A postcard from Istanbul, short film by the St. Regis

11-3-2015

The opening of the St. Regis Istanbul on 1 March 2015 is celebrated with a short film to introduce the St. Regis into Istanbul. St. Regis Hotels & Resorts and Emmy award winning actor and director John Malkovich have partnered to make this film.

About A postcard from Istanbul

A film about Istanbul and love, A Postcard from Istanbul was shot at the historical locations of the city and at The St. Regis Istanbul. Featuring Julian Sands and Turkish actress Belçim Bilgin, the film unveils the sensory treasures and charm of the city. It tells the story about a screenwriter in search of inspiration, who travels to Istanbul and discovers the city’s attractions with the help of a tour guide.

The St. Regis Istanbul

The St. Regis Istanbul is situated close to the Bosphorus and is surrounded by luxurious boutiques, the very best culinary offerings and the finest of art and entertainment. Mere steps away are attractions such as the Maçka Park and Taksim square. The 5-star luxury hotel has 104 rooms and 14 suites.

Inspiration: Create your own ‘short film’ around a special occasion in your hotel or at your location. It could go viral and reach a lot of potential guests.

Cooperation into practice between MeetingReview and Olery

11-3-2015

Guests can write a review about their experience in the conference hotel ‘Kontakt der Kontinenten’ at one of the issued iPads, the App or in a aftersales survey of the hotel. These reviews are now visible on Meeting Review. This is an independent review platform for meeting locations. The conference hotel is the first location that uses business reviews not only internally but also publishes those reviews externally.

Conference hotel ‘Kontakt der Kontinenten’

Reviews are not yet common for conference and events centers. Commercial manager Lars Beckers of the conference hotel knows how important reviews are and has directly embraced the initiative of MeetingReview.com. He thought it was not desirable though to ask his guests to write a review twice about the same meeting (on MeetingReview and his own website).

Cooperation between MeetingReview and Olery

Integration with Olery Feedback provided the solution. Olery is the company that collects and analyzes reviews of hotels, for example on TripAdvisor.com, Zoover and many other website. Guests start a survey about their meeting and are asked if their assessment may be published on MeetingReview. If no permission is given, the answers will only be available internally. If there is an authorization, the answers to the questions are also passed to MeetingReview. The assessment will be screened by MeetingReview and if it complies with the terms of use, it will be published on the website of the Conference hotel.

The partnership between Olery and the conference hotel derives from the need to be able to publish the guests experiences, posted on various website, transparently on the website of the hotel. Visitors of the website of the conference hotel are able to see the exact and average score of the online reviews due to the Olery integration. At the same time the employees immediately know how the provided service has been rated. By merging various sources, the reliability increases. A partnership that provides transparency to future guests and guests who attended a meeting at the hotel.

Serve Cuipo Water and help to make a difference

10-3-2015

Drinking Cuipo Water is a way to make a difference. With every bottle sold, 1 square meter rainforest is protected and preserved. As from May Cuipo Water is also available in The Netherlands.

An innovative online concept

Due to the concept of Cuipo Water everyone can do something to preserve this planet for the upcoming generations. With every bottle sold, 1 square meter of rainforest is protected and preserved. This is how it works, at every bottle of Cuipo a code is printed, customers have to enter this code at the website of Cuipo and after registration with their email address, they can check ‘their’ square meter on Google Maps and share it through Social Media. With each bottle sold a donation is given to the foundation ‘One Meter at a Time’. This foundation already owns around 105 million square meters. The sustainable PET bottle is made of recycled PET and has a 65% lower carbon footprint. Cuipo water is available in 500 ml. and 330 ml.

Cuipo Water available in the Netherlands as from May

Hoo Koen Tan and Han Kamminga of ‘Water Concepts Benelux’ were introduced to the originally American brand, and decided to contribute on saving the rainforest by introducing Cuipo in The Netherlands. Hoo Koen: “With Cuipo we want to increase the awareness: we need to protect the rainforest. The Cuipo approach is fun and sustainable at the same time, which makes it accessible, effective and it actual contributes to the world. We all drink water, so for everyone this is the way to make a difference.”

Give your guests a great feeling

Selling Cuipo bottles to your guests is a great opportunity to do something good to the world in an easy way. According to the people behind Cuipo this is possible without losing on retail value and margins. An additional advantage is that guests sign up with their email address. ‘Water Concepts Benelux’ is the exclusive seller of Cuipo in West-Europe.

Travel light

10-3-2015

Travel light is powered by TNT Express, they take care of the transport of your skis, snowboard, golf set or even your luggage to your holiday destination. The luggage will be picked up at home and ready upon arrival at your holiday destination.

Travel light as part of the service to your hotel guests

We have already seen several hotels that accommodate in solutions for the luggage of their guests. At the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne, they have a ‘Leave it at Hyatt’ service, enabling visitors to safely store their belongings on site, ready for their next stay.
Some hotels in ski resorts offer the same service for skis and snowboards, with the effect that their guests travel lighter and return! If your hotel welcomes guests who take extra luggage such as skis or golf sets regularly, you could point them to this possibility. The service of Travel Light allows your guests to book flights with only hand luggage. The luggage is traceable via a track and trace system. On the website of Travel light you will find an instruction video, how to pack your luggage and send it to your holiday destination and back.

Culinary Nut Bread

9-3-2015

Nut Bread created by Michelin starred chef Wouter van Laarhoven and baker Edwin Klaasen. Their nut bread is available in several flavors and contains ingredients as dried fruit, honey and flavored rye.

Wouter van Laarhoven

Wouter van Laarhoven worked as chef at restaurant ‘De Molen’ and recently started his own company, ‘By Wouter.’ This is a creative company that realizes unique food-, wine- and styling projects and concepts. Earlier we wrote an article about his creative culinary skills.

Edwin Klaasen

Edwin Klaasen, the owner of ‘Desem En Zo’ is constantly experimenting with sourdough bread. Edwin and his team are conquering the hearts of top chefs in the Netherlands and Belgium with these sourdough breads. He also wrote a book about his passion: ‘I bake great, you do too by the way.’ Unfortunately only in Dutch.

Culinary Nut Bread

Wouter and Edwin created the nut bread together. Bread that is created in a shared dream of a baker and a Michelin starred chef must taste amazing. Besides that is their individual commitment to perfection a guarantee to create delicious bread. We can’t wait till we can taste it ;-). ^Marjolein

Art in the Plate

9-3-2015

On the occasion of Art Brussels (from Saturday to Monday 25 – 27 April at the Brussels Expo in Heysel), Bowery restaurant celebrates his passion for art. Chef Maxime Maziers and his team created an exclusive menu ‘Art in the Plate’, which will be available in a limited edition.

Restaurant & bar Bowery

Bowery Restaurant & Bar is located in the heart of Brussels and is part of the creative space of Smets Premium Store. A unique location that offers a mix of fashion, beauty, design, art and gastronomy. Bowery consists of three rooms with a refined and cosmopolitan decor combining design and contemporary art.

Maxime Maziers

Chef Maxime Maziers offers a modern, seasonal cuisine with special attention to the quality and flavors of the product. With passion, determination and sophistication Maxime Maziers brings these products to a higher level to offer his guests a gastronomic experience in the Bowery.

Art in the Plate

The limited edition is available on Friday 24 April and Saturday 25 April. As chef Maxime Maziers is as creative as the designers of the restaurant, ‘The Art in the Plate’ should be great! We are particularly interested in pictures of his dish ‘The Apple of Bowery’. So if you are near Brussels on these dates …..

The next generation Starbucks

6-3-2015

‘The Roastery and Tasting Room’ of Starbucks in Seattle is the new next generation Starbucks. In this concept store their Coffee brand Reserve (their premium coffee line) is being roasted. Starbucks hopes to attract coffee connoisseurs and amateurs alike with this new concept.

We already read articles about ‘The Roastery and Tasting Room’ with all the great pictures of this new Starbucks location. But recently we saw the video above and thought that our reader had to see this one as well. For pictures you can have a look at the article by PSFK.

The next generation Starbucks

‘The Roastery and Tasting Room’ opened December 2014 and is located in Starbucks hometown Seattle, just a couple of blocks of their first location. The Starbucks ‘Roastery and Tasting Room’ is thoughtfully designed as an immersive, all-sensory experience where coffee takes center stage. They like to describe it as if guests experience a Willy Wonka feeling! A detail in the interior you notice right away, coffee beans traveling in clear and copper tubes from the roaster to the bar where they will be brewed.

Starbucks has plans to open more ‘Roastery and Tasting Rooms’ in cities like New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Chicken restaurant Poule & Poulette

6-3-2015

Recently our colleague Guido Verschoor wrote a blog entitled ‘The one 2.0 after another….’ He ends his blog with the statement that he expects to see a revival of the (take away) chicken restaurants. By coincidence we were writing about Papa Poule in New York. A takeaway restaurant where chickens are grilled and prepared by top chefs. But the chicken is also popular closer to our home, Poule & Poulette is very successful in Antwerp.

Poule & Poulette

The four owners of the restaurant got a ‘Bronzen Palm’, a price for the best restaurant concept of Belgium, at the Hospitality Fair in Ghent. This happened when they were only open for four months, and of course they are very proud with this achievement!
Poule & Poulette is an original concept for a chicken restaurant. The restaurant is located in a small place of 35 square meters, with space for 35 people. The owners of the restaurant have designed their own table boxes. Everything at Poule & Poulette is based on chicken. The chicken is slowly grilled on a spit which takes around 75 till 90 minutes. The grill is the central part of the restaurant. They also serve chicken croquettes, salads with chicken, chicken soup and so on. They only work with Belgian chickens.

Expanding with shops

In Brasschaat (near Antwerp) Poule & Poulette have a shop and they will also open a shop in Antwerp this March. In the beginning of next year Poule & Poulette will go to the student area to open a shop. Takeaway chicken for a student price! Poule & Poulette want to open more shops and restaurants in the next couple of years.

‘Slag op de Schelde’, an unique culinary competition for chefs at the Oosterschelde

5-3-2015

Michelin starred restaurant Katseveer and chef Hans Everse are organizing a culinary competition ‘Battle on the Schelde’ on the 18th of May 2015. Chefs and sous-chefs will compete on board of a ship at the Oosterschelde. They have to prepare dishes with asparagus and a product from the Oosterschelde. Amongst others the jury includes two Michelin starred chefs Edwin Vinke and Dick Middelweerd.

Slag op de Schelde

‘Battle on the Schelde’ is the sequel to the asparagus-amuse competition that was held for nine years in restaurant ‘De Zeelandburg’. Hans Everse, ‘Hero of the Taste of the region Zeeland’ and chairman/speaker of the ‘Koksgilde Zeeland’, has initiated the revival of this culinary competition together with Jessica and Rutger van der Weel, owners of the Michelin starred restaurant Katseveer. Hans Everse indicated in the press release that he only wants participants which are on a high level, that’s why only chefs and sous-chefs can sign up for the competition.

During the competition the participants have to make a dish with asparagus and a product from the Oosterschelde for 20 persons. They have to present it with a matching wine or cocktail. The dishes may be prepared, only the final preparation can be done on the spot. The participants can be assisted by one student.

They want ‘De slag op de Schelde’ to become a yearly returning culinary competition. Participants can sign up at their website, until the 15th of March 2015.

Jury

The members of the jury are Edwin Vinke (restaurant De Kromme Watergang** and SVH Meesterkok), Dick Middelweerd (restaurant De Treeswijkhoeve** en SVH Meesterkok), Sjaak Jobse (SVH Meesterkok) and sommelier Mike Dooms (restaurant De Kromme Watergang**) who judges the food / wine pairings.

Inspiration

This is a great way to put yourself in the spotlight as chef, for the regions it’s a way to promote local products.

Poptails

5-3-2015

Poptails, the summer funs at Sky Bar, Bangkok’s highest rooftop bar at the Lebua State Tower hotel. Poptails are premium classic cocktails paired with brain-freezing popsicles. ‘Poptails’ derived from the two words – popsicle and cocktails.

Poptails are made of…

The master mixologist at ‘The Dome’ at the Lebua State Tower hotel created the poptails to create fun and excitement around his cocktails! Premium is referring to the base spirits – the Havana 3 Years Rum, Absolut 100 Vodka, Olmeca Tequila and Plymouth Gin – that are used to create these cocktails. They serve a Rocky Road Martini: (Chocolate martini) – 1.5 oz Absolute 100 Vodka – 0.1 oz white chocolate liqueur – 0.5 oz hazelnut liqueur, rimmed with dark, Dutch chocolate and garnished with a Rocky Road Popsicle made of chocolate, marshmallow, peanuts, water, simple syrup and milk.

The other cocktails which are served with a popsicle: Berrymania (with a creamy berry / lemon popsicle), The Clover Pop (with a pineapple popsicle) and The Pop Star (with a melon and raspberry popsicle).

The Sky Bar

Due to the Sky Bar’s innovative cocktails, striking atmosphere and spectacular views, it earned the distinction of being named “the most stunning rooftop bar you’ll ever see” by The New York Times and is one of the highlights of Bangkok’s nightlife scene. So, if you’re planning to go to Bangkok, this is the place to drink a cocktail. They also serve a Hangovertinis, a cocktail created for the cast of ‘The Hangover Part II’ while they were filming at Lebua. This cocktail has gone on to become Thailand’s signature drink.

As said the view is amazing and the cocktails at the Sky Bar are delicious! I know, it’s one of those places I can say of: ‘Been there, done that’. But unfortunately they didn’t serve the popsicles then, so I don’t mind going back! ^Marjolein

Annie the Owl Bar – pops up in London

4-3-2015

In London ‘Annie the Owl Bar’, a pop-up bar will open for a week in March. In this pop-up bar you can stroke owls while drinking cocktails. Like all animal themed bars, where you can stroke cats or for example bunnies, the owl themed pop-up bar also originates from Japan.

Annie the Owl Bar

‘Annie the Owl Bar’ is inspired by a bar in Tokyo (the video above is from that bar) and is already very popular. Tickets are only available by lottery. Entrance is 20 pounds and includes two cocktails. The entrance money is going to the charity ‘The Barn Owl Centre’. The bar will pop-up from 19 till 25 March from 8:30 p.m. until 2 a.m. The opening hours are adjusted to the sleeping habits of the owls. The exact location will be revealed to the winners of the lottery on 16 March.

A visit to ‘Annie the Owl Bar’ must be a dream come true for the diehard Harry Potter fan! 😉

Floral workshop with Dutch flowers at the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris

4-3-2015

The Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris offers an exclusive experience to participate in a floral arrangement class hosted by Jeff Leatham, the hotel’s artistic Director and famous rock & roll florist.

Floral workshop

Jeff Leathman quarterly organizes a floral arrangement class in the Four Seasons Hotel George V. It’s a rare opportunity to meet the famous artist and discover his secrets about how to make stunning flower bouquets. The class starts with a demonstration followed by a practical lesson.
Every month Jeff comes up with a new theme and creates his bouquets with flowers from the Netherlands. Every week 9.000 flowers are delivered at the hotel.

Jeff Leathman

Jeff Leathman is well known for his spectacular floral creations. He’s not only responsible for the decoration of the hotel, he also made the decorations at the grand opening of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, made floral creations for the wedding of Tina Turner and was a guest at the show of Oprah Winfrey.

Wagamama & crowdfunding: they raised € 177.000,= in two hours for their new location

3-3-2015

Wagamama, a Japanese noodle restaurant, raised € 177.500,= through Collin Crowdfund in only two hours for their new location at the ‘IJ riverside’ of Amsterdam Central Station. A total amount of € 225.000,= is collected from the public. The new Wagamama restaurant opens her doors at 1 June 2015.

Wagamama fast casual dining

Arjen Schrama took London’s Wagamama formula to the Netherlands in 2000. After the Wagamana restaurants at the Rembrandt square, Leidseplein and Zuidplein (WTC) the ‘IJhall’ will be the fourth location in Amsterdam. The restaurant will have 120 seats and a terrace with 60 seats. The restaurant is completely transparent on the front and the back and offers a view over ‘the IJ river’ and the Eye Film Museum across the river.

The “fast casual dining” formula provides freshly prepared food and lots of choices for travellers who need a fast, affordable meal or a 2- or 3-course dinner.

Wagamama & crowdfunding

The total investment of the new Wagamama restaurant is € 450.000,=. Half of this investment comes from the company’s own funds. The other half is loaned by private investors through a linear loan of 48 months with an interest rate of 6,5%. The network of Arjen Schrama already invested € 47.500,= in Wagamama. The remaining € 177.500,= was later added by the investors of Collin.

Collin Crowdfund

Collin is the bridge between investors who are looking for more return on their investment and smaller companies in need of financing funding. Companies in need of funding from € 50.000,= till € 2.500.000,= can go to Collin. In order to make both sides successful, Collin introduced ‘Crowdfund Coaches’ who will accompany the entrepreneurs through the process. The Crowdfund coaches will also be coordinating the contact between the entrepreneur and the investors after the completion of the loans.

About soup – Urban Soup by Marc Veyrat

3-3-2015

Soup and broth are popular especially in those cities and regions where it is very cold. Urban Soup by Marc Veyrat in Montpellier (France) is one of those new soup places.
Earlier we wrote an article about Urban Fruit, a concept of Marc Veyrat. In the summer months you can go to the centre of Montpellier to compose your own smoothie, milkshake or frozen yoghurt with fruit at Urban Fruit. Very yummy frozen yoghurt and Montpellier is great as well and worth a detour if you’re in the vicinity! Now you can also go there in the winter months for a warm soup-to-go. Urban Soup is also a concept by Marc Veyrat.

Urban Soup – create your own soup

The concept is the same as in Urban Fruit, you grab a bag and start to fill it with vegetables that you like. You can choose between 20 different vegetables. Within minutes they make a healthy and delicious soup-to-go, to warm you during the cold winter days.

Speaking of soup

Broth is very popular, especially in the eastern part of America where they are currently (2014/2015) experiencing a very cold winter. Several Dutch journalists wrote articles about the trend broth-to-go instead of coffee-to-go. Unfortunately only available in Dutch. Although we also hear enthusiastic stories about soup-to-go instead of coffee-to-go especially from the Boston and New York City areas, we think that the key factor for success is a cold winter. And unfortunately we didn’t have one in the Netherlands.

Cooking at solar power with the GoSun

27-2-2015

GoSun is the portable solar cooker for your nature outings and picnics.

About the GoSun

The Gosun crowdsourced through Kickstarter is available now. The GoSun manages to integrate its sun-powered technology in a highly-portable form factor, making it convenient to bring along. Designed for environmentally-friendly cooking, the stove uses nothing but sunlight as fuel, allowing you to cook a variety of food items, provided the sun is peeking from the sky. But you can use it next to your barbecue to make bread or prepare vegetables.

The GoSun is 2 feet long with a 2.25-inch diameter, it’s clad in the shape of a tube. To use, you place the food inside the cylinder-shaped cooking chamber, open the lid wide, and face it towards the sun. The mirrors retain the heat from the sunlight it catches. The only obstacle for the use of the GoSun is no sun, which might make it a problem in The Netherlands. Up to three pounds of food can be cooked at a time. The GoSun can be used for steaming, baking, frying, roasting and boiling.

The GoSun is trying to break the cycle of poverty

The GoSun is trying to save lives, protect the environment and empower communities around the World. Today nearly 3 Billion people cook with dirty fuel sources, such as wood, dung or charcoal. As a result, the second leading cause of death on earth is smoke inhalation related illness. With every 5 device sold, the people behind the GoSun donate 1 device to change the way they cook at poorer parts of the world. Check this video about the stove and their plans.

Creating great meals in the GoSun stove

As you can see in the video above they asked well known chefs to help them with creating new dishes with the stove. In the video above, the famous chef José Andrés is working with the GoSun.