Trends we spotted | Week 4
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 articles about the Japanese tama konnyaku ‘screaming’ balls and about the Instagrammable ‘The Knot Churros’ in London. In Paris, an Eataly will open in the coming spring and an interesting article on how our eating habits and times evolve. And in addition to that about reading books in the Happy Meal of McDonalds in the Netherlands and an interesting post by René Redzepi on Instagram in which he will show how they deal with diets and allergies at Noma. Starbucks will start delivering in America via Uber Eats and have you ever eaten a Japanese-Italian mash-up dish like Karaage Tortellini?
Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
Japanese tama konnyaku balls | They scream when they are pan-fried
These ‘tama konnyaku balls’ are screaming when they are pan-fried and it’s a hit on the social media platform Weibo. The balls are made from a plant that is found in Northeast and Southeast Asia. The texture is Jello-like but firmer and a bit more rubbery. It turns out that konnyaku is a jelly made from a type of potato. These balls are normally eaten in Japanese winter hotpots but can be eaten in multiple ways.
Eataly | This Italian food formula opens its doors in Paris
After many locations in major cities like for example New York, Chicago, Milan, Turin, Stockholm and Rome, Eataly will now also opens its doors in Paris! In the ‘Marais’, behind ‘le BHV’, there will be a location with 4,000 m2 of sales area with a 2500 m2 supermarket area on the ground floor, a courtyard for fruit and vegetables, 7 different types of restaurants and a wine cellar with over 800 Italian wines all under one roof! The opening is expected in the beginning of spring.
Insta-worthy dessert bar The Knot Churros has opened in Sout Kensington
It has been a hit on Instagram in America for a while, the Churros, in all kinds of flavours and combined with ice cream. Now also available in London! The Knot Churros offers Churros in combination with all the sweets that you can think of. The distinctive dessert of The Knot is the cinnamon Churros. They are dipped in everything from milk chocolate to roasted marshmallow or a selection of glaze. View the photos in the link to Secret London! In 2017 we also wrote about the combination of churros and ice cream at the Loop in California. We wonder whether we will also see ice cream parlours in the Netherlands serving the ‘churros’.
The definition of meals, where and when we have them, changes with the time
Interesting read at the website of Skift. Customers are eating whatever they want, whenever they want it. And fast food chains, in particular, are looking to take advantage by luring diners back to stores throughout the day and late night too. Whether it’s happy hour afternoon menus or after-dark snack options, there is a battle brewing outside of the infamous restaurant ‘breakfast wars’.
The undisputed king of late-night dining in America is Taco Bell. The fast-food chain recently beat out McDonald’s as consumers’ favourite late-night food stop. For companies like McDonald’s and Starbucks, where customer traffic continues to be an issue, promotions and menu changes are ways to boost numbers, while catering to consumer demand during the day. They are trying to find their afternoon fix. All initiatives have impact on our eating times.
Dutch children books in Happy Meal | McDonald’s makes reading fun
Starting today, guests can choose between a reading book or a toy as a present in their Dutch Happy Meal. This is how McDonald’s in the Netherlands wants to stimulate reading amongst children and parents. The reading books were written by writer Cressida Cowell, known from the book series ‘How to Tame a Dragon’. This action fits within the ‘focus on families’ ambitions from McDonald’s. The link above is to the same initiative in the USA back in 2017.
René Redzepi shows off how Noma’s menu changes for 13 different dietary restrictions
Redzepi posted a video on Instagram demonstrating just how much care is taken at Noma to cater to people with allergies and dietary restrictions. Noma offers meals in the form of a tasting menu, meaning, in theory, everything each guest eats is already selected before they walk in the door. But still, the chefs are prepared with an astonishing 13 different variations on that menu depending on visitors’ different dietary needs: vegan, vegetarian, no shellfish, no fish, no lactose, no gluten, no mollusc, no crustaceans, no bivalves, no cephalopods, no nuts, no mushroom, and no stone fruits.
Obviously, countless hours go into creating all the unique dishes that make up the Seafood Season menu, so imagine the effort that must go into altering a lot of options!
Starbucks rolls out a delivery service for coffee drinkers
Starbucks is expanding its delivery service and aims to offer it at nearly one-fourth of its U.S. company-operated coffee shops. The company recently launched the service in San Francisco and they will expand it to some stores in New York, Boston, Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles in the coming weeks. They tested the idea in 200 Miami stores last fall. Starbucks says 95 percent of its core menu will be available to order via the Uber Eats mobile app. There will be a $2.49 booking fee. In December, company executives laid out plans to expand deliveries in the U.S. and China this year. Executives say delivery works best in dense urban areas where Uber Eats’ delivery fees are lower because of high demand, and customers spend more through delivery than they do in stores.
Blackship’s Karaage Tortellini | A Japanese-Italian mash-up
Blackship in West Hollywood by chef Keiichi Kurobe’s , which opened in December, serves Japanese-Italian food that simultaneously tastes familiar and brand-new. Kurobe makes karaage tortellini, a mind blowing dish that involves putting Japanese fried chicken next to and also inside ‘tortellini en brodo’. The end result is bite-size pieces of crispy, juicy Jidori chicken (sourced directly from Dennis Mao of Mao Foods) alongside tortellini that are filled with chopped fried chicken, ricotta, parmesan, Pecorino, and housemade herb salt. It all rests atop a little Jidori chicken broth. This dish is pure comfort, with umami to spare. Check out the images at the website of Food and Wine.
