Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort | The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism
12-11-2021
Last Friday, November 5th, Ewald Biemans, owner/CEO of Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort in Aruba, signed the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism together with secretary-general of the UNWTO & WTCC Pololikashvili. He also gave a presentation on November 9th at the 26th annual UN climate conference – the Conference of the Parties or COP26. He was invited to speak because Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort is a CO2-neutral hotel since 2018 which eventually led to an award from the United Nations in 2020: the prestigious Global UN 2020 Climate Action Award for Climate Neutral Now.
Last month we also wrote an article about “the Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort, the only CO2-neutral hotel in the Caribbean shares framework for debt-free and sustainable holidays at the summit in Glasgow’’. In this article a link to the speech of Ewald Biemans and his view on where to start with sustainability as an hospitality entity. Check out The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism for more information and opportunities to become a signatory.
Reading time: 3 minutes
The Lights of Christmas presents | A drive-thru Christmas
12-11-2021
There is something special about The Lights of Christmas! More than dazzling lights, The Lights of Christmas brings both nostalgia and innovation together for a Christmas experience to lift the spirit and uncover the hope of the holidays. This year The Lights of Christmas presents… A Drive-Thru Christmas, Located in Stanwood, Washington State. This drive-thru event lavishly celebrates the meaning of Christmas through new and classic displays alike.
This is just one of the many Christmas drive-thru’s we have spotted in the last couple of years. As long as we are facing another winter with COVID-19 amongst us, it’s a great way to bring the joy of the Holiday Season to people when they are collecting ordered presents or food boxes. As most streets in shopping areas are decorated this December anyway, why not create a ‘Christmas Wonderland’ and have your clients pick up their orders in a fun and save way! Organise it together with other entrepreneurs, like these restaurants last year. The drive-thru Christmas by The Lights of Christmas is great inspiration.
Reading time: 1 minute
The Mariah Menu at McDonald’s USA
11-11-2021
The twelve days of Christmas – what will McDonald’s US sent to their customers? Each day from Dec.13 through Dec.24, U.S. customers can get a different menu item for free from the Mariah Menu on the McDonald’s app with a $1 minimum purchase.
Another example of marketing with a celebrity, in this case Mariah Carey who takes the Holidays up an octave with 12 Days of McDonald’s® deals. Inspiration for more local deals with celebrities? We only sorry that she doesn’t sing in their commercial! And of course that the Mariah Meal isn’t available in Europe.
Reading time: 2 minutes
A Finger Lickin’ Chicken Mitten Bucket Hugger by KFC
11-11-2021
To celebrate the upcoming holiday season, Kentucky Fried Chicken® is unveiling winter’s hottest dining accessory – a limited-edition and original Finger Lickin’ Chicken Mitten Bucket Hugger, to turn your bucket of KFC’s world-famous fried chicken into the ultimate holiday must-have, according to their press release.
A combination of a new Holiday Bucket and a sweater for this bucket to keep the bucket and the hands of their fans warm! No longer available in the US but we loved the idea, a combination of a ‘ugly Christmas sweater’ with a big plus for fans of your brand. It’s great inspiration for upgrading the ugly Christmas sweaters from the past, a ‘sweater + mitten’ for warm drinks or buckets of food.
Reading time: 1 minute
‘Lecker Chess Tournament’ in Utrecht
9-11-2021
Yesterday the ‘Lecker Schaken Schaaktoernooi’ (Lecker Chess Tournament) started in Utrecht (The Netherlands). The ‘Lecker Chess Tournament’ lasts four weeks and has been organized by the ‘De Leckere Brewery’ in collaboration with local cafes and restaurants.
Great idea to organize at a local level, we also happen to know people who started playing chess again after seeing the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit. And great that after a lot of online quizzes we can finally play a board game with each other again! By organizing it on the first days of the week, the De Leckere brewery creates an extra source of income for the catering industry. Inspiration for other cities? Or some bars?
Reading time: 1 minute
NL Delivery Game | Meal deliverers safer and more aware on the road
9-11-2021
Since the corona pandemic, the number of meal deliveries in the Netherlands has increased excessively. According to the Food Service Institute Netherlands (FSIN), this market grew by 37% compared to 2019. This development is leading to an increasing number of meal delivery in the industry, especially the 16 to 24 year old age group. According to Veilig Verkeer Nederland (the Safe Traffic Association Netherlands (VVN), this age group takes more risks in traffic, which means that they are more likely to be involved in accidents. To prevent this, the Dutch Association of Meal Delivery Services (NLVVM) has created the NL Delivery Game. The initiators – consisting of ten large delivery chains – join forces and launched this training game for the more than 20,000 meal deliverers they employ. In the game, the traffic and behavioral rules of the Safe Traffic Association Netherlands are tested. Resulting in more meal deliverers safer on the road and more aware in traffic.
Reading time: 2 minutes
New Amarula cream liqueurs | Liqueur with a story
9-11-2021
The range of South African Amarula cream liqueurs has expanded with the arrival of two new flavors. The first Amarula vegan cream liqueur has the recognizable taste of the rare marula fruit, combined with coconut, caramel and vanilla. Unlike the other variants of the liqueur, the vegan Amarula contains no dairy. Another new flavor will be launched at the end of this year: Ethiopian Coffee, a deliciously creamy liqueur with a coffee flavour.
Last week I went to Rotterdam for Horecatrends to taste the new Amarula flavors. I had never tasted Amarula before, but I had heard of the brand. Normally I’m not a cream liqueur lover, but the Amarula liqueurs have now become the exception for me! My favourite? The new flavor: Ethiopian Coffee. ^Sifra Holtslag
Reading time: 2 minutes
Trends we spotted | Week 45
8-11-2021
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week links to articles about Roboat, which is ready for self-driving pilots on the canals of Amsterdam and can you imagine a ‘candies whopper’ created by Burger King Puerto Rico? This is also the last inspiration for Halloween 2022 this year, we promise. 😉
We’re slowly getting in the Christmas mood, Starbucks introduced their seasonal drinks and seasonal red cups 2021 and we spotted Christmas ornaments made from sugar with a 3D printer by Sugar Lab.
A link to a press release by VTT Research about Cellular agriculture from Finland, they created lab-grown coffee! And here in Amsterdam the theater group ‘De Theatertroep’ recently created its own water brand: L’EAU POUR L’ART.
After Amsterdam, Rotterdam now has its own ‘Hotel Not Hotel’, a place where a room isn’t just a room, but a work of art!
Kitchen robot Flippy 2 | Increase efficiency in the QSR sector
4-11-2021
Miso Robotics, a start-up company that is transforming the foodservice industry with robotics, revealed their newest model of their Flippy: kitchen robot Flippy 2. With the help of all the learnings at one of the restaurants of the QSR brand White Castle of Flippy 1, the newer model takes over the work for an entire frying station and is able to perform twice as much food preparation tasks compared to the previous model.
An ideal employee for in your QSR kitchen! Do you want to read more on robots in the hospitality world, check out our articles on robots here.
Reading time: 2 minutes
Trends we spotted | Week 44
1-11-2021
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week links to articles about the pop-up ‘Vurger King’ in Madrid, this Burger King location will serve only meat-free items. And Ruby Hotels outlines their Asia expansion plans.
The Accor group will also be entering the house rental market, the accor-residences.com website shows the group’s selected collection of homes.
Last weekend was Halloween, which is also becoming more popular in Europe. Some Halloween inspiration for 2022: ‘Haunted House of Fryght’ by Wendy’s, ‘Haunted Restaurant with Fright Castle Takeover’ by White Castle and in Paris you could go to a Halloween party at ‘Le Manoir de Paris’.
You can enjoy the afternoon tea, ‘Prêt-à-Portea‘ autumn/winter 2021 collection, again in The Berkeley hotel! And recently the Chiaro restaurant opened in the Rocco Forte Hotel de Rome in Berlin. Here chef Tim Mälzer developed an Italian cuisine with Japanese elements.
Pop-up Petit Latour by Ruinart | Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin
29-10-2021
This week, Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin in Noordwijk opened a temporary champagne bar: Petit Latour by Ruinart. Located on the first floor of the iconic hotel, this stylish champagne bar is open til the end of February next year. At Petit Latour it is possible to order various special champagnes with matching French dishes, such as crostinis with salmon and Gillardeau oyster with champagne-mignonette. The bites are created by chef Marcel van Lier of big brother restaurant Latour, the restaurant of Huis ter Duin, which has been awarded a Michelin star. Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin is located at the coast of the Nord Sea, half a hour drive from Amsterdam.
Reading time: 1 minute
Opening of Brasserie Bruis in Haarlem
29-10-2021
Disclaimer: directed more towards Dutchies. But if you’re living in the vicinity of Haarlem this might be a brasserie you have to visit!
Opening – Chef-owner Jozua Jaring and maître Bas Averdijk of Michelin star restaurant Ratatouille Food & Wine in Haarlem will open their Brasserie Bruis in Haarlem on November 3, 2021. The brasserie is located at Lange Veerstraat 15, where the Petossi restaurant used to be. Bruis is an informal brasserie where guests can enjoy high-quality international brasserie dishes, a snack and a good glass of wine.
Reading time: 2 minutes
Exclusive 30yrs old Barrel Aged Genever | Filliers Distillery
28-10-2021
The French have their cognac, the Russians have their vodka and the Scots have their whisky. And Belgium? Gin(Jenever)! Jenever is therefore something typical for the ‘Low Countries’; the Netherlands and Belgium. Jenever comes across as ‘a popular trend’ to many and cannot match the premium image of cognac, gin or whiskey. But this is not right. The history of jenever or in English genever, goes back 500 years and reads like an exciting book. A history with many ‘up & downs’, in which the drink has fortunately always existed and in which the Belgian Filliers, a family distillery, has played an important role for 140 years. The Belgian distillery now markets the oldest and most exclusive grain genever, ‘Filliers Barrel Aged Genever’ 30 years old!
Reading time: 2 minutes
Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort | Caribbean’s only CO2-neutral hotel shares framework for sustainable holidays
28-10-2021
It’s been 29 years since the world-famous UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and Ewald Biemans, owner/CEO of Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort in Aruba, is still as inspired as the day he heard the call to action made to the world at that conference. As an passionate news follower, Biemans read and watched all the coverage he could find about the summit in 1992 on the tiny island of Aruba. The conference, which he described as ‘a wake-up call’, accelerated his efforts to what has been awarded the Caribbean’s most ecologically and first CO2-neutral hotel since 2018 and eventually led to an award from the United Nations in 2020: the prestigious Global UN 2020 Climate Action Award for Climate Neutral Now.
This year, Ewald Biemans has been invited to be one of speakers at the 26th annual UN climate conference – the Conference of the Parties or COP26 – which will take place from 1 to 12 November 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland and is expected to attract 30,000 attendees. COP26 is considered the world’s most important climate change conference in the race to keep the temperature rise within 1.5°C as mentioned in the 2015 Paris agreement. The importance grows with just nine years to go before the ecological consequences would be catastrophic and irreversible.
Reading time: 2 minutes
Sagardi Amsterdam introduces | Esentzia Sagardi
26-10-2021
Sagardi Amsterdam is the place to be for the most beautiful products from the Basque Country, prepared on Sagardi’s own unique Basque grill. In the original style passed down from generation to generation. Pure, honest and prepared with a lot of love and fire. To honour the culinary treasures and rich traditions of their native soil, Sagardi has created a new tradition: Esentzia Sagardi. A recurring culinary event in which one product takes the central stage in a menu specially created for this purpose. The first edition, which will take place from the 2nd to the 28th of November, will focus on Galician beef.
Reading time: 2 minutes
Trends we spotted | Week 43
26-10-2021
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week links to articles about… ‘The Great Feast’ in The Old Selfridges Hotel in London and Dole suggest carving a pineapple instead of a pumpkin for Halloween. 😉 With a downloadable pineapple Jack-O’-Lantern carving template!
REEF has a great view on redesigning urban spaces in communities hubs and REEF Kitchens uses a unique real estate strategy to its advantage. They opened the first two ghosts kitchens of Wendy’s in the UK. Furthermore, they will open 700 ghost kitchens in the USA, Canada and the UK.
And some sustainable inspiration for sustainable building: the De Halo building in San Francisco made of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) and the HAUT building in Amsterdam. And a link to an sustainable fabric for carpets and flooring: Econyl. Just as strong as nylon and made of recycled waste.
A design graduate from the Eindhoven Design Academy in the Netherlands, has created a project to highlight how renewable energy derived from tomato vines could be used to run a cloud server. And a link to an article about artfully Cannabis-infused confections.
In the Netherlands, women’s average gross hourly earnings are 14% lower than men’s, which seemed entirely outdated to De Koffiejongens. So they ask men to voluntarily pay more… And the Franz Fisher ‘Alpenhütte’ in Austria is the first mountain restaurant to serve vegan-vegetarian dishes only.
We spotted a new chain in the USA: The Sweet Paris Creperie & Café with cafes in Houston and one in Mexico opens new locations in Miami.
First edition Amsterdam Taco Festival | One big tasty fiesta!
26-10-2021
Disclaimer: directed more to Dutchies. But if you’re living in or visiting Amsterdam on November the 20th and 21st, this might be the place to go!
You don’t have to fly all the way to Mexico to immerse yourself in the Mexican culture, because this fall, Mexico is coming to Amsterdam! On Saturday the 20th and Sunday the 21st of November 2021, the very first edition of the Amsterdam Taco Festival will take place inside the monumental building “Het Sieraad” at Postjesweg 1 in Amsterdam West. The festival starts at 11 a.m. on both days!
To spread the visitors throughout the day, time slots are used to enter. So you can select a certain entrance time. Once inside you can stay as long as you want and enjoy all the different Mexican snacks. In this article you will find a link to where you can book your tickets.
Reading time: 1 minute, booking your tickets might take a little longer…
The Dutch company Huls introduces vegan dry sausages
25-10-2021
Disclaimer: more interesting for Dutchies. But it might still be inspiring to read…
A sausage is an appetizer that cannot be missed, anywhere. But especially not in the Netherlands. The Dutch company Huls, specialist in sausages, created two varieties of vegan dry sausage for the vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians.
Huls is located in the North of the Netherlands in the region Groningen and has been making dry meat sausages for over a 100 years. In this article you’ll read about the recently created vega(n) varieties.
Reading time: 2 minutes
Next Gen Foods introduces plant-based chicken ‘TiNDLE’ to the European market in Amsterdam
25-10-2021
The fast-growing Singaporean food-tech startup Next Gen Foods – founded in 2020 – will make its European debut this year, starting in Amsterdam. The company has a state-of-the-art production facility in the Netherlands, where its main product – plant-based chicken ‘TiNDLE’ – is made. TiNDLE has been successfully launched in Asia and the Middle East and people recently had a sneak preview at The New York City Wine & Food Festival, where the product received critical acclaim. TiNDLE is now available in about 150 restaurants.
Reading time: 2 minutes
The S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Brain Food Forum | Live stream on Saturday 30th October
22-10-2021
Saturday 30th October will see the launch of The S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Brain Food Forum, an exchange of knowledge and ideas between young chefs and nine of the greatest chefs in the world. An exceptional opportunity for both industry professionals and food lovers to join nine of the greatest chefs in the world as they take part in this forum.
The event will be held at the S.Pellegrino Young Chef 2019-2021 grand final and is curated by Fine Dining Lovers with editor-in-chief Ryan King offering insight and mediation in his role as host. The key themes of Taste & Creativity chosen to reiterate the core values of the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy: an online educational platform created to attract, connect and nurture diverse talent in the world of gastronomy. The Brain Food Forum will be available to view via a live stream on Fine Dining Lovers on Saturday 30th October from 9.30am-12.30pm (Central European Summer Time), the link requires sign-up. By continuing reading you will learn more about the chefs attending the event.
Reading time: 2 minutes
Ruby Hotels | This hotel chain continues to expand, now also to Italy
22-10-2021
The Munich-based Ruby Group continues its growth and brings their Lean Luxury philosophy to Italy. In a historic building in the heart of Florence, Ruby, together with GB Holding Group, is realizing a Ruby Hotel with 118 rooms and a Ruby Workspace with a total surface area of approximately 300 m². The images accompanying this article are from Ruby Hotel Louise in Frankfurt. The rooms are the same at all Ruby Hotels, only they can differ in details regarding decoration. Ruby does the design for all her hotels herself, every hotel has the Ruby ‘signature’ but the theme differs, often in line with the history of the building or the location.
Ruby Hotels currently has 12 hotels in Düsseldorf (3), Vienna (3), Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne, Munich, Zurich and London. Founder and CEO Michael Struck is breaking new ground in the hotel industry with his Lean Luxury philosophy. Through a lean organizational structure and with a concentration on the essentials, Ruby hotels know how to create a contemporary, affordable form of luxury for modern, cost- and style-conscious customers. The group was founded in 2013 and, in addition to the 12 hotels, has nineteen more hotels under construction and/or in the planning stages. With the Ruby Asia joint venture, founded in 2018, Ruby is expanding into Asia. In addition, Ruby offers Ruby Workspaces in Munich, Hamburg and Düsseldorf: perfectly equipped workplaces in a creative environment with access to an inspiring office community.
Reading time: 2 minutes
Thai’s Streetfood restaurant Pitaya opens in Antwerp
21-10-2021
Thai’s Streetfood restaurant Pitaya, the restaurant chain specialized in Thai cuisine, opened its first restaurant in Antwerp, next to Operaplein in the newly renovated Antwerp Tower. After three successful openings in Brussels and Wallonia, it is now Flanders’ turn. And they will open in the Netherlands as well in the coming years.
Inspired by the Thai capital, the first Pitaya restaurant opened in 2010 in Bordeaux, France. The Antwerp restaurant is number 122 on their list! Most of the restaurants are located in France. Alpha Seed, the investment company that manages Pitaya’s license for the Benelux, is planning further openings in Liège and Charleroi this year. Pitaya now manages 5 restaurants in Belgium. The goal is to reach 70 in the Benelux in 7 years: 30 restaurants in Belgium, 35 in the Netherlands and 5 in Luxembourg.
Reading time: 2 minutes
How spooky do you want it to be? | 13 bits of Halloween inspiration
19-10-2021
On American inspiration websites you can’t miss Halloween. Halloween is major in the US and slowly but surely more and more people in the Netherlands are celebrating it too! In our Dutch village it will be celebrated as well. The organization normally responsible for our King’s Day celebration will this year also organize a Halloween spooky tour along ‘haunted houses’ where the children get hot chocolate and can pick up ‘creepy’ candy. Such a fun night! How can you celebrate Halloween as a hospitality provider? Would you profit from a celebration and would your Dutch or European guests enjoy it? The last point is of course clear; it is fun and it always makes sense to positively surprise your guests, even if it is with a freshly baked ‘ghost’ cookie or a mini pumpkin of marzipan. To get in this spooky atmosphere before the actual holiday (31st of October), we have listed 13 bits of Halloween inspiration for you! ^Marjolein
Reading time: 3 minutes
Trends we spotted | Week 42
18-10-2021
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.
With this week links to articles about NANKA that makes patties from Jack Fruit in combination with mushrooms, chicken and beef to help meat-eaters to reduces their meat intake in Malaysia. And in Germany Essity and McDonald’s are recycling the paper cups into toilet paper.
The Brooklyn Dumpling Shop from New York is growing fast through franchising, they’re opening 5 new locations in Florida. And the Singapore-born, Instagram-famous Paradise Group debuted in California last September with their Rainbow Soup Dumplings!
The Dutch cider producers and importers of CiderCider will open ‘the Ciderbar’ in Rotterdam Hofbogen by the end of December. And in Groningen the first RavioliBar in the Netherlands opened. They make fresh ravioli daily!
The Cheesecake Factory has been sharing a slew of their incredible recipes for readers to make in their own kitchens since the COVID-19 crisis. Inspirational! And the Dutch Vegan Junk Food Bar will open in Germany this fall.
New innovation by Domino’s Pizza Belgium | Domino’s Cal’z sandwich
18-10-2021
In addition to a wide range of pizzas, Domino’s Pizza offers more and more dishes suitable for lunch or as a snack. With this, the chain focuses on the popularity of the lunch moment and the growing demand for lunch delivery. After the introduction of the warmly welcomed Crunchy Chicken, the Domino’s Cal’z sandwich is now also available at all Domino’s Pizza locations in Belgium.
In this article we have written about another calzone variation from the US: ”The Crazy Calzone” from Little Caesars.
Reading time: 2 minutes
Larens Blanje Bleu - Design & Wijn - credits Rose Groot
Larens Blanje Bleu - Design & Wijn - credits Rose Groot
