Ghost kitchen chain Casper from Belgium is going to expand to the Netherlands

20-4-2022

Casper, the fast-growing ghost kitchen chain in Belgium, announced it has raised €5 million in a Series A financing led by Amsterdam-based Slingshot Ventures, in partnership with serial entrepreneurs Zhong Xu & Jan Hollez (Deliverect) and Jürgen Ingels (Smartfin).

With this injection Casper will expand to various locations in the Netherlands (The Hague, Rotterdam, Eindhoven and Utrecht), France (Lille) in the third quarter of this year and Luxembourg will follow in the fourth quarter. As of Q2 2024, Casper aims to have 50 international locations.

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citizenM begins building a hotel in the Metaverse

19-4-2022

citizenM, the pioneer of affordable luxury hotels recently announced it will acquire a LAND site in The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world and a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, to begin building a hotel in the Metaverse. This endeavor signifies a new movement in hospitality, as citizenM will be the first ever hotel group to purchase LAND in The Sandbox.

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Trends we spotted | Week 14

12-4-2022

At horecatrends.com 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 amongst others a new series ‘Definitive and Doable’ on the website of Fine Dining Lovers. Great for foodies: in this series they show some very exciting recipes. And the James Bond’s studios at Pinewood are opening to the public in the UK  

In 2019 the Dutch Bird Brewery started planting trees for every liter of their beer sold, recently the reached their goal: 100.000 trees. And the Prêt-à-Portea at the Berkeley features Gucci, Lanvin, Oscar de la Rente and more this Spring/Summer 2022.

New-Meat pioneer, Redefine Meat, recently announced that Selfridges London is the world’s first department store to feature New-Meat as part of its in-store dining experience. And D-Drinks starts selling a second taste of the NOCCO drinks – Mango Del Sol in the Netherlands.

 San Francisco-based MeliBio has found a way to make honey that doesn’t require bees, bee free honey! And the French tea merchants Betjeman & Barton now also has a shop in the Jan Evertsenstaat in Amsterdam.

In Toulouse, France a retired A380 jet will be transformed into a luxury hotel with 31 rooms and a grand suite on the flight deck. An in Paris you can buy a box of ‘naughty waffles’ for Easter from La Quequetterie.

KFC Australia opened the first KFC fine dining degustation pop-up restaurant with a delicious 11-courses menu. Great idea for the opening of a fast food restaurant! And a special arrangement ‘Steal the Suite’ at the Prince Hotel in Melbourne from April 5th – May 31st!

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Diego’s Burgers| Plant-based Chef’s Table pop-up at DGTL festival

5-4-2022

During the 8th edition of DGTL festival (16-17 April 2022) at the NDSM Docklands in Amsterdam, chef Diego Buik from Diego’s Burgers will provide an exclusive, fully plant-based Chef’s Table pop-up. This pop-up is made possible thanks to Beyond Meat, who will open a plant-based foodcourt together with Apenkooi events. Diego’s signature dish this day? The Smashed Burger, especially developed for DGTL. Think of a juicy plant-based patty, made of Beyond Meat mince, served on a bun with tomato, pickle, lollo bianco, Violife cheddar and of course a good burger sauce. Finger licking good and guilt-free for the  festival visitor with a great appetite.

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Trends we spotted | Week 13

4-4-2022

At horecatrends.com 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 and amongst others three Instagram posts we spotted, the special branding of Mr. Charlie’s in Los Angeles with their red/yellow colors as well as the upside down smile. And Miss Crispy Rice who recently opened inside the Oasis Wynwood in Miami, serving crispy rice sushi!

Another Instagram post that we really love is one from Paris where restaurant La Bourse et la Vie hired 3 refugees from Ukraine and changed their cuisine and their name in Le Borscht et la Vie as of yesterday for 2 months.

Dubai is the 36th destination which will have its own Guide MICHELIN! The first selection of restaurants will be revealed in June. And McDonald’s USA surprises fans with unexpected Szechuan Sauce drop. Great idea a limited time offer of products from the past, which product would you bring back?

SALSA SHOP is a fast growing brand of fresh Mexican food restaurants, they recently opened the 10th restaurant in the Netherlands and they have big dreams for Europe. And a great initiative of Culinair Leiden in our hometown, a 6.5 km long festive ribbon of tables along the Singelpark route on 25 and 26 June 2022: Singelpark Dinner.

Restaurant commerce platform, GoTab, recently announced that it is partnering with Mastercard to transform the digital checkout experience in hospitality venues across the US with the implementation of Click to Pay.

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Wilhelmus Orange IPA | Brewed for King’s Day in the Netherlands

1-4-2022

The Orange fever will rage through the Netherlands at the end of April when we celebrate King’s Day (April 27) and Bird Brewery created their newest beer Wilhelmus Orange IPA for this event. A fresh, fruity Orange IPA (6%) with notes of orange. The Elixer hop also provides a subtle bitterness and tropical aromas. Our Dutch anthem is called the Wilhelmus and Brid Brewery creates beers with bird names, the Dutch ‘mus’ is a sparrow. They even brew their beers at a location in a forest near Amsterdam, House of Bird in the Diemerbos.

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Eggshibition at Brouwerij ‘t IJ | Next level egg painting

1-4-2022

Just over thirty ostrich eggs and as many Dutch artists. These are the ingredients for the Eggshibition at Brouwerij ‘t IJ, which is being organized for the second time this year in Amsterdam. From cartoonist to tattoo artist and from rapper to illustrator – they all went to work, resulting in unique works of art. Certainly no eggs to hide and therefore they will be exhibited over the Easter weekend at Sissi’s Expo-Resto in Amsterdam. During this exhibition you can also enjoy a good glass of PaasIJ, the delicious hoppy spring beer that the Amsterdam brewery makes every year especially for Easter.

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Ramen Restaurant Takumi is celebrating its 15th anniversary.

24-3-2022

The famous ramen restaurant Takumi is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year and is organizing festive activities and moments throughout the year to celebrate. In 2007, they opened their first branch in Düsseldorf and by now there are already 41 restaurants to be found all over Europe. At Takumi you can enjoy authentic Japanese Sapporo Noodles which have become extremely popular in recent years. To celebrate Takumi’s 15th anniversary and to show gratitude to the loyal Takumi fans, several festive moments are set up in 2022. These include multiple live events in different European cities, a lottery to win a trip every quarter of the year, a ‘Create your own ramen’ challenge and the launch of a limited edition Takumi clothing collection. So expect an extensive and festive program to celebrate 15 years of love for Japanese Soul Food, of which the first event will take place in Rotterdam on April 30!

Takumi now has 41 locations throughout Europe. In Belgium they have locations in Brussels and Antwerp, eight in total. There is also a Takumi in Prague, Czech Republic, one in Vienna in Austria and one in Milan, Italy. Germany has no fewer than 14 locations spread over Düsseldorf, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Köln. Also in Spain you can enjoy the ramen at Takumi at five different locations in Barcelona. In the Netherlands you can taste Takumi’s specialties in The Hague, Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Eindhoven. We will definitely visit soon!

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Strand22 | To the beach in Almere City Centre

7-3-2022

Almere City Centre has a special new address, Strand22 has recently opened on Esplanade 14. The beach at the Esplanade will open on March 9. At Strand22, guests can already enjoy a delicious drink or dinner with a phenomenal view from inside. Now that the weather is getting better and with plenty of sun forecasted in the coming days, the large terrace is also open. This spring and summer it is the ideal place for an evening of cocktails or a night out.

Almere is a city in the Dutch province Flevoland. It is a drive of approximately 30 minutes from Amsterdam. The city is surrounded by waters such as Gooimeer, IJmeer and Markermeer. A perfect place for a city beach.

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New flagship store for The Avocado Show in the Westfield Mall of the Netherlands

1-3-2022

The founders of the beloved restaurant The Avocado Show, Julien Zaal and Ron Simpson will open a new format of their fast-growing chain on Saturday 12 March. Centrally located between The Hague and Leiden, the Westfield Mall of the Netherlands is the ideal place for the first Dutch branch of The Avocado Show outside of Amsterdam.

Designed in collaboration with their permanent creative team at Aces of Space, this new version of The Avocado Show with 80 seats and a surface area of ​​190m2 has the appearance of a colorful patio. The guests sit under natural light and are surrounded by many green-pink color accents; the well-known setting of The Avocado Show. Original dishes are served, in their signature style, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Think of the now world famous poke bowl, stacked pancakes, an avocado smashed burger and even cocktails, where the avocado seeds are used as ice cubes.

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