Dining

Each dinner has a unique location, unique chefs and a unique dining concept. At the Beurs van Berlage guests were eating between the old boilers at the attic, but everyday locations like a train and a toilet can be transformed into an unusual dinner location as well. Earlier, the guys from Gastrovan, Masterchef cook Elise Calkoen, Seats2Meet, ‘Catering aan huis’ and Patronaat participated in Wild Dining.

Contrasting experiences

In addition to culinary delights, there are presentations, interesting guests, table roulette and live music during the dinners. The organization finds it addictive to surprise guests and bystanders. They want to amaze people and to confront them with activities outside their own paradigm. The organization indicates that the dinners are a reaction to the current overload of parties in old warehouses, food truck festivals and pop-up initiatives of shops and restaurants. The focus is primarily on creating contrasting experiences. With these dinners they aim to compete with theater, cinema’s and concerts, rather than to compete with regular restaurants.

There are a number of dinners scheduled, but the specific time and place will be revealed on the day itself.

Periscope live video’s by Jonnie Boer

8-6-2015

Recently it was possible to virtually join Jonnie Boer in his daily activities via Periscope.

Periscope

For anyone who wants a peek into the world of a Michelin star chef (and who doesn’t?!) Jonnie Boer provides the possibility to access his mobile camera through the Periscope app. We witnessed him in a broadcast on a boat while collecting different products. The past week a dozen other live broadcasts were shared through his Twitter channel.

Citizen journalism

The Periscope app has been gaining more and more momentum in the recent months. It’s a tool that enables live citizen journalism within a few clicks on your mobile phone. When a recent bomb alert was issued at Jumbo Supermarket in Groningen, ‘ordinary citizen’ Rianne Schuurman instantly became the most important information channel for the Netherlands. One of the major Dutch news outlets (NOS) described the whole happening in retrospect (translated article in Google). It states that local news station RTV Noord saw the value of the broadcast and came to help when the battery of Rianne Schuurman’s phone was running low and made sure that she could remain in the ‘press area’.

For Android devices it’s only possible to connect via Twitter, iPhones can log in with a phone number as well.

Getting started in the hospitality industry

8-6-2015

SVH has developed a game for newbies in the hospitality industry.

Getting started in the hospitality industry

We cannot stress enough that the personnel in the hospitality industry in general and at the terrace in specific is very important. It can be difficult to find the time and resources to train personnel in the right way. For (potential) personnel with little or no experience in the hospitality, SVH will launch the game ‘Getting started in the hospitality industry’. With the app, newbies can learn and test their knowledge and skills. Additionally, a restaurant owner or manager can prepare them for future situations that could occur on the terrace. The app will be launched officially on 22 June, we’re looking forward to testing it.

Hospitality

Because a satisfied guest often means word-of-mouth advertising and a disgruntled guest the opposite, training is important, especially during busy periods. This app is an accessible way to teach and test basic skills. Besides training of the personnel, small welcoming gestures can make a difference as well . Read more about small welcoming gestures in the hospitality industry.

Games

The municipality of Utrecht developed a game last year to positively impact the hospitality as well.

Fooji avoids stress by ordering with emoji’s

5-6-2015

By tweeting an emoji to Fooji you can order food with a simple picture.

Ordering with emoji’s

Although the emoji ordering initially sounds like a joke, it makes the choice for a meal delivery quite easy. The stress that a regular meal order causes can be quite torturous. It takes a mouth-watering struggle browsing through the websites of local restaurants, when you just want the best and most delicious food on your plate as quickly as possible.

Updated weekly

In the Netherlands we are lucky with Thuisbezorgd.nl, that makes the choice much easier. But even on that website it can be quite difficult to select a specific dish. That where Fooji comes in with a matching $15,- dish for every food emoji, delivered by a top rated local restaurant. The restaurants that are chosen by the emoji service vary weekly.

Background and availability

Fooji was invented by Gregg Morton and Erik Zamudio and is initially only available in New York. The app stimulates local economies by including local restaurants and getting them into the mix with the big players. They also want to simplify the ordering process by ordering with emoji’s. The app doesn’t take any special dietary wishes into account.

Geef Café comes to Amsterdam with “pay as you can” restaurant

5-6-2015

Social enterprise Geef Café wants to make healthy and fair food accessible for all the people in Amsterdam.

Pay as you can

The concept is based on the ‘Pay as you can’-model where the guest decides what he or she pays. This allows people with less money to spend to visit Geef Café as well. After several successful pop-ups and an extensive trial period, it is time for the next step: a permanent location in Amsterdam. Therefore, the founders start a crowdfunding campaign and get help from Ben & Jerry’s.

Poverty

The Netherlands has many people who have little money to spend. As a result, these people often have no access to healthy food and eating out is an unaffordable luxury. Hence Judith Manshanden decided to establish the Geef Café with Laura Schön and Rogier Charles in 2013.

Trial and target price

Inspired by the pay as you can-movement in the US, the founders of the Geef Café wanted to open a restaurant in the Netherlands where everyone is welcome. The concept proved to work very well in Rotterdam and generated a lot of positive reactions. Over 80% of visitors were paying more than the target price. “Now is the time for a permanent location in Amsterdam, to inspire so many more people from The Netherlands and abroad,” said Manshanden. The Geef Café is supported by Ben & Jerry’s through the ‘Join Our Core incubator’ program.

Food Waste

Geef Café cookes with vegetables that are normally discarded. During previous pop-up dinners in Amsterdam and during the trial in Rotterdam, a total of 2.500 kilos of waste products was collected from wholesalers and used in their meals.

With the support of Triodos Foundation and the DOEN Foundation they’ve already built a budget. The last push is needed to provide a green light to the Geef Café, therefore they’ve started a crowdfunding campaign at the Doorgaan.nl platform. Donators get various rewards in exchange for a donation. For example, € 150,- gives you a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream party for 50 people.

The campaign ends on 16 July and after that the Geef Café hopes to open as quickly as possible at a permanent location. With 42 days to go they’ve acquired 55% of the targeted goal.

Philips’ lighting technology for indoor navigation

4-6-2015

A new LED lighting technology from Philips provides indoor location determination.

Light used for indoor navigation

In a Carrefour supermarket in Lille (France), Philips tests with LED lights that can be used for indoor navigation. They call it ‘light beyond illumination’ and in addition to the energy saving characteristics of LED light the technology also sends signals that can be used to find your location. All installed LED’s feature the visible light communication technology (VLC) which is invisible to the eye. If a user opens the associated app and holds the phone horizontally, it can read the VLC via the camera. If the software has located the device it tracks the location by using the lights on the ceiling.

Application

Especially in (mega) stores this can be a huge advantage. In addition, the implementation of the LEDs resulted in a saving on the energy bill by 50 percent. The navigation method can improve the shopping experience, searching for products in the supermarket could end up as a short chapter in the history books.

Other features for indoor navigation

It is a completely different approach than using iBeacons for navigation, which now is often used when indoor navigation is applied to catering businesses. Earlier we wrote about an application that uses the iBeacon technology during the Sneekweek.

NH Hotel Group presents VIP Level in NH Collection Eurobuilding

4-6-2015

NH Collection Eurobuilding in Madrid officially launched the VIP Level service concept

VIP level in the hotel

The VIP Level offers guests a range of services and privileges at the hotel itself, including a private reception and guest relations desk, a VIP Breakfast Room with high-quality a la carte offerings, early check-in from 12:00, late check-out until 14:00, unlimited access to the luxurious Metropolitan Fitness & Wellness Centre, access to the Executive Lounge on the fifteenth floor and priority if you want to reserve a table at the 3 * Michelin Restaurant Diverxo, also located in the building.

Privileges outside the hotel

Outside the hotel the VIP level offers more privileges, such as a Personal Shopper, premium shopping services at El Corte Ingles and Las Rozas Village, the Europcar Prestige Service (where premium cars are delivered to the hotel), quick access to the Prado Museum and the Thyssen museum and the option to reserve a VIP box at the nearby stadium of Real Madrid.

For guests who expect something more

According to Hugo Rovira, Managing Director of NH Hotel Group Spain, Portugal and Andorra, the VIP Level fits seamlessly into the existing services of the hotel: “Since the reopening, the NH Collection flagship in Spain NH Collection Eurobuilding has become one of the best business and leisure hotel in Europe. It offers the guests that expect ‘something more’ from their journey everything they need to make their stay a memorable experience.”

Niven Kunz launches NIVEN foodbox

3-6-2015

Niven Kunz from the Michelin-starred Restaurant NIVEN in Rijswijk launched his own “NIVEN foodbox. The box contains gourmet delicacies that are ‘100% Niven-worthy’ and will have a different content four times a year.

NIVEN Foodbox by Niven Kunz

The products in the box come from suppliers that Niven Kunz trusts and he uses in the kitchen on a daily basis. One of the unique selling points of the box will be the outstanding quality. The products each have their own story and are from small entrepreneurs with a traditional and authentic background. The products can vary from coffee, beer, chocolate to balsamic, chutney and salt. The contents change every season and are aimed for the home market.

Availability and tasting

One box costs €49,95 and is sold at Restaurant Niven as well as through the webshop www.nivenshop.nl. An annual subscription of € 199, – will get you a NIVEN foodbox four times a year and a three course lunch for two, including wine and water served at Restaurant NIVEN.

There will be a pretesting possibility during Taste of Amsterdam, from 4 to 7 June.

Pop-up King Charles II with Fever-Tree and Bobby’s Gin

3-6-2015

Fever-Tree and Bobby’s Gin from Schiedam join forces and come to Rotterdam for a tasting of the many possibilities with gin, tonic and botanical herbs for three weekends in June.

Fever-Tree

In 2005 Charles Rolls and Tim Warrillow stepped into the world of soft drinks because of the dissatisfaction they got from the existing mixers that were available on the market to use for cocktails. They joined forces to reinvent soft drinks. Back to the basics and nature, to create a mixer that can supplement spirits. Fever-Tree presents itself as a valuable ingredient of a cocktail, which often contains 3 / 4 parts of soda. Thus this must be a high quality soda as well.

Bobby’s Gin

‘Dutch courage mixed with Indonesian spices’ is the best description of Bobby’s Schiedam dry gin basis. By recreating the recipe from his Moluccan grandfather Bobby, Sebastiaan van Bokkel developed a unique gin together with Herman Jansen distilleries in Schiedam.

Pop-up King Charles II

This June King Charles II pop’s up above restaurant ‘De Engel’ in Rotterdam. Bartenders literally lead visitors through a garden of ingredients and show a world beyond the established Gin & Tonics. Magical new cocktails are created as gin joins freshly picked herbs and Fever-Tree’s Ginger Ale, Bitter Lemon, Lemonade, Ginger Beer, soda water or lemonade Sicilian.

Opening and food pairings

Between 21:00 to 00:00 hours King Charles II serves a tasting menu from restaurant ‘De Engels’ downstairs, for food pairings as worthy companions to the royal refreshments. To personally experience the magic of gin and it’s necessary to make a reservation before your visit.

Opening hours: 12 & 13 June & 18-20 June and 25 to 27 June – Booking via www.king-charles.nl or via 06-401530 83.

Projection at the table with mini-cook

2-6-2015

A cartoon in and around your plate. That’s one cool experience! Antoon Verbeeck and Filip Sterckx created a demo with their artistic collective ‘Skull Mapping’ where they make a mini cook run around your plate and on the table.

Projection at the table

By playing with movement within the projections, static objects seem to move. In addition they add a projection at the table and create optical illusions. One of the examples is the projection of a fork and the placement of a real knife next to the plate.

Video projection in total experience

Earlier, we wrote about the Sublimotion restaurant in Ibiza that uses video projection for a total experience during one of the most expensive dinners in the world. The initiator of that dinner experience then gave as response that “Sublimotion is the cheapest life changing experience you can have”, costing ‘only’ € 1500, -. The mini cook is an example of how you can apply it on a smaller scale yourself.

Luxurious bed sheets by EKOCYCLE

2-6-2015

Sheets from EKOCYCLE will be on the beds of W Hotels worldwide. EKOCYCLE is an initiative of musician will.i.am and the Coca-Cola Company. The sheets are eco-friendly because they’re made from a kind of polyester that’s made out of recycled bottles.

Luxurious bed sheets partly made from recycled bottles

For each king-sized sheet approximately 31 plastic bottles are used. In total the sheets equals more than 268.000 plastic bottles. The polyester fiber rPet is used which basically is recycled plastic. The sheets remain as luxurious as the guests used to experience. But even guests can retrieve that feeling of being environmentally conscious and they won’t be able to tell the difference in comparison with the old sheets.

W Hotels and EKOCYCLE

W Hotels didn’t stop their partnership with lifestyle brand EKOCYCLE™ with just changing the sheets. Together they created the “Mobile Charger and Accessory Valet” (MCAV). A colorful portable USB charging device, valet, night light and alarm clock in one. The MCAV is available in a couple of colors and also partially created out of three recycled plastic bottles.

EKOCYCLE is a company owned by rapper will.i.am and the Coca-Cola Company. Their tagline is ‘waste is only waste if we waste it’. The two partnered up after a Black Eyed Peas concert where an artist transformed all the plastic junk left behind into usable objects. Products from EKOCYCLE are available at Harrods and soon at the W Hotels shop as well.

Ecocapsule: the hiker’s cabin of the future?

29-5-2015

Ecocapsule: a micro-shelter that operates off-grid and promises impressive sustainable technology including solar power, rainwater collection and filtration, and wind power.
Bratislava’s Nice Architects has unveiled a prototype of the Ecocapsule at the Pioneers festival in Vienna on 28 May. The ecocapsule comprises a total usable floorspace of 8 sq m (86 sq ft), and includes a kitchenette, toilet, shower, work and dining area, folding bed and internal and externally-accessed storage. Access to the home is gained through one door and it has two windows. The micro-home can be easily transported by trailer and the architects indicate that it can serve as a tiny house, additional bedroom or even office. And we think it would serve great as hiker’s cabin!

The sustainable hiker’s cabin

A lot of sustainable technology is built in this ecocapsule, like a 2.6 sq m (28 sq ft) solar array on the roof and integrated battery system. Ecocapsule also has a silent 750 W wind turbine that’s set on a retractable pole. The bathroom includes a composting toilet and a shower, and a rainwater collection and filtration system offers clean drinking water.
Nice Architects hopes to be ready for sale by the end of 2015 and promises a competitive price.

Digital illuminated billboard addressing women

29-5-2015

The beer brand Astra’s digital billboard is able to target its messages only to women, using gender-detection software.
Agency Philipp und Keuntje created the first digital illuminated billboard advertisement for the German beer brand Astra (from Hamburg). The billboard was installed outside the ‘Zum Silbersack’ pub in Hamburg. Philipp und Keuntje shot around seventy short videos with the comedian and journalist Uke Bosse in the leading role, all with the aim of inspiring more females to try the beer.

The digital illuminated billboard in action

At the billboard, the comedian addresses passersby and specifically women with the aim to encourage them to sample an Astra beer. The billboard has been equipped with a camera and the latest gender-detection software, allowing to detect the gender and the age of the individual. Check the video for great examples of the video messages the billboard uses to ‘sell’ Astra to the passing women.

Restaurant Wynwood will soon open in Eindhoven

28-5-2015

Star Chef Wouter van Laarhoven (former chef of restaurant De Molen*) and Eveline Wu will open restaurant Wynwood in Eindhoven in the beginning of July. The restaurant has an international profile with food and drinks at top level and at attractive prices.

The restaurant, named after the art and fashion district Wynwood in Miami, is located in the district Strijp-S, the creative, cultural and technological center of Eindhoven. The restaurant is 650 sqm with over 100 seats.

Wouter van Laarhoven about his Wynwood

Wouter van Laarhoven starts Wynwood with business partner Eveline Wu, who owns several catering companies. Van Laarhoven: “Wynwood is a sexy restaurant with an international flair and a global appeal. This is reflected in delicious high quality food at a very attractive price, perfect service, contemporary décor and a stylish international atmosphere. We serve a four-course meal for around thirty euro made with top-quality ingredients, being presented at luxury tableware and with linen napkins. Guests will experience luxury in all facets but without the associated financial consequences. Guests can visit for a (business) appointment, a good cup of coffee with freshly made pastries, lunch, dinner and at the bar for a cocktail or glass of wine with barbites. In short Wynwood will be buzzing all day. At Wynwood you can eat fantastic food and great drinks for the same price as in a coffee shop or brasserie. Despite the high level I have no ambition to earn a Michelin star with Wynwood.”

Bar and Terrace at Wynwood

The restaurant features a bar area where bartenders serve special cocktails and wines together with barbites. The bar is also open for just a drink in the evenings. Outside is a large terrace and adjacent Wynwood, a fully separated takeaway will be realized where fish and chips is sold in a fancy manner.

We follow the developments of restaurant Wynwood through Facebook where they are keeping their audience informed about all the developments. The exact opening date will be notified here as well. If past results are a guarantee for the future, even if he isn’t pursuing a Michelin rating, then Eindhoven has a new gourmet restaurant in town! And maybe Wouter will be serving his nut bread to accompany a cheese platter!