What does the catering industry do in the context of the COVID-19 virus | Inspiration April 6
Gradually we get used to the effects of the Covid-19 virus here in the Netherlands, fortunately many keep their distance and many people are able to work from home. Maybe even in the sun today! But more and more entrepreneurs are starting to worry about the economic impact. They could survive the first deadline here of the 6th of April, but the effects are getting more serious now. Fortunately, we see a lot of inspiration and even experience it ourselves, such as restaurant owners who add a card to the delivery to thank their guests and offer a glass of bubbles when his or her business is open again.
This week’s inspiration!
With initiatives involving collaboration like between the kitchen of Eleven Madison Park & the Rethink Group. The restaurant with three Michelin stars is now part of a ‘Soup kitchen’ and an example from a takeout meal from restaurant Alinea in Chicago, also with three Michelin stars.
A bagel shop ‘Call Your Mother’ in Washington reopened and came up with a very special and original auction!
In China we have spotted a special delivery initiative at Meituan, they deliver a paper shield behind which you can eat! And New York-based technology and lifestyle company Air Co. makes hand sanitizer out of CO2. We already wrote about their carbon negative vodka earlier.
An initiative by Airbnb to offer health care professionals and first responsers sleeping places closer to their work. And an article that made us realize how difficult entrepreneurship in the U.S. is. We came across an article about choosing between offering delivery which increases the possibility of infection of employees with Covid-19 or fire to them.
Stay healthy and take care of each other! ^Team Horecatrends
Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
Chinese food delivery giant offers paper ‘shield’ to diners to protect them against coronavirus
Meituan, one of China’s biggest food delivery firms, is delivering a paper “shield” to diners ordering from its platform to help protect them from catching the coronavirus. Users in Beijing and Shanghai can receive one of the protective covers with their delivery for free. Meituan said the cover can effectively prevent meals from any water droplets that may come from their colleagues, particularly when people are eating in densely packed areas like office canteens.
Captured CO2 used to make hand sanitizer
After launching its carbon-negative vodka last year, New York City-based technology and lifestyle company, Air Co., has shifted its production to hand sanitizer, in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The company captures CO2 pollution, combines it with water to make alcohol, and then distils the final product using solar-powered equipment. More at the website of Springwise, link in the title.
Airbnb Hosts to help provide housing to 100,000 COVID-19 responders
New global initiative will provide free or subsidized housing for healthcare professionals, relief workers, and first responders, typically closer to where they are working. Airbnb Hosts can opt in to provide homes that follow new cleanliness protocols based on recommendations from medical experts. Airbnb is partnering with the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Rescue Committee, International Medical Corps and other nonprofit organizations to help support their relief workers on the front lines. Airbnb will waive all fees for stays arranged through this initiative.
“Medical workers and first responders are providing lifesaving support during the coronavirus outbreak and we want to help,” says Airbnb’s Co-founder Joe Gebbia. “We’ve heard from countless hosts around the world who want to provide a comforting home to heroic first responders. We are connecting our nonprofit partners, government agencies and others with our incredible host community to work together in these extraordinary times.”
The delivery Pivot is coming to an end due to the Coronavirus
An interesting read about which choice to make, staying open for delivery in the risk of your workers getting infected by Covid-19 virus versus closing the restaurant and having to fire staff members. Andy Ricker, chef and owner of the Pok Pok Restaurant Group with 7 restaurants in the Porland area, lost one of his chefs due to the Covid-19 virus. He now joins a growing number of chefs and restaurant owners across the U.S. who initially tried to make a go of takeout and/or delivery after many cities implemented social distancing or shelter-in-place plans, but have recently decided it was too risky for the health and safety of their workers, and are instead choosing to close entirely.
Example from a three Michelin stars restaurant take out | Alinea in Chicago
A dinner at the bastion of modernist cooking typically costs around $300 per person, but on March 18, the restaurant announced that it would offer to-go meals for $35 a person. The first batch of dinners, featuring beef Wellington, sold out within five hours. Check out the article and images at the website of Chicago Eater.
‘Call Your Mother’ reopened for takeout and offers future cut-the-line passes
‘Call Your Mother’ is a park view bagel shop in Washington and every weekend morning there used to be lines outside. They reopened with a limited menu and creative fundraising initiatives that will help them to support the operation through the months ahead. Like for $ 2,000,= you can cut their lines for a full year! Or you can have a bagel sandwich on the menu named after you! There are bagel-making and latte-art classes, too. Check out the website of the Washingtonian for more creative ideas by this bagel shop.
New York’s new Soup Kitchen has an upscale address | Eleven Madison Park
A group called Rethink has teamed up with the Michelin-starred restaurant to feed New Yorkers in need. The group now has a handsome new work space: the highly acclaimed and normally expensive Manhattan restaurant Eleven Madison Park. On Thursday, Daniel Humm, the chef and an owner, announced on Instagram that his Michelin-starred restaurant would become a commissary kitchen for Rethink, turning out thousands of meals a day to be delivered free to clients of Citymeals on Wheels and to hospital workers.
