Last week we’ve visited the rewarded Michelin star chef François Geurds** because of the launch of the FG Out of the Box Experience and the recently opened FG Shop. The store is part of the former Hofplein station at the end of the new ‘Luchtsingel’, a pedestrian bridge that connects several creative parts of Rotterdam.
The Copenhagen restaurant group Cofoco has teamed up with some of the city’s most creative forces for the launch of its newest restaurant, Llama. In cooperation with Jonas Hartz (Hz), Jakob Lange (BIG) and Lars Larsen (Kilo Design) the group has developed a restaurant inspired by the Latin American and South American kitchen. The restaurant is covered with colorful tiles from Mexico and has dark painted wooden furniture. It also has a cocktail bar focused mainly on Latin and South American spirits such as rum, tequila, pisco and mescal. Where the appearance of the restaurant is clearly Latin American, the menu still had its Danish touch because Llama restaurant works mainly with seasonal and regional products.
Samsung launches a new smart TV screen by the name ‘Smart Signage TV’. The screen can be divided into different boxes, what makes it possible to show different images at the same time. This makes the display ideal for hospitality businesses, because guests can be informed about promotions, menu’s and other content at the same time. Samsung offers the Smart Signage TV in a complete package with a professional screen, TV tuner, Wi-Fi, software, a standard and wall brackets for € 749,-.
After a fire in the oldest hotel of the Netherlands, Grand Hotel de Draak, the crew worked hard to renovate the monumental building. Following the grand-opening in June this year, the wellness opened recently in the former area of restaurant La Pidola. Hotel guests can go to the wellness for a Finnish sauna, a Turkish steam bath, infrared cabin, a cooling-shed with a splash- and rain shower and a relaxation room. The wellness is opened every day from 4 until 11 PM, but on request can it be opened during the day as well.
Restival is a festival build out of the remnants of other festivals. Restival tries to collect as many of the usable product of other festivals such as food and drinks, but also building materials and decorations. After two successful editions in 2012 and 2013 the organizers of Restival are busy with collecting products and material for de third edition at the ‘Flevoparkbad’ in Amsterdam. Despite the enthusiasm of the visitors, volunteers, partners and the press, it did not resolve in enough financial guaranties. For this reason organizer Maarten Aland tries to collect € 20.000 before 1 September through crowd funding. The only thing people have to do is to buy their ticket (€ 15,-) and consumption card before the end of the month via crowdaboutnow.nl. Of course are donations welcome as well.
A float-in movie; instead of watching a movie in a theatre or at home, watch it from a floatable platform or boat. Events like this were organized by different organizations before, but this summer restaurant ‘Het Theehuis’ introduced the initiative in the hospitality industry. ‘Het Theehuis’ is located next to a lake in the touristic Grou, what makes it a unique location to organize a float-in movie. The guests can watch the movie from their own boat, the VIP lounge (a floating platform) and the spacious patio. Snacks and drinks are served during the movie as well.
Until recently it wasn’t possible to make a snack from the oven as crispy and delicious as if it is from the deep fryer. Snack manufacturer Royaan introduced a complete new assortment crispy oven snacks under the Kwekkeboom brand. The assortment will consist of ‘kroketten’, ‘bitterballen’ and chicken- and cheese-snacks, all provided with a unique patented crispy-crust technology.
Besides that the snacks are more healthy out of the oven, there is also an advantage for companies as airlines, gas stations and movie theaters. For these parties, it isn’t always possible to offer crispy snacks because they are not allowed to fry, or because they don’t have frying facilities. Several Dutch companies as Corendon already sell the new snacks, but consumers have to be a bit patient; the Kwekkeboom Oven Snacks will be launched in retail stores later this year.
‘BankjesCollectief’ is the largest outdoor café in the world. Every first Sunday of the month, people open up a bench for friends, family and neighbors. The owners of the benches decide what they serve, but also what the activity they organize. Examples of these activities are reading to toddlers in the library, a sidewalk chalk spectacle and pie eating. The visitors of the benches decide what the experience is worth when it’s finished. ‘BankjesCollectief’ is a great and relaxing way to meet your neighbors. The next edition is on 7 September but it only takes place in the Netherlands for now..
At 15 August the Ibis Rotterdam City Centre opened its doors at the ‘Wijnhaven’ area in Rotterdam. To get guests acquainted with the hotel before opening, blogger Josie of maryjosie.com was invited to live in the hotel for two weeks (one week before opening and one week after opening). In this way, the blogger could share her experiences in and around the hotel, but also give the hotel an insight for an optimal guest experience. The Ibis Rotterdam City Centre organized several activities, starting off with an hotspot tour with 19 co-bloggers. The bloggers all agreed that the location is one of the USP’s of the hotel. The ‘Wijnhaven’, what is both located in the city centre and in the harbor, is an upcoming urban development area. This makes the area very attractive to live, work and stay in.
The Fish and Season festival is a 3-day culinary festival dedicated to sustainable and delicious fish. The festival takes place in the market hall of the Food Centre in Amsterdam that will be transformed into a Valhalla for fish-lovers, with a large kitchen for demonstrations and a foodcourt. Guests of the festival can see demonstrations of several top-chefs, enjoy great dishes and be inspired by the newest innovations in fish-preparing methods.
In 2012, we already wrote an article about ‘Restaurant Day’; the initiative from Helsinki where four times a year amateurs can open their own restaurant. The restaurants can be set up everywhere and are meant to share new food experiences and enjoy common living environments together. The initiative evolved over the years into the biggest worldwide food carnival with over 9600 restaurants at 56 countries.
In the Netherlands a ‘restaurant for one day’ will open as well; in Amsterdam the Spanish restaurant La Cuchara Spanish Food have participated since February 2013. The goal is to bring genuine Spanish food tradition to the city of Amsterdam. La Cuchara joins the ‘Restaurant Day’ Sunday 17 August with a special ‘The Scarlet Shrimp Edition’.
Following Madrid and Barcelona, the initiative ‘Afterwork by Heineken’ is launched in Amsterdam as well. Afterwork by Heineken revive the traditional afterwork-drink by organizing these at the most beautiful places in Amsterdam. Examples of these locations are the Skylounge of the DoubleTree by Hilton, the roof terrace of Floor17 and the Oyster Club. End your working day together with your colleagues in style; with an ice-cold Heineken, luxurious snacks and good music. At the website AmsterdamAfterwork you can check the dates and locations of the coming editions and register yourself on the guest list.
‘Mossel en Gin’ opened in June officially its doors in Amsterdam and is already developing. This is a restaurant where people come to eat clams and drink Gin. Not only are they serving clams in different styles, the small menu includes small fish-dishes and lobster as well. The Gin is served in different brands and in surprising ways. The GinMare served with basil is our favorite. For people who want these Gin and Tonics on location as well; the gentlemen of ‘Mossel en Gin’ developed under the motto ‘Gin Mobile, there were the party is’ their own Gin Mobile.
Across the City of Sydney, several food trucks are operating as part of the Sydney Food Trucks Project. The trucks offer diverse dining options such as kingfish ceviche, veggie burgers and organic gourmet pizzas what can be washed down with non-alcoholic sangria and fresh juices. In 2011, people in Sydney were asked what they wanted to see happening in Sydney during the ‘after hours’. The overwhelming response was to have more food options and from there the Food Truck Project was born. The food trucks are operating at different locations around the city, which can be followed with the Sydney Food Truck app. The project is a one-year trial for now.
The sportswear brand Reebok has started a new campaign featuring the Reebok Bacon Box. The Bacon boxes were send to athletes of the Reebok CrossFit games and handed out from a foodtruck at the games itself. Using the motto “who doesn’t love Bacon?” Reebok engages customers who love bacon with their brand. The campaign responds to the athletes who follow the Paleolithic (“Paleo”) diet, where bacon is one of the most beloved treats. The Reebok Bacon is produced in line with the recommendations of the diet and doesn’t contain nitrates, preservatives, msg and sweeteners. We think this campaign is an interesting example of blurring of branches and we are curious which brand follows this example..
With ambitions to double innovation, Taco Bell is sharing exclusive insights into its plan to R.I.N.G. The Bell for winning in the years ahead! The read more
We have been sharing inspiration on our website since 2007, inspiration that we find in the hospitality industry or by online spotting of what our read more
Doritos released a hilarious video in which a man is suffering from flatulence in an elevator. Watch the video to see how he masks it with a bag of Doritos.
The Kraken made a black spiced rum. The rum is distilled on the Virgin Islands and fermented with natural sweet sugar. For their tv commercial they used the rum, the bottle and the legend of Kraken. Watch the movie to see the result.
The California hip-hop dancer Brian Perez (25) devised a game to end the facebooking, tweeting and telephone calls in a restaurant. His bet: a game called “Do not Be A Di*k During Meals With Friends”. The rules are very simple. The game starts after everyone has ordered. Then everyone puts the phone down with the display on the table and the first one that picks up the phone has to pay the entire bill.
Handpresso designed a portable espresso machine which helps you to enjoy a premium quality coffee indoor as well as outdoor. With a bicycle pomp look-a-like the pressure can be pumped to 16 bar. Watch the video for the instructions.
Valentine’s day 2012 is approaching, so Marjolein van Spronsen has highlighted a few potential incentives. Check the inspirational article for café, restaurant, hotel and citymarketing via Google Translate
Design studio Czeck designed these bottle-shaped shutters for a wine store and bar in Prague. In one glance you see what this store is selling. A nice idea for wine shops or wine bars?
Design studio Calcco designed for a fictional person called Marques de Burgos a romantic bottle of wine. The design of this bottle reflects the character of this person, which is romantic and adventurous. See the bottle here.
The German company Keienburg GmbH developed an eco-friendly cardbord packaging for carbonated drinks. It allows both a greener and cheaper production process and benefit consumers with a beverage which stays cool for a longer period.
The Samuel Adams brewers are teaming up with social media guru Guy Kawasaki to crowdsource a new beer through Facebook. The “Crowd Craft” project uses an app that invites fans to help determine all of the different aspects of the collaborative brew.
The chocolate brand Cadbury made an enormous Thumbs up of chocolate, because they received 1 million likes on their facebook page. Watch the movie for the building process.
Yorb Design designed futuristic versions of the shishas pipe. The Sepia Collection consists of five models, the products are inspired by the underwater marine life. By using an embedded ring of colored LED lights, each model can be transformed into a luminous object. There is a limited amount for sale.
Throughout the years absinth has developed a mythological status. The producers of Fada Verde keep the myth alive by creating an absinth soft drink. The name of the product is based on the the myth and refers to the appearance of a ‘green fairy’ while drinking absinth. Fada Verde contains an absinth extract and is alcohol-free. After Austria and Swiss it’s now available in the Netherlands as well. See the Fada Verde Absinth here.
Ringhotels, a German association of over 130 hotels, made a Monopoly game where Riga and London are replaced by hotels in the chain. They sell the game online and at the individual hotels. Do you prefer digital? Earlier we wrote about Foursquaropoly.
Andrew Tanner designed a collection of plates that serve as art (Sillhoute Wall Plate). The plates are made in England from fine bone china material. The background of walls bring the plates alive with the cut out design. See the plates here.
Designers United from Greece made a new identity and packaging design for a new premium quality series of Greek extra virgin olive oil. 5 stands for quality in olive oil. See the new packaging here.
If you are planning to organize a Star Wars marathon en you need something to snack, try the life sized stormtrooper. Amanda Oakleaf Cakes created a 6 feet and 300 pounds life sized dessert. Visitors of the Sci-Fi conference in Boston were lucky to eat the stormtrooper. It took almost 300 persons to finish the trooper. See the dessert here.
Lucie Thibault and Thomas Zimmerman, of the French Zimd And Zou created, with a wink to the future, a composition of paper called “The Future of Food”. This is specially designed and created as part of the Icon magazine cover. Creative and colorful!
Children from a primary school in the Dutch village Berkel en Rodenrijs opened their own shop, the ‘Leerwinkel’ In this shop they sell different biological and home-made products. In this way they can learn all the different aspects of running a ‘real’ business.
A Chinese entrepreneur An Yanshi quitted his job to produce world’s most expensive tea. The tea plant will grow in panda muck which he bought from a panda breeding centre. The tea will cost around 35.000 dollar per 500 grams. Despite the tea is yet untested he is thinking of expanding.
Photographer Carl Kleiner and stylist Evelina Kleiner created the book for IKEA (which we had previously written about) captured the ingredients in a very graphic way in a picture. Now they are busy with another project for IKEA: cooking attributes and crockery, again from a bird flight perspective. Minimalism at its finest. See the cooking attributes and crockery in bird flight here.
Research of the National Literacy Trust shows that one of three children in the UK does not own a book. Following this, McDonalds England is replacing books for Happy Meal toys. From now till the 7th of February a Happy Meal will include a book of Michael Morpurgo, which is called Mudpuddle Farm.
Lay’s is organizing an action “Maak de Smaak” (Dutch for Make the Tase) in the Netherlands, after the success in 2010. New is that consumers can “Battle” online to help determine making three finals in August. The winning taste will be for sale as a limited edition for one year, beginning from November 2012.
In china they have build a 3 star, 170,000 square foot, 30 story, fully sustainable hotel in only 15 days. See the movie for the total building process. Is this the future of (hotel) architecture?
ABSOLUT Vodka has teamed up with the platform The Hidden World. This is a co-creation project for (aspiring) artists by artists and anyone who appreciates creativity and artistic skills. Now ABSOLUT Vodka allows us to share and reveal the creative paths that lead us to breathtaking images, music and fashion. Every 3 months ABSOLUTE will follow a new ‘creative’, starting with the Dutch top designer Ilja Visser.
Update 10 April: Behind the scenes in the hidden world of Flore Zoé
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