We can’t ignore this new drink: the makers of the beer slush received a lot of attention in the Dutch media today. Both on radio, television and Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. The Twentse Bierbrouwerij (Brewery) in the city of Hengelo, makes Iced Beer in the flavours Radler and Rosé beer. This is a beer that you drink with a straw!
At the redaction of 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 among others, an article about an Escape Room Dinner Quest, a signature Sushi roll by restaurant Catch in New York and about restaurant Visaandeschelde who served a meal for their elderly neighbour on a daily bases. If you like to read the whole article, click the title. Enjoy reading! read more
Drinking an alcohol-free beer at the dentist, again an excellent example of ‘Blurring’. There is a new dentist located at an old party centrum in Amsterdam, with an old bar which turned into a waiting room. Nervous? You can drink away the nerves with an alcohol-free beer, if possible ;-). read more
Lennert Rietveld senior counsellor at van Spronsen & Partners hospitality consultancy gave an inspiration session last month about co-creation. In this blog an insight into this session; which shows that the focus during events is shifting to influencing the guest journey!
The inspiration session for 80 event organizers showed powerful examples of co-creation. The presentation focused on compelling examples from entrepreneurs working together to improve the visitor experience. Everything is evolving around the guest journey. A good example is the initiative of the Dutch amusement park the Efteling to develop an app in co-creation with a Belgian company. They offer their visitors a lot more experience around their visit of the Efteling through ‘mixed reality’ and smartphones. Brilliant for kids, for example at the route app a witch voice gives directions.
A couple of other examples from the inspiration session around co-creation:
Research has used brain wave technology to measure the reactions guests have to different colours in the hospitality industry. The brain wave results of the colour green indicate a relaxed lunch with friends. The colour red stands for love and going for a drink with a date. Tork examined which colours work well in the hospitality industry. With a link to the study of Tork where they made moodboards in different colours and looked at the effect of that. Tork wants hospitality businesses to be clever with their colour choices.
In the line of extra ordinary pop-up restaurants: TOAST in Toronto, Canada. As from the 7th of May this pop-up restaurant will be open for four weekends in a row. The only thing you can order here is toast with a spread. The bread is from different bakeries from the region and all the spreads are homemade.
Back to the future? More like forward to the past. Coop Italy, Italy’s biggest grocery cooperative introduced their idea, the supermarket of the future at the Expo Milan in 2015. At the beginning of April 2016 they showcased it at Microsoft’s Envision Conference. They are using futuristic technology to help shoppers return to the sociable days of open-air markets, when there were shopkeepers at every stall, ready to answer any question a customer might have about their wares. read more
At the redaction of 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 among others, an article about a gin bar in London where the owners claim having the largest collection of gins, and HIHAHUT started a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to build more sustainable cabins. read more
Les Mills Live is a collaboration between Reebok and Les Mills, who organize fitness festivals all over the world. They started organizing the festivals a couple of years ago, and today the festivals are extremely popular by thousands of fitness lovers. read more
Yesterday The Localpolitan launched as the newest, customized hospitality service available online. Instead of visiting a travel website looking for content that fits your needs, The Localpolitan aims to turn the process around, and puts the traveler in control of the content they receive. read more
How much fat is in this dressing? How much sugar contains this sugar beet and which melon is better at the moment? SCiO gives you answers to all these kind of questions, SCiO is a small gadget which scans the products you’re about to buy and shows you what these products are made of.
Katy Seibel created a unique way of presenting her cocktail recipes. The 30 drink recipes are presented on classic tarot cards. The tarot cards are hand drawn by Katy herself, each card has key elements of the cocktail recipe in it.
With ambitions to double innovation, Taco Bell is sharing exclusive insights into its plan to R.I.N.G. The Bell for winning in the years ahead! The 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 Californian wine brand ‘Barefoot’ introduces refreshing cocktail recipes for the summer, like the ‘Down the Aisle’, a cocktails made of the White Zinfandel Rose. The cocktail is refreshing and is a mix of pears, pineapple and strawberries flavor. The ‘Beachcomber’ cocktail is made of Pinot Grigio, a cocktail with fresh lime, green apple, pineapple and coconut milk flavor. These fresh cocktail recipes will get you in the mood for the summer… There is also a online contest where people can suggest cocktail recipes based on Barefoot wines, the winner will get a cash prize.
HP has announced a new project in collaboration with the world-renowned designer Karim Rashid for the nhow bar in Milan. He will use the HP Latex Printing machine to bring his interior designs to life. The result is a completely new bar area comprising eight tables that boast vibrant full-colour graphics printed by the HP Printer, as well as two large-size mirrors that is printed on self-adhesive transparent film. Karim Rashid worked with the HP printer, because the redecoration of the bar needs to be done quickly because. Owners of restaurants can easily redesign their bar by buying for example ‘cheap’ tables and redecorate them with self-adhesive prints.
‘Prachtig’ in Rotterdam has been upgraded from grand café to bar-restaurant. The interior, the menu and even the view are renewed. They have chosen for a contemporary interior with an industrial look. The restaurant is characterized by the wall of raw bricks and the use of natural and raw materials. There is a self-designed cabinet where Italian hams and sausages from Italy hang to dry. The menu has a touch of Italy, during the summer ‘Prachtig’ will organize the City Barbecues.
Cornetto has launched a funny campaign: the Cornetto Lick Challenge. If you’ve got a talented tongue, you should probably join to the new Cornetto Lick Challenge, where you can compete for tongue supremacy amongst your friends. Your tongue gets different challenges like weightlifting, bowling and taekwondo. Participants battle with Nick Afanasiev (the longest tongue of 8,9cm) in order to win the challenge.
The first edition of the cooking competition ‘Region Chef’ will take place on 28 September in Amersfoort. During this competition amateur chefs cook with locale produce. By promoting locale produce the organization wants to reduce the ecological footprint of the food consumption. The goal is to make consumers more aware of it and to show them in which season the products will have the best flavors.
Last week the new bar named ‘A Bar’ of the InterContinental Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam opened. The bar has a chic and modern look with an in copper and marble executed bar. The terrace with several dining and sitting areas, has a splendid view over the Amstel. The bar serves cocktails with a 2.0 twist. The barrel aged cocktails like ‘The Negroni’ is served in a special way: when ordering, the guest will get a barrel of 1 liter and everyone at the table can tap their own drink. The classic ‘Gin Flip’ is served with an eggshell filled with an ‘orangebitter’, so guests can add this to their taste. Dutch distillates are the basics of the cocktails. They prepare components for cocktails like ‘syrups of flowers’ or ‘raspberry-strawberry shrub’ in the hotel kitchen. The menu is inspired by the Nordic Food trend. Traditional Dutch products and seasonal ingredients served fresh, pure and simple.
A very useful gadget for the summer: an iPhone case with a built-in bottle opener. First you need to install an integrated app before you can use the bottle opener. The app will track how many bottles you have opened, what kind of beer you’re drinking and how many gallons you’ve consumed. You never have to look for a opener, because you will always have your iPhone that opens beer bottles!
A nice example of augmented reality. An interactive Tiger Beer video wall ( of beer brand Tiger Beer) situated along the connecting walkway within Dhoby Ghaut MRT station detects passers-by through infrared motion sensors, displays the persons walking past and triggers speech bubbles to appear above their heads, as if they were thinking out loud. The speech bubbles contain quotes with excuses to not miss the football match. Fans can post their most original and innovative suggestions on how to make it in time for a match online. The best submissions will be featured on the video screen.
Why serving a scoop of ice cream in a cone or in a bowl, when you can also serve it as a sandwich? Chocolatier Pierre in the Netherlands offers this delicacy: a sandwich with ice cream. The sandwich is a light brioche bun with the sweet taste of cake and a hint of orange. Recommended is to fill the sandwich with “creamy” ice creams such as nuts and chocolate. The sandwich with ice cream is inspired by Sicily, where locals eat the delicacy regularly. Chocolatier Pierre sells this sandwich for the second year.
Last week Jack Daniel’s launched a global advertising campaign with the legends of the music industry in the Netherlands. The campaign shows classic images of Joey Ramone, Bad Brains, Franks Sinatra and Freddie King. The campaign of Jack Daniel’s shows the close connection between Jack Daniel’s and music over the years. The campaign will be shown on Discovery Channel and online via Youtube and Facebook, until March 2014.
Six top chefs from the Netherlands will prepare a lunch with asparagus for a location of the Salvation Army on Wednesday 24 April. The chefs will work with participants of 50|50 Food for catering, a labor rehabilitation project of the Salvation Army. Besides preparing the asparagus lunch, the participants of 50|50 Food for catering have the opportunity to attend an internship for two days at the restaurants of the top chefs.
Tree houses are hot! Sleeping among the squirrels, high in the trees and surrounded by nature. Tree houses are an original, inspiring, environmentally friendly and adventurous way to spend the night. Tree houses aren’t only fun for children but also for families to spend their holidays. There are more and more accommodations located in tree houses. A new crowd funding project is the ‘Treehouse Island‘. An island where guests can sleep, seek zip line thrills and hike in the woods. Besides an adventurous way to spend a night, a tree house can also be an inspirational environment for meetings. Earlier we saw that the Kapellerput has build a conference room in the trees. At the website thecoolhunter.net you can find a lot of inspiration if you consider building tree houses.
In California the first Legoland hotel in the United States has been opened. The Legoland hotel has 250 rooms and each room is decorated after one of the three themes: pirate, adventure or kingdom. The children have their own separate room with bunk bed and a treasure hunt game. The hotel is not entirely build out of tiny bricks, but it does have 3,400 sculptures created with approximately 3 million Lego pieces. For example the wall behind the check-in desk is entirely made of Lego bricks, but also the potted plant on the counter. The hotel guests can also enter the Lego Park, that is located besides the hotel. Watch the video about the hotel.
After about 15 years the non-alcoholic beer will return in the shelves of gas stations in the Netherlands. To celebrate the return of non-alcoholic beer, Bavaria will introduce their beers in a pop-up non-alcoholic bar in a Shell station near Amsterdam. In this pop-up bar visitors can taste the Bavaria 0.0% Original beer for free. With the introduction of non-alcoholic beer in the gas stations, Bavaria wants to create a new moment of use for Bavaria 0.0% Original, Lemon and White.
Pinch Food Design is a boutique catering team lead by chef Bob Spiegel and designer TJ Girard. These NYC culinary veterans aim to “impress, entertain and inspire with food as delicious as it is daring, and design as inviting as it is innovative.” They specialize in creating surprising and exciting cuisine with imaginative presentation for clients at dinner parties. Their new idea, Pinch Plated, offers “inter(active)courses” for diners that encourage them to play with their food. For example Tuna sushi and beets with “trim your own” micro salad is served in a peel-back sardine tin with embroidery scissors on the side. Their website offers great inspiration…
During the Milan Design Week Heineken introduced the beer bottles ‘Heineken Ignite’ that interacts with people and its surroundings, by shining. The interactive beer bottles have micro sensors and wireless networking technology to sense when people are clicking the bottles together to toast. The bottle also lights on when someone takes a sip and it responds to music. With this bottle Heineken is trying to get a greater range in the nightlife. The bottles are specially designed for the Milan Design Week, hopefully we see them in bars and clubs soon…
The building 11 11 in Miami Beach, Florida is a beautiful example of an elastic environment. The building is designed to function as a parking garage as well as a venue for weddings, wine tastings, yoga classes and more. The building can ouse up to 300 cars but the seven floor structure can easily be transformed to suit a variety of purposes. The building is developed by Robert Wennett and Herzog & de Meuron. The building features high ceilings and thanks to the absence of exterior wall it offers guests stunning views of the city.
Today the new bar Spark The Hague opens its doors. The bar is part of the Hilton Hotel The Hague, but has its own entrance and address. The trendy bar is a location to relax with night entertainment like Funky Jazz Live, Ladies First and Sparks & Bubbles. At the Spark The Hague you can enjoy quality cocktails, wines and champagnes supplemented with Asian finger food and international snacks. The cocktails are made by bartenders Michael-John Straatmand and David van Panhuys who have a broad knowledge of cocktails and wines.
The Ramada Apollo Amsterdam Centre and Urbanics Amsterdam organize the ‘race to the top’ on Saturday April 20th for the first time. Participants will run up and down three times and will finish on Floor 17 (bar). They need to overcome a total of 51 floors and 2020 stairs. The race starts outside at the parking lot and the stairs runners will be welcomed with a drink and a healthy snack at the top. The fastest man and woman will both win a hotel stay including breakfast for two.
The friandise Tresor is chosen by the INN Awards (Belgium) as one of the best innovations of 2012. INN Awards are the premier award of innovative food products in the Retail sector. This friandise of grilled gingerbread, bloc de foie gras and onion preserves provides a sophisticated snack during the aperitif. It’s delivered frozen.
Following the ‘Caffe Sospeso’ and the ‘Suspended Coffee’ we now spotted the ‘Suspended Fries’. Owner Eric Duhamel, of the snackbar Bompa in Brussels, is the initiator. His customers can buy one portion of fries for the price of two! They can leave the voucher they receive for social workers in the neighborhood or give them away to Brussels’ homeless people. The first week the friturists sold sixty portions ‘Suspended fries’ and thirty were claimed. There are several frituristen in Belgium who will follow the initiative (a Friturist is an owner of a snackbar in Belgium).
The sustainable brand ‘Well Water’ celebrates its tenth anniversary with the introduction of a ‘Pat & Mat’ bottle. To get even the smallest children to drink water, their spring water is packaged in a handy bottle for small children’s hands, with a resealable cap. In addition Well Water works with Simavi to provide thousands of people in Malawi clean and safe drinking water in 2013.
Many dishes are photographed worldwide. There are more and more restaurants that no longer allow the use of instagram or camera’s. This is partly due to the inconvenience to other guests (flash for example) but also to the poor quality pictures that are spread across the net. Maybe the apps SnapChat and Poke are a solution to this problem. These apps enable users to share images that can only be viewed by the recipient for a few seconds before they ‘self-destruct’. As restaurant owner you can make a sign to indicate that you only allow your guest to take pictures with Poke & SnapChat ;-).
This video shows the Street Feast in Ireland 2012. Street Feast started out in 2010 as a non-for-profit event to bring local communities in Ireland together through social lunches. The initiative has grown ever since, and will have its fourth edition on Sunday June 23rd around noon. People are invited to take the initiative and organize a lunch themselves, or to join a community lunch that’s happing near them. Read more about this initiative at The Pop-Up City. This is an opportunity for local restaurants and cafes as well, why not co-organize a similar event to get acquainted with your neighbours?
By 2025 the number of cyclists is expected to double in Switzerland’s largest metropolitan area. Because of these staggering statistics, Zurich’s City Council has created the stadtverkehr 2025 program, which aims to improve the pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure, and reduce motorized traffic. Part of this initiative includes the opening of the Velokafi – a ‘drive-in’ for bicycles on the outdoor terrace of the Rathaus Cafe, which is a popular spot next to the Limmat river. Two wooden docking stations with tabletops enable cyclists to pull up and have some food and a coffee without getting off their bike. Nice gimmick but we prefer to drink our espresso at the terrace. But the initiative gives a lot of rumour around the ‘Stadtverkehr 2025 program’.
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