Hurryhurrygogo | The perky little sister of Happyhappyjoyjoy will open in Amsterdam

26-9-2019

Hurryhurrygogo will open its doors at the Singel 460 in Amsterdam by the end of October. Underneath the Supperclub, space is being created in the former French Connection for this even more chaotic and hysterical sister of Happyhappyjoyjoy. The new snack bar offers space for its own events, various cocktails and high-quality Asian snacks and, in that sense, will link itself to the city’s nightlife.

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Amber Garden | True Chinese Cuisine

24-9-2019

Amber Garden, part of the international ‘Yisheng Group’, opened its doors in Amstelveen (near Amsterdam in the Netherlands) in a festive way on September 23th. Owner, Stark Li, third generation respected Chinese restaurant owner, together with Facility Manager, Ronald Ting, opened restaurant Amber Garden in the company of many corporate companies from the region, culinary enthusiasts and (Michelin) star chefs.

With the arrival of Amber Garden, the municipality of Amstelveen has added a beautiful, authentic fine dining Chinese restaurant at their list of restaurants. Lovers of the authentic Chinese cuisine can enjoy the ‘shared dining’ dishes here. During the opening we enjoyed dishes from Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Xi’an. With the dishes you can enjoy wine pairing that are specially selected. For those who want to drink alcohol-free, they also serve delicious tea-based mocktails. True lovers of the Chinese cuisine must visit Amber Garden, if only for the delicious Dim Sum and their signature dish the ‘Amber roasted Beijing duck in the traditional way’. Like chef Shaun Song says: “You no longer need to go to China to be able to enjoy the best dishes China can offer”.

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Boutique antique Hotel Beijers | A new, unique hotel in Utrecht

24-9-2019

In the violence of the openings of new hotels of large chains that have found their way to Utrecht (The Netherlands), the opening of Hotel Beijers can be called special. The combination of boutique with antique makes Hotel Beijers unique for Utrecht and perhaps even for the Netherlands. At Hotel Beijers you really step into another world and it appears as if time has stood still. Yet the hotel is anything but old-fashioned, because in the design they worked with bold color combinations, special antiques and the hotel is equipped with all the luxury and modern conveniences of today.

The hotel has 15 rooms and no room is the same. A cool concept for guests who love architecture, antiques and history, but of course with a modern twist! Utrecht City Concepts will run the hotel. They are known for its collection of small-scale boutique hotels in the center of Utrecht. You can recognize them from Mother Goose, Eye Hotel, Court Hotel, Hotel26 and the Malie Hotel.

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Trends we spotted | Week 38

20-9-2019

At hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the smaller trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.

This week, among other a link to an article about ‘The Swingers Open 2019’, a crazy golfing tournament at Swingers City in London, sponsored by Tanqueray No. Ten.

Also two articles with sustainable initiatives by McDonald’s in Germany and the UK and Burger King in the UK.  SeaBubbles is another sustainable initiative in Paris, these electric and futuristic taxis are hovering the Seine.

From London this week two examples of a collaboration around one ingredient, a truffle menu at restaurant Orrery and the ‘Champagne Friends’ initiatives by bubbledogs.

Ever heard about a PizzaRitto? You can eat them at Russo’s House of Pizza in Pearl River, New York State. What it is? Check out the video! read more

A Circular Juice Bar | ‘Feel the Peel’

17-9-2019

‘Feel the Peel’ is a project by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati for Eni, they developed an experimental orange squeezer which makes bioplastic out of orange peels and uses it to 3D print cups to drink the juice.

The “Feel the Peel” prototype strives to bring environmental circularity to everyday life. International design and innovation office CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, in partnership with global energy company Eni, has developed an experimental Circular Juice Bar that uses oranges to make bioplastic, turns it into filament, and 3D prints disposable cups to drink the freshly-squeezed juice. Called “Feel the Peel”, the prototype is starting a tour of public places around Italy in the next few months as it strives to demonstrate a new approach to environmental circularity in daily life.

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Quirky ‘storytelling’ video for BUNK hotels | ‘Another hotel’

17-9-2019

If you have missed the news: BUNK Hotels has recently opened the doors of its first location in the heart of Utrecht in an old church. BUNK Amsterdam will open soon, also in a former house of God.

We wrote earlier about this special hotel in the Westerkerk in Utrecht, and with the announcement of BUNK Amsterdam they have created a special promotional video for the concept. A big nod to Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel, that’s what you could call this artistic piece of cinematography from BUNK. And also an ode to the bird of paradise that lurks in everyone, as ultimately we all have our own original story. BUNK brings these stories together.

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The Simple Greek |Interesting Greek fastcasual concept in the U.S.

17-9-2019

‘The Simple Greek’ is redefining the traditional Greek restaurant with an interactive concept that combines high quality ingredients, open kitchens and Greek atmosphere in a fast casual setting. At Pennsylvania-based ‘The Simple Greek’, customers build pitas or bowls with Mediterranean staples such as grilled steak, tzatziki sauce, feta cheese and garbanzo beans. This concept is one of the fastest-growing franchise restaurant concepts in the U.S.. It capitalizes on the popularity and health benefits of the well-known Mediterranean diet and is a ‘build-your-own’ concept. ‘The Simple Greek’ was mentioned as a high growth, emerging concept to watch at the 2019 National Restaurant Show by Technomic Inc, the leading strategic research and analytics firm in the U.S. for the food industry.

We never spotted a similar concept in Europe but we love Greek food and the fast-casual concept of The Simple Greek is tempting! And who doesn’t love a concept that has this saying: ‘We have OPA’?

Where ‘opa’ is the Dutch word for granddad, at The Simple Greek it stands for O (Outstanding service), P (Passion for the brand) and A (Awesome food). Their slogan is ‘Eat Fresh, Eat Simple, Eat Greek’. Although they aren’t thinking about franchising the concept outside the U.S. we’re quite sure the people from the Netherlands would embrace the concept as well. 

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Geofencing | How location-aware dining apps are changing the hospitality industry

16-9-2019

QSR (quick service restaurant) brands have only begun to scratch the surface of geofencing. Beyond providing better delivery analytics and clever marketing campaigns, location context can help restaurants understand customer loyalty, impact customer engagement, and help them save on operational and delivery costs.

A rather long but interesting article especially for fast food and fast casual brands about the possibilities presented by geofencing. A guest blog by the company Radar! They give examples on how some QSR brands have started experimenting with geofencing to improve the customer carryout experience. They indicated that API’s (application program interface) are the next big thing in the SaaS (Software as a Service) wave and have been recognized as a Rising Star on TechCrunch. 

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Trends we spotted | Week 37

13-9-2019

At hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the smaller trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.

This week, amongst others a link to an article about a special collaboration between the restaurant of the Andaz Amsterdam and Heinz ketchup, a menu called ‘In case Ed Sheeran’.  And have you got any idea what the ingredients are for a dish called ‘Musubi Madness’?

We also read an article about a dumpling made with lab-grown kangaroo meat and another ‘veggie’ collaboration; Beyond Meat and Subway introduced the Beyond Meatball Marinara Sub this September.

The Gateway Foundation says it will open its first space hotel in 2025, check out their artist impression of the ‘Space Wheel’ hotel. And the new Raaago app, developed by German design group Random Access Studios, aims to make travel more interesting by making it random.

And Starbucks is rolling out the Chinese ‘Starbucks Now’-concept. The first pick-up-only shop will open in New York City this fall.

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Neat Burger | First location in London for this plant-based sustainable burger chain

10-9-2019

Five-time FIA Formula One World Champion, Lewis Hamilton is collaborating with hospitality organisation ‘The Cream Group’ and investors including UNICEF Ambassador and early backer of Beyond Meat, Tommaso Chiabra, to revolutionize fast food when they launched the new concept Neat Burger, a plant-based sustainable burger chain. They opened their first site on September 2^nd just off Regent Street in London.  Neat Burger promises to transform the way people see plant-based food by appealing to not only those who follow plant-based diets, but any individuals, meat-eaters included, who want to eat delicious meat-free dishes that are more sustainable, healthier and ethical. The team has ambitious plans to expand the concept globally with 14 franchises planned in the next 24 months.

We have been spotting a lot initiatives which include the burgers or other products by Beyond Meat. Burger King recently tested Beyond Fried Chicken™ which was sold out in no time and this September Subway will introduce the Beyond Meatball Marinara sub in 685 participating restaurants in Canada and the U.S. for a limited time only. As far as we know Neat Burger will be the first plant-based sustainable burger chain serving unique patties, specially created by their team of chefs in collaboration with Beyond Meat.      

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#PearPizza campaign | USA Pears promotes pears on pizza

9-9-2019

The pear season is about to start and as part of the kick-off for the 2019-20 Northwest pear season, USA Pears launched a campaign centered around #PearPizza. As it seems the beginning of 2019 was marked by the great pineapple pizza controversy, and now USA Pears is proudly declaring that there is nothing wrong with using fruit as a pizza topping. That being said, now it is time for pineapples to step aside for pears to triumph as the ultimate fruit to use as a pizza topping. The quest for their world pizza domination begins at FEAST Portland on September 14.

I love to make flammkuchen with blue cheese, hazelnuts and pears, so I can imagine enjoying a #PearPizza although I don’t like to eat a pizza with pineapple. In the past we even spotted pizza’s with chocolate so there are a lot of people enjoying a touch of sweetness on their pizza! In this article a link to more recipes with pears from USA Pears! ^Marjolein

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Trends we spotted | Week 36

6-9-2019

At hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the smaller trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.

This week, among other links to articles about a ‘walking chocolate trolley’ at restaurant ‘El Celler de Can Roca’ with a Dutch element to it and a ‘High Tea with a twist’ at the Lobby Bar and The Restaurant of the Williamsburg hotel in Brooklyn, New York.

In 2020 Starbucks will deliver throughout the U.S. via Uber Eats and this fall a Dutch book called ‘Water, coffee beans & milk’ will be published in English as well.

Did you ever attend a Tank Party at a brewery? We never even heard of it, but the Camden Town Brewery Tank Party is held September 7 for the seventh year in a row!

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Open house by JO&JOE moves in with IKEA at Vienna West Station

5-9-2019

JO&JOE moves in with IKEA at Vienna West Station, two innovative concept unite in one project. On the two upper floors of the planned city IKEA, near the Westbahnhof train station in Vienna, a JO&JOE open house arises. The JO&JOE brand (part of the Accor Group) combines hostel and traditional hotel elements with an attractive array of restaurants and services.

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‘Not Native’ Guest Series | Tasting menu with undesirable species

5-9-2019

Native, London Bridge’s foraged-focused restaurant will launch the ‘Not Native’ guest series. Inviting chefs from across the UK, the series will highlight the UK’s edible non-native species by creating tasting menus formed primarily from undesirable species such as Japanese Knotweed, Grey Squirrel, Signal Crayfish and Wild Native Fal Oysters.

Launching this September, Head Chef and Co-founder Ivan Tisdall-Downes will work closely with a stellar line up of chefs including eco-chef and food waste activist Tom Hunt, award-winning food writer Olia Hercules and Sam Bryant & Alicja Specjalna of Whole Beast, famed for their nose-to-tail dining. Each will shine a spotlight on the versatility of wild British ingredients through the lens of global cuisines including Korean, Filipino, Ukrainian and Polish.

A nice way to process local products and products that are not desired in an area, into tasting menus. For example, did you know that you can eat the Japanese knotweed? At restaurant Native they create a delicious sorbet from it! We already reported that the gray squirrel is being eaten more and more in the UK, but it remains a special dish. Cool idea to seek collaboration with colleagues for a sustainable way of cooking!

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Trends we spotted | Week 35

30-8-2019

At hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the smaller trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.

This week, among other links to 2 articles with inspiration for bakeries, such as ‘Pie Night’ from Dominique Ansel Kitchen in New York and small, bread cubes from ‘MilkCow in Boots’ from Korea.

But also inspiration for pizzerias, like a pizza & prosciutto tower from the Luigia Group and in the USA Beyond Fried Chicken ™ passed the test, within 5 hours all vegetarian pieces of chicken were sold during a test!

The Belgium/Dutch restaurant ‘Frites Atelier’ sells the tastiest fries in Europe according to Big Seven Travel. And inspiration for hotels: have you already received a request from an influencer to livestream a ‘mukbang’ at your place? The W hotel in Washington D.C. has created the ‘Sip & Slurp’ arrangement!

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