Trends we spotted | Week 12
Trends in het kort
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 an article about cheese tea, it’s getting more and more popular, but we haven’t spotted it yet in the Netherlands! In New York, the long anticipated Mercado Little Spain has opened in the shopping area Hudson Yards. Great images of this food hall by José Andrés in an article at Eater.com.
We also spotted the Taiwanese Boba Tea shop ‘Happy Lemon’ that uses robots to mix Boba Tea and in Switzerland they’re seriously testing the effect of music on cheese! Really!
In London PizzaExpress ZA opened at Fenchurch Street, we love their packaging for the new pizza slices. And have you ever heard of ‘Blue Java Bananas’? We didn’t, but they sound delicious!
Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
Cheese tea is a thing and it’s taking over the world
November 2017 we wrote the first article about Cheese Tea at horecatrends.com and we spotted it at European trade shows for professionals in the food service and hospitality industry as well. But we didn’t spot it in the Netherlands yet. So this great video by Thrillist is a reminder of the possibility of creating cheese tea! As they tell in the video, cheese tea is sold by more and more coffee shops in the USA, so when and where will it be available in Europe?
Mercado Little Spain | The colossal food hall by José Andrés at Hudson Yards
Since last Friday (March, 15) the shops and restaurants at Hudson Yards in New York are open! This January we were at the Hudson Yards site and tried to get a glimpse of the Mercado Little Spain, the Spanish food hall of José Andrés and Ferran & Albert Adrià. No way of course, but we loved the architecture of the Hudson Yards buildings! Check out the restaurants and bars at this Spanish orientated food hall at the website of Eater.com. There’s a vermouth-focused bar called ‘Bar Celona’, the 35,000-square-foot food hall further does host three full-service restaurants and nearly a dozen food stalls selling amongst other delicacies patata bravas and churros; and three shops selling flowers, dry goods, and souvenirs.
It seems that guests still love ‘pink’ interiors | EL&N café in London
EL&N London, formerly the Elan Café, has opened a new, totally pink, fifth branch last December. With this opening they prove that restaurant owners still think that their guests love to share ‘pink’ on their Instagram accounts! Although we thought that we’re past the pink restaurant and café period, EL&N proves we couldn’t be more wrong! Check their Instagram account in the link!
Bigg Chill Bar in London serves bottomless espresso martinis pimped with oreos, marshmallows and more
Big Chill Bar at King’s Cross throws the best weekend brunch parties, and not only because there are free-flowing espresso martinis. Every espresso martini you are served is a blank canvas, and you are free to pimp it out with crushed oreos, marshmallows and more.
PizzaExpress enters fast-casual market with ZA launch
PizzaExpress is undertaking a significant brand refresh, demonstrating the brand’s pioneering approach and providing a positive note for the casual dining market. Integral to this strategy is the development of ZA; a new, all-day fast casual dining offering which has just opened on London’s Fenchurch Street. The brand builds on the early inspiration for PizzaExpress – founder Peter Boizot started out selling fresh, hot slices of PizzaExpress pizza. We love the packaging of the slices!
Blue java banana | The smooth banana that tastes like vanilla ice cream
Have you ever heard of or tried the ‘Blue Java banana’? We never heard of it or tried it, but we would love to try it! It sounds delicious! It’s also known as ‘Ice Cream banana’, called as such for good reason: the flesh of the Blue Java banana has the consistency of ice cream and is flavoured with hints of vanilla. Many compare its taste with that of vanilla ice cream or vanilla pudding.
Cheesy music | Swiss experiment with sound to make cheese tastier
When searching a fromagerie for the perfect chunk of cheddar or parmesan, cheese aficionados have probably never grilled vendors over what kind of music was played to their cheeses. To many, the question itself might sound crackers. But a Swiss cheesemaker has embarked on an experiment to test the impact of music on Emmental, one of the most famous cheeses in Switzerland.
Taiwanese Boba Tea Shop sweet on Koubei Smart Tech
Taiwanese bubble-tea chain Happy Lemon has teamed up with Koubei, Alibaba Group’s local-services app, to upgrade its in-store technology, including a new drink-making robot. At its pilot ‘smart store’ in Shanghai, customers have the option of buying their drinks at a counter manned by employees or, for a fully automated experience, purchasing via their smartphones for service by the robot. Customers scan a QR code with the Koubei app, tick a few boxes to customize their drink, then wait for a text notification to pick up their tea at a smart locker, which opens when they tap a ‘pick-up’ button on the app.
