Vegetables menu at restaurant De Keuken van Gastmaal
27-9-2013
Restaurant ‘De Keuken van Gastmaal’ in Utrecht, the Netherlands has a special 4-course vegetables menu. The restaurant chose to use vegetables from the region to promote the use of local products. It is the first restaurant in Utrecht that services a full vegetables menu. All dishes are presented with self-picket herbs. The restaurant is nominated for the best vegetarian dish of the Netherlands.
Healthier fries at Burger King
26-9-2013
Burger King has introduced a healthier version of the French fries in the United States. The SATISFRIES™ are French crinkle-cut fries and contain 40% less fat and 30% fewer calories. According to Burger King the SATISFRIES™ are healthier because they used another batter that absorbs less oil. To launch the healthier French fries, Burger King has started the campaign #WTFF (What The French Fry). Large French fry pods where placed in high traffic areas in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago to encourage passersby to take pictures to post on social media using the hash tag #WTFF.
Cooking with licorice candy
26-9-2013
Lakrids and Cool green events are organizing a mini workshop with licorice candy on Saturday September 28th at the World Food Festival in Rotterdam. During the workshop you will discover the many possibilities of cooking with licorice. Lakrids has a wide collection of licorice products, from beer to syrups. With these products will be experimented during the cooking and baking. To conclude the workshop a special dish will be served with matching drinks.
Solo per Due
25-9-2013
Romantic diner for two? The smallest restaurant of the world ‘Solo per Due’ is located in the Italian town Vacone. The restaurant has only one table with two chairs and two red armchairs by a fireplace. Guests don’t have to wait long for the food and the attention of the staff is completely focused on the two guests. The restaurant is located in a building dating from the nineteenth century in a historic town. The location offers a beautiful view across the valley of olive trees. ‘Solo per Due’ offers exclusive Italian dishes for € 250,= per person, drinks excluded.
Edible flower with crystals
25-9-2013
Koppert Cress has introduced a new edible flower, the BlinQ Blossom®. The BlinQ Blossom® is a succulent herb with a salty taste and goes well with smoked meat or fish dishes. The flower has tiny crystals and is an eye catcher on a dish. The flower has its origin in South Africa and is year-round available. Watch the on James Bond inspired introduction of the flower.
Food tours
24-9-2013
Recently we published an article about Food Sherpas; local people who take tourist on a local culinary discovery tour. Food tours along local culinary hotspots for tourists are becoming more popular. Like in Washington culinary tours are given by companies. For example DC Metro Food Tours gives tours in 13 different neighborhoods in Washington. The food served during the tour are a reflection of both residents and the history of the area. During the Food Tours architecture, culture, history and food are combined. The website Skift published an interesting article about these food tours.
Flemish Kitchen Rebels
24-9-2013
From 1 October to 15 November for the fifth time, young talented chefs from Flanders will be promoted both domestically and abroad. 38 Young chefs were elected last year, but this year the jury selected 45 young chefs. As well as last year, people from 18 to 30 years can enjoy a three-course menu for € 45,=. The chefs will also be promoted abroad this to give an impression of the young Flemish gastronomy. This is an initiative by Vlaanderen Lekker Land and Tourism Vlaanderen, Horeca Vlaanderen and 5 Provincial touristic organisations.
Circus themed fast food restaurant Biribildu
23-9-2013
‘Biribildu’ is a Greek fast food restaurant in Alimos, near Athens. In ‘Biribildu’ you will find yourself in the magical world of the circus. ‘Biribildu’ is the Basque word for turn, to make a round. This appears frequently in the design. Like a traveling circus goes around from town to town, it is a fitting theme for the fast food restaurant that offers gyros made with meat of a vertical rotating roaster. There are two circus horses and the kitchen, toilets and the shed are hidden behind three wooden boxes in which the circus can be transported. The cash register is located in a tiger cage. The fast food restaurant is designed by Minas Kosmidis and every little circus details has been thought of.
How much food do you drink?
23-9-2013
Do you order a glass of red wine, because you think it contains less calories? Then you can equally eat a slice of cheese. The video shows how many calories you really consume when drinking and compares those number of calories with food. A Margarita is equal to a taco or a Piña Colada is equal to a cheeseburger. Maybe you’d better order a vodka soda?
Hotel suites with spectacular views
20-9-2013
Telegraph gives an overview of 24 hotel suites with spectacular views. Ranging from hotel suites with a view over a city to a view over a national reserve. The pictures above are from Grand Hotel Tremezzo. The five star hotel is one of the oldest hotels located on Lake Como. The two Front Suites of the hotel are stylish and modern. The rooms have a living and a dining area and a stunning terrace with a heated Jacuzzi. Because of the unique location, the suites have a beautiful view of Lake Como and the Grigne mountains. For more hotel suites with a spectacular view, check the article of Telegraph.
Watch movies on a smartphone during your flight
20-9-2013
The airline Virgin Australia has developed a new app that allows passengers to view movies and programs directly from their smartphone, laptop or tablet during a flight. Before the airplane leaves, passengers can download the app from iTunes or Google Play and get access for 300 hours movies and programs of Virgin Australia. At this moment the app is tested at 37 airplanes, both domestic and international flights.
The stories begin here…
19-9-2013
A beautiful example of storytelling. Waldorf Astoria shows unforgettable stories that have a link with the hotel through their youtube channel. The video above shows the story of the relationship between Michelin-starred head chef Pierre Gagnaire and chef de cuisine Roel Lintermans. They surprise the guests with high quality food at the new restaurant Les Solistes at the Waldorf Astoria Berlin. Watch more unforgettable stories on the youtube channel, like the story of exectuive chef Heinz Beck at restaurant La Pergola in the Cavalieri hotel in Rome or the fashion journalist Eleonora Attolico, who shows another site of Rome, within reach from the hotel.
How taste Umami?
19-9-2013
The Danish professor Ole Mouritsen will give a presentation about Umami in the Future Food House, part of the World Food Festival on Sunday 22 September. Ole Mouritsen is specialist in the field of Umami, the fifth taste after sweet, sour, salty and bitter. He will show the audience what Umami is by explaining the theory, giving examples from the Japanese kitchen and from fast food. Three Dutch chefs, Remco van Erp and Pepijn Schmeink (Restaurant Eendracht) and Hiroaki Yamamoto (restaurant Huson), will cook small dishes during the presentation to show the taste of the mysterious flavor Umami.
A taste of Stockholm Arlanda Airport
18-9-2013
Stockholm Arlanda Airport has renewed the cafés and restaurants at the airport. There are new cafés and restaurants located at the airport. To raise awareness of the new F&B concepts, the Arlanda food trucks are visiting multiple locations around Stockholm. The food trucks sell samples of the cuisine available at the airport. Via the website Consumers are kept informed about the route of the food trucks and the dishes being sold. This is an innovative way to give potential passengers a tasting of the cuisine at the Swedish airport.
Have a steak breakfast at McDonald’s
18-9-2013
McDonald’s added steak to the breakfast menu in the USA. Besides the regular breakfast menu, customers can now for example choose a bagel with steak, egg and cheese. At this moment the steak as breakfast is available at approximately 9,600 locations in the USA. Besides this heavy breakfast item, McDonald’s is also testing the bundled ‘Blitz Box’ in Kansas City. Customers can order the Blitz Box for $ 14,99, it contains two Quarter Pouders with cheese, two medium orders of French fries and 10 Chicken McNuggets with dipping sauces. The Blitz Box is tied into a promotion with the Kansas City Chiefs and will be available during the football season. If the Blitz Box is successful, McDonald’s might introduce this bundled menu at multiple locations.
World Food Festival
17-9-2013
Mr. Aboutaleb, the Mayor of Rotterdam opens ‘The World Food Festival’ on Thursday September 19th. More than five weeks hospitality, scientists, food producers and chefs will show and let you taste what Rotterdam has to offer. Festivals, markets, tastings and trips through the city will bring the visitor in contact with food. From a Maroccan food court to the Rotterdam meatball. In the Future Food House designers, scientists and artists give their predictions about the future of food. The Italian culinary movie ‘Pranzo di Ferragosto’ will be shown at the ‘Museumpark’.
Cycling for an ice cream
17-9-2013
At the ice cream parlor Peddlers Creamery in Los Angeles, customers can make their own ice cream by cycling. The ice cream parlor sells both dairy and non-dairy organic ice cream, made of local sustainable products. Instead of using electricity to make an ice cream, the motor is connected to the bicycle device that uses the energy to churn the ice cream. Customers can contribute to the production of their own ice cream. The focus at Peddlers Creamery is on sustainability, environmental friendly and local products.
The story of KETEL1
16-9-2013
The authentic Dutch gin brand KETEL1 presents ‘The story of Willem de Bruin’, one of the singers of the Dutch hip-hop formation ‘The Opposites’. With the online video campaign, KETEL1 brings stories, history and ambition of Dutch artists in the picture. Recognizable elements are: craftsmanship, character and pure authenticity. In the video of Willem de Bruin you will see the story of the successful rapper. The reason for this campaign were the personal stories of people sent to the gin brand.
The story of… KETEL1
16-9-2013
The authentic Dutch gin brand KETEL1 presents ‘The story of Willem de Bruin’, one of the singers of the Dutch hip-hop formation ‘The Opposites’. With the online video campaign, KETEL1 brings stories, history and ambition of Dutch artists in the picture. Recognizable elements are: craftsmanship, character and pure authenticity. In the video of Willem de Bruin you will see the story of the successful rapper. The reason for this campaign was the personal stories of people sent to the gin brand.
McDonald’s mobile order app
16-9-2013
McDonald’s is testing a mobile order app. Customers can use the app to place an order and pay through their phone. The order can be picked up at the drive through or in the shop. The app provides special offers and a loyalty program. With the app McDonald’s wants to offer more convenience to place an order. At this moment the application is tested in Salt Lake City.
Redesign meeting rooms Kapellerput
13-9-2013
The Kapellerput conference hotel has redesigned its six meeting rooms. The rooms have massive brainstorm walls, interactive projectors combined with glass whiteboards and the curtains have a print of abstracted tree trunk pattern. The carpet of the lobby is replaced by a specially developed design inspired by art and nature. The carpet looks like a cross section of a tree trunk with a length of 75 meters.
Battle of the Bees
12-9-2013
The ‘Waldorf Astoria New York’ and the ‘Grand Wailea’ in Maui, both members of the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts brand, held a ‘Battle of the Bees’ to celebrate the National Honey Month. Both hotels have a set of beehives and use the produced honey in culinary dishes, cocktails and spa treatments. During the ‘Battle of the Bees’, at September 4, a panel of judges elected the honey of both hotels, processed in dishes. The Waldorf Astoria New York won the judges’ approval by a vote of 3-2, the Grand Wailea got the popular vote as the media attendees awarded its honey as the best. Actually a bit of a tie. Guests are able to taste the honey-exchanged dishes throughout the month of September.
Marks and Spencer Food pilot at BP gas station
12-9-2013
BP Netherlands (gas station) teamed up with Marks & Spencer to open the first Marks & Spencer Food pilot at the new BP gas station along the A12 in the Netherlands. The assortment of Marks & Spencer Food consists of 700 products, characterized by their freshness and high quality. The coffee and tea are Fairtrade, they only use free-range eggs in their products and the products do not contain saturated fats and artificial colors. The products of Marks & Spencer are an addition to the current assortment of BP. This pilot is the first of the in total six renovated gas station where the Marks & Spencer Food pilot will be introduced.
Android KitKat
12-9-2013
Google has launched the latest version of the Android mobile operating system in collaboration with Nestlé, named the ‘Android KitKat’. In 2009 Google started to give their new releases of mobile platforms names of sweet treats in alphabetical order. Like the ‘Android Cupcake’ in 2009 to the latest version ‘Android Jelly Bean’. Recently they introduced the ‘Android KitKat’. To celebrate the launch of the new ‘Android KitKat’ there will be a special KitKat bar in a Android package sold in 19 markets over the world. This package will bring the consumer to the android.com/kitkat website where they can win prizes. Watch the video about the Android KitKat here.
Crooked cucumbers
11-9-2013
Crooked cucumbers, tomatoes in weird shapes or roots with two legs… Research shows that about 5 to 10% of the vegetables in the Netherlands are wasted, because of their shape, color or size. The wholesale Zegro and ‘Kromkommer’ launched a pilot project where they sell four types of imperfect vegetables this month. The vegetables tastes as good as normal, despite of the weird shapes. During the pilot the current assortment of Zegro will be complemented with imperfect cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and red peppers.