Maze through corn field in Twente, The Netherlands
In the Dutch village Holten the owners of the playground Dondertman created a very special maze. The maze has the shape of a rabbit and is made through a 2,5 metre high corn field. read more
In the Dutch village Holten the owners of the playground Dondertman created a very special maze. The maze has the shape of a rabbit and is made through a 2,5 metre high corn field. read more
Ottilie Maters
Ottilie Maters
Ottilie Maters
Ottilie Maters
Ottilie Maters
Ottilie Maters
Ottilie MatersEsso Ruyven is a gas station located on the A13 road between Rotterdam and The Hague. The gas station has undergone a remarkable transformation: the traditional shop inside the station is now a modern food formula. Large and colourful images are attached to the glass walls, displaying their unique and fresh variety of menu items such as sushi, salads and burgers from the Big Green Egg. During the reopening on June 29, owner NRGValue revealed the new QICHI concept.
Upon entering, visitors are welcomed by a host and introduced to the new concept. The open kitchen stands out immediately. Chefs are preparing fresh dishes including sushi, pizza’s, BBQ- burgers and all kinds of smoothiebowls. There is also a barista island with freshly prepared coffee and handmade ice cream from ‘IJsmanschap’.
We see more and more food trends finding their way to the gas stations nowadays. For example Dorset’s culinary foodplaza, a food formula at AVIA at Dorset in Borne, also in The Netherlandse. But in the past period, we have seen more entrepreneurs implementing their culinary concept alongside the highway. Another example is gas station Scheiwijk alongside the A27. They also decided to improve the quality of their food, less fat and more healthy, culinary food.
Madurodam, the smallest city in the Netherlands, has a new spectacular indoor family attraction and Madurodam Events has two extra spaces for business and private events. The New Amsterdam in Madurodam is the new attraction in a New Amsterdam 17th century decor. With the opening of these special rooms, the number of meeting and private events rooms in Madurodam is ten in total, suitable for groups of 10 to 1,000 persons. read more
The Tipsy Scoop
Sweet Mirrie's
Suikerspin burrito
Nozem ijs
Lekkernijs
Liefmans ijs
Gin-tonic ijs
CoolMess
Bavaria Radler ijsOne of the unique characteristics of ice cream is the fact that it combines very well with several products. In May we already published a bucket list with ice cream parlours but in the meanwhile we already posted 10 more stories about ice cream. A new list thus with amongst others one of the first ice cream parlours in the Netherlands that sells rolled ice cream, a parlour where DIY soft serve ice cream is being served and a cotton candy burrito with ice cream but also ice cream with alcohol like gin tonic or with beer. We are curious which Dutch ice cream parlour starts selling the black ice cream. It’s a total Instagram hype at the moment! read more
It’s summer, which means that the magic warehouse of city brewery Stadsbrouwerij ‘De Koninck’ in Antwerp has been transformed into a temporary summer bar. After Summer Josephine’s and Smokey Jo’s Garage, the brewery’s interior garden will house Smokey Jo’s Cantina this year. The ultimate place to relax in the city. Prepare for a thick layer of white sand and palm trees, beach chairs and hammocks. read more
The beautiful waterfront city of Hamburg will gain a new architectural landmark later this year when the 131‐room luxury hotel, The Fontenay, opens its doors to guests on October 15, 2017. Considered to be Germany’s most anticipated luxury hotel opening this year, The Fontenay will be located directly on the banks of Lake Alster, with an unique sculptural design resembling three interlocking circles, creating views of the lake and the downtown cityscape from most of the hotel’s rooms and suites, as well as its rooftop bar & terrace, gourmet restaurant, swimming pool and spa. read more
Lekkernijs, serving sorbet & cocktail sorbet turned into molecular ice cream for adults! Lekkernijs can be found in the recently opened foodcourt Hofhouse in The Hague, The Netherlands. You have to be quick because the pop-up will only be there for three months. read more
This week, the doors of the Champagneria ‘Five Brothers Fat’ will open at De Clercq Street 56 in the restaurant area of Amsterdam-West. Inspired by the Champagneria in Barcelona. The idea for a Champagneria originated in a trip to Barcelona by five hospitality brothers. During the trip they visited the famous and very popular Cava bar in one of the side streets of Barceloneta. A success story at the Mediterranean coast and one of the places to be seen in Barcelona. While enjoying freshly prepared tapas, the bottles of Cava Rosat keep passing your table! No fuss, just authentic and good. read more
At Horecatrends we spot a lot of national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write articles about, the smaller trends we use in our column ‘Trends we spotted this week’. This week amongst others the futuristic Hyperloop hotel and the pilot of the premium version of Airbnb. read more
Credits: Julia Claxton
Credits: Julia Claxton
Credits: Julia ClaxtonThe first year of The Hague Food Festival showcasing chefs and restaurants from the city, alongside food and drink producers from the surrounding region. The festival will be held throughout the whole city with different events. read more
H.A.R.L.A.N.D, the Human Assisted Robotic Linguistic Animatronic Networked Device is KFC’s latest stunt for NFCD (National Fried Chicken Day) and it’s a robot designed to take drive-thru orders. The robot translate the responses from the cashier into Colonel Sanders-speak, with a slight delay. read more
The world’s first rope-free elevator MULTI is set to revolutionize tall building construction. MULTI harnesses the power of linear motor technology to move multiple cars in a single shaft both vertically and horizontally! read more
At Rocycle’s boutique gyms, you get a full-body workout on a spinning bike in 45 minutes. Unlike other gyms, you can do nothing but spin at Rocycle. The costs are also higher but you’ll have to take in consideration that they will arrange everything for you and that you’ll get training from top instructors. The idea comes from America, where the company SoulCycle has grown into a group of 74 boutique gyms in the recent years. read more
CoolMess
CoolMess is a modern ice cream parlour, located in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. They allow their guests to make DIY soft serve ice cream at their tables. A favourite parlour for kids, teens and adults that love a DIY messy ice cream with a lot of toppings. If you’re one of them you have another place to visit in NYC this summer!
A large number of ‘bicycles to share’ have recently been placed in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Two weeks ago, hundreds of bicycles of oBike were distributed in Rotterdam. Last weekend, it was time for FlickBike to drop 1000 black bikes in Amsterdam. What are these ‘bicycles to share’ and how can you use them? read more
We discussed which products show up the most on social media, in all kind of shapes, flavours and colours, this year. The first product that 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
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
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..
TOP Foodlab developed a new product that adds flavor to your food called Kimchiwawa. It is based on dried kimchi, a traditional Korean side dish. Kimchi has a strong and funky flavor and is made from fermented vegetables and spices. Add Kimchiwawa to a product like vegetable chips or popcorn to give it a typical Korean flavor. When you are not familiar with the taste of kimchi, we really recommend you to taste it. Kimchiwawa can soon be tried at events and bought at several outlets in the Netherlands.
In Amsterdam a new tropical restaurant, Waterkant, was opened. The restaurant is located in the city centre of Amsterdam and is inspired by the city of Paramaribo in Suriname. There are typical Surinamese dishes on the menu, such as Roti and Saoto soup, but also Angus burgers, grilled chicken and lobster. Waterkant is a great place to enjoy the tropical atmosphere with a typical Surinamese Parbo-beer.
‘Cities’ known from the book ‘Farming the City’ has launched a pilot project for electric bicycle transportation this summer. The project Foodlogica connects local food, businesses and consumers. Food Logic uses an hourly rate of € 20, – including driver during the pilot. With 300 kg per transport (including the driver), maximum dimensions of 120 x 94 x 120 cm and a radius of 50 km it can be an interesting alternative for small sustainable entrepreneurs.
Participants pilot
The first participants in the pilot are the Chocolate Makers, Bee Box, ‘Van Boer tot Bord’, Willem & Drees and Juice & Salad Cafe.
With the TV program ‘Smaakpupillen’(translated as ‘Taste Pupils‘) television channel 24 Kitchen wants to motivate children to cook at least once a week. In the program kids between six and twelve years will cook for their families. The meals are specially created for them and the purchases are part of the program as well. Presenter Hugo Kennis: “Today, they often don’t know how a certain product on the market looks like and where it comes from. I take them to the market, where they receive detailed information about the products. ”
The program is aired on 24 Kitchen daily at 16.30 from 1 September onwards.
The movie CHEF tell the story about chef cook Carl Casper who resigns at a top restaurant in Los Angeles for a culinary road trip in Miami. To promote the film, that premiers in the Dutch cinemas on 4 September, a CHEF food truck travels through the Netherlands. This truck is co-developed by the creators of the book “Reizende Sterren” a cookbook with the signature dishes of different food trucks. The Cuban sandwiches that the truck serves are based on the sandwich recipe from the film.
#Cheftruck
The foodtruck serves its culinary specialties at the Car Art Festival in Delft (9-10 Aug), Haarlem Jazz & More in Haarlem (13-16 Aug), Magneet Festival in Amsterdam (22-24 Aug), Rrrollend Leiden (Aug 29-30 ), Smaak Karavaan in Tilburg (31 Aug), Vlietdagen Leidschendam-Voorburg (13-14 Sep), and can be tracked online via #ChefTruck #ReizendeSterren.
For those who still have their holiday ahead and are going to either Singapore, Bangkok, New York, Rome, Barcelona, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai or Istanbul TripAdvisor has produced a list with the ten most visited roof tops. I have visited 2 of the mentioned rooftops and can assure you that you will enjoy the view while swimming (Marina Bay Sands rooftop) or sipping a cocktail while enjoying the view of Bangkok (Lebua at the State Tower rooftop). It’s a unique experience! For those owning hotels, it might be interesting to be mentioned in these kind of lists, so check your special features and let the world know! Check the other locations at TripAdvisor. ^Marjolein
In April 2010, the Icelandic cook Fridgeir Eiriksson served dinner prepared over the foothills of the lava of the ‘famous’ volcano, Eyjafjallajökull. Perhaps you recall the eruption which caused a lot of trouble in air traffic. The chef complete the adventure by flying the guests to the ‘restaurant’ location in a helicopter. In June the creative duo Bompas & Parr, from London barbecued steaks on artificially manufactured lava in collaboration with Professor Robert Wysock (Syracuse University, NY). The movie takes some time but the effect of BBQ’ing above 2.100 degrees Fahrenheit is clearly visible. However, I think I would sign up for the adventure! ^Marjolein
This article describes the developments of the Asian restaurant sector in The Netherlands. Unfortionately this article is only available in Dutch. Please contact + 31 71 541 88 67 if you have any questions.
The pop-up waste restaurant Instock is open for a month now and gets positive reviews. The founders, who met at Albert Heijn, put food waste literally on the menu. The cooks in the pop-up restaurant prepare left-overs of the supermarket chain that would otherwise be thrown away. The ingredients depend on the daily harvest and is pciked up at the stores with an electric minibus. Instock is open every weekend for a three-course dinner on Friday and Saturday (17:00 to 23:00) and Sunday brunch (from 10:30 to 17:00).
(Un)avoidable food waste
All the food served is still meets the required quality standards. “You can differentiate between unavoidable and avoidable food waste. Wasting food that is actually no longer consumable is inevitable, but we avoid food waste while it is still suitable for consumption.”
The last 3 days Café George at the Plein in The Hague had an original pre-opening. Guests could go on a ‘blind date’ with George. Like in the other George bistro’s in Amsterdam and Laren, we tasted delicious French bistro dishes like Steak Tartare and Lobster Linguini as well as popular desserts like lemon pie, cheesecake and île flottante. We wish the team from George a lot of success at the Plein in The Hague.
This summer, while the outdoor festivals are sprouting everywere, the Bacchus Wine Festival is definately worth mentioning. At this festival there is room for 250 different types of wines! For this stunning variety of wines the organization works close together with ten well known wine importers from Amsterdam and its surroundings. The festival takes place at the ‘Amsterdamse Bos’ from 5 to 7 September.
The comfort standard at the festival is higher than most outdoor events. With real wine glasses, flushing toilets and several rolling kitchens it should be fine with the luxe experience.
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