A theater of wines

15-11-2013

A tent at a festival or celebration for wine lovers. Register Viticulturist and Sommelier Barbara Verbeek is the creator of this concept together with Barend Havenaar of Champagnebar.nl. They want to put all your senses to work in their wine theater. Barbara completed the wine academy for viticulturist in 2001. She got her title sommelier and wine and foodpairing expert in 2002 and recently became a Registered Viticulturist. She runs the wine theater events and celebrations at events like Manifesto, Valtifest and “A Day at the Park ‘.

Landal lief! family bungalow

15-11-2013

Landal GreenParks started an unique partnership with baby and children’s clothing brand lief!. At Landal Coldenhove on the Veluwe, two six-person holiday bungalows are decorated in the lief! theme. The lief! family bungalow has space for two adults and up to four children. It is characterized by the colorful atmosphere of lief! with various accessories of the clothing brand. Landal GreenParks introduced a bungalow for the hearing impaired at Landal Rabbit Hill in Nieuw-Milligen as well.

Tilburg Frying

14-11-2013

Tilburg is a town in the South of the Netherlands. On the eve of ‘Tilburg Sings’ Sjors Kleinsman suggested to organize a more appropriate event in the city: ‘Tilburg Frying’. It was a kind of a joke, until he thought: ‘that’s not such a bad idea at all’. A thought for a new culinary event was born, ‘Tilburg Frying’! Best cafeterias of the city, who will present their finest products. Homemade snacks, fresh fries, wonderful sauces etc. Sjors Kleinsman will do everything to make it a real happening.

Fish Tales by Bart van Olphen

14-11-2013

With Instagram videos of 15 seconds, the Dutch fish expert Bart van Olphen shows dishes, tips and tricks about cooking with fish. With this, he wants to demonstrate that it is easier to cook with fish than most people think and in the meantime raise awareness of responsible fishing. Chef Bart van Olphen committed to consuming sustainably caught fish and is author of a couple of Dutch fish cookbooks ‘The Fishes Cookbook’, ‘The Dutch viskookboek’ and ‘Working with fish’. And it’s the first Instagram cooking show!

Starbuck on rails

14-11-2013

Today, Starbucks Coffee Company and SBB unveiled the first Starbucks store on a train – offering travelers a new place and way to enjoy their favourite Starbucks coffee. The first official voyage for the Starbucks train will take place on the train line running from Geneva Airport to St.Gallen in Switzerland on November 21. In a pilot project, two dining cars are changed into Starbucks locations: on the lower deck, a take-away and the coffee is served on the upper deck. And a Starbucks trolley circulates through the train. The design is contemporary and focused on comfort, yet at the same time functional with a color scheme inspired by coffee. The opening of this train coffeeshop marks the rollout of a new B2B model for Starbucks. They will – together with partners – start selling coffee in places like drive-through’s (already active in Germany), shops in supermarkets and department stores (Galeries Lafayette) and vending machines in offices.

Lidl pop-up restaurant at Michelin-star level

14-11-2013

Restaurant Dill opened on September 13 in Stockholm. London-based chef Michael Wignall** made the menu and organized the kitchen. A 9-course menu was prized at an astonishing € 55,-, and the restaurant was fully booked from day one on. Too good to be true? Yes it was! It appeared to be a marketing stunt for Lidl. Only four ingredients (including liquid nitrogen) that were used for the preparation of the courses weren’t part of the supermarkets assortment.

Culinary artworks

13-11-2013

Samantha Lee, mother of two children, makes beautiful artworks of dishes. Samantha Lee started creating these artworks to ensure that her children never skip their lunch. It is a great way to let your children eat vegetables and fruit. The creations range from animals and Hello Kitty to cartoon characters.

Gluten-free festival

13-11-2013

Increasingly we’re noticing more attention to gluten-free products. McDonald’s has recently joined the trend with a gluten-free bun. But we spotted a gluten-free pizza at Domino’s pizza in London in 2012. The gluten-free products provide a good example of transparency. Both companies ensure that the bun and pizza crust are gluten-free, but they also indicate that they are prepared in a kitchen where gluten are processed, which mean that traces of gluten can be found in the meal. The only way to avoid this is to fully dedicate your restaurant to gluten-free meals. Read more… 

Inspiration from NOMA

12-11-2013

By Julia Soldic.

Last Thursday, November the 7th, we were at a lecture of René Redzepi (Noma. Copenhagen) about his new book ‘A Work in Progress’. Organized by Babooka, a bookstore in Leiden and LeidsLekkers to herald the Restaurant Week in Leiden. During this lecture René rapidly exchanged reading passages from his diary with images and videos of his restaurant and chefs. Julia Soldic, a Norwegian who recently graduated from the Hotelschool The Hague, has had an internship of a few weeks at Noma in 2012. She was at the lecture with us and writes in her column below of her experience and leaves between the lines a number of ‘learnings’, such as encouraging creativity and the importance of team building and contact with your guests.

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Dutch’ Game

12-11-2013

There are barely any products available from wild goose. Approximately 10% of all shot goose are left in the nature, a much larger percentage is partly used. ‘Hollands Wild’ finds that inacceptable food waste and wants to use the goose meat sustainably. Earlier we wrote about small producers that process goose meat into products like Gans Lekker and Schiphol goose croquettes. ‘Hollands Wild’ will focus on bringing the individual initiatives together in producing a sustainable goose meat connection from hunter to producer, including the collection, chilled transport, storage and distribution of goose meat. With this connection they are able to provide the growing demand for natural, sustainable meat.

Hudson Bar & Kitchen

12-11-2013

In the ‘Witte de Withkwartier’ in Rotterdam the Hudson Bar & Kitchen opened. On the menu are various American specials like the ‘Chef’s Classic Chili Con Carne, Smashing Salmon and All American Ribs with a Coca Cola BBQ glaze. Next to the biological burgers, veggie’s are also looked after. The are various dishes from the Vegetarian Butcher that are not distinguishable from real meat. The interior is totally in American-style and Tinus Teder, an artist from Rotterdam, made beautiful artworks for Hudson. The restaurant has branches in The Hague and Naaldwijk as well.

QR-mosaic project QRio

12-11-2013

The Rio de Janeiro government has installed QR-mosaic in the sideways to provide tourists with more information and a map. The QR-code opens an app that makes road signs unnecessary.

Great start of the Restaurantweek in Leiden

11-11-2013

The Restaurant Week in Leiden starts today and runs until November the 17th. Participating restaurants donate one euro per couvert to the charity ‘Het Willem-Alexander Kinderfonds’. But last Thursday (November the 7th) René Redzepi, chef and owner of Restaurant Noma ( Copenhagen), ushered this week by lecturing about his latest book, ‘A Work in Progress’. The event was attended by over 250 foodies and chefs. The happening was a co-creation between LeidsLekkers ( the organizer of the Restaurant Week in Leiden) and Niels Vreeling, who recently realized his dream, Babooka , a quirky bookstore. A relaxed lecture and book signing, during which amongst others, restaurant Kitch& and Restaurant in the Doofpot (one Michelinstar) served delicious appetizers. At the last restaurant, René Redzepi dined before the lecture. According to the owner, Anton Verschelling, the entire kitchen team was very excited to show their skills to the ‘master’. Given the level of their appetizers that were served during the book signing session, this must have been no problem!

Culinary mustache

11-11-2013

When you order a dish at restaurant Kom Eten there is a chance that you will get a mustache served. Not a real hairy mustache, but a dish in the shape of a mustache. The Movember campaign calls for worldwide attention for prostate and testicular cancer by encouraging men to grow moustaches and raise funds. Restaurant Kom Eten has set up a great promotion during the Movember month. The restaurant serves as much dishes as possible in the shape of a mustache and 5% of sales will go to charity. Want extra discount of the ‘mustache’ dishes? Ask fathers, grandfathers, brothers and other Mo bro’s and get 10% off the bill.

Parmesan cheese above the dining table

11-11-2013

A lover of Parmesan cheese over the pasta or risotto? Well, you can hang it above the dining table as a lamp! Curelle and Tom, both Parmesan cheese lovers, were inspired during their visit to a Parmesan cheese maker in Italy. They came up with the idea to make a plastic replica of the Parmesan cheese. The Parmesan Cheese Lamp is available in two variants and it has the same size as a real Parmesan cheese with the same details. The caps are made of plastic material and they only differ from the inside. Funny detail for in an Italian restaurant or as centerpiece in you dining room at home.