Trends we spotted | Week 45
Burberry's Daniel Lee to design Claridge's Christmas Tree 2025
Claridge's - The Connaught and the Emory
Dear Amsterdammer - action of Eberhardjes - the cookies of Amsterdam
KFC celebrated National Fried Chicken Sandwich Day November 9 
Porsche X Tomasu
At horecatrends.com we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’. With this week links to articles about:
- Porsche Netherlands & Tomasu present Vat (barrel) 911 and have made a short documentary video about the production of this barrel of soy sauce and Tomasu’s quest for perfection.
- We already wrote about the ‘Lieve Amsterdammer’-campaign by the Eberhardjes foundation. This campaign was made possible thanks to a donation from the Rabobank, which has now been symbolically handed over.
- The 2025 Christmas tree in the lobby of Claridge’s hotel in London is being designed by Burberry’s Daniel Lee.
- KFC celebrated National Fried Chicken Sandwich Day (on November 9) last week with a ‘Size matters tour’ in major cities across the US.
- Maybourne, the British hotel chain, has announced that three of its British hotels have been included in the list of the world’s 50 Best Hotels 2025. With a link to the full list.
- The Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, the largest culinary school chain in the United States, recently celebrated a milestone in its graduation season.
- Spotted on Instagram:
- a ‘French toast Flight’ at London’s first French Toast Café, Crome.
- A Starbucks ‘bearista’ cup in the US.
- Dolce VyTa’s Maritozzo, made even more festive with an adorable reindeer makeover for the Christmas season.
Enjoy reading!
Porsche Netherlands and Tomasu present barrel 911 | A tribute to the pursuit of perfection
Tomasu, producer of artisanal condiments from the Hoeksche Waard region, introduces a limited edition soy sauce: Barrel 911. Since 2017, Tomasu has been ageing its soy sauces in bourbon barrels; what started with just a few barrels will reach its thousandth barrel in 2025. Barrel 911 playfully references the iconic Porsche model. For this edition, Tomasu used soybeans from the 2021 harvest (Westdijk, Mijnsheerenland), wheat from 2022 (Stougjesdijk), grey sea salt from Guérande and revitalised Rotterdam tap water. The fermentation process began on April 11, 2023. What followed were 128 weeks of care and attention. Fermented in a former bourbon barrel, now known as barrel 911. Never used before. Never to be used again. The soy sauce from barrel 911 is available in a limited edition and is not for sale in shops. Watch the process of making Tomasu soy sauce in the short documentary video below.
Eberhardjes | A gift for the organization and the city of Amsterdam
In May this year, we wrote about the Eberhardjes Foundation. Inspired by Eberhard van der Laan’s (the former mayor of the town) call to “Take good care of our city and each other”, Résalieke Vlieger came up with the idea of cookies that are good for Amsterdam. On Tuesday October 28, the Eberhardjes Foundation received a symbolic cheque for €5,000. Rabobank had already transferred the amount this summer as an encouragement to continue focusing on the good. The foundation used this money to develop the “Lieve Amsterdammer” campaign, and now they can keep the hall of fame open to all Amsterdammers. Their (food) photographer Jules Reijnders visits the entrepreneurs who sell Eberhardjes or serve them with coffee. He photographs the entrepreneurs with the Eberhardjes. The photographs taken by Jules are then shared with the entrepreneurs so that they too can make use of them.
Three Maybourne hotels on the World’s 50 Best Hotels
Maybourne, the British hotel chain, announced that three of its UK hotels have been included in The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2025. In this third edition of The World’s 50 Best Hotels, Claridge’s, The Connaught and The Emory (open just 18 months) were all listed among the top four hotels in London, with Claridge’s named the best in both London and the UK. Overall, 17 European hotels made the list, including five in the UK and four each in France and Italy. No Dutch hotels this year.
Claridge’s 2025 Christmas tree to be designed by Burberry’s Daniel Lee
Claridge’s, the legendary Mayfair hotel, announced that its 2025 Christmas Tree will be designed by Daniel Lee, Chief Creative Officer of Burberry. Standing 16 feet tall, the tree will feature around 600 bows, a Victorian symbol of unity, made from surplus Burberry fabrics. The festive tree will be unveiled in the hotel lobby on the morning of Tuesday November 25th.
KFC celebrates National Fried Chicken Sandwich Day with pop-ups and ‘Size Matters Tour’
In the lead-up to National Fried Chicken Sandwich Day, KFC rolled out a 13-stop ‘Size Matters Tour’, serving free Chicken Sandwiches in major U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, Atlanta and Austin. The tour concluded on November 9 with ‘Sundays by KFC’, a one-day pop-up restaurant in New York City that transformed KFC’s 14th Street location into a sit-down dining experience. Guests could enjoy KFC’s Classic Chicken Sandwich paired with a handcrafted Dirty Soda made with a vanilla cream swirl and PEPSI®. The campaign highlighted how a single-day pop-up and the lead-up to it can turn a national day into a high-impact, buzzworthy brand moment.
French toast ‘tasting menu’ at the first French Toast Café in London, Crome
We spotted the truly instagrammable French Toast Flight by Crome. It is a selection of five golden French toast sticks topped with Chrome’s bestselling flavor combinations. A must-try treat for anyone with a sweet tooth (and a love for picture-perfect brunch moments). See the colorful French toast sticks in the reel below — and find Crome’s website linked in the title.
Dit bericht op Instagram bekijken
Starbucks ‘bearista’ cup
Check out the adorable bear-shaped cup from Starbucks, complete with a barista-worthy beanie on top. It looks like this cozy collectible has already sold out! No surprise, since it’s exactly the kind of holiday must-have many Starbucks fan have on their wish list. Spot the adorable bear-shaped cup in the Reel below, and head to the title for a link to Starbucks’ website.
Dit bericht op Instagram bekijken
Rudolph the red-nose maritozzo
More suggestions for when you’re heading to London for the holidays; Dolce VyTa’s maritozzo that has been made even more festive with a cute reindeer makeover. Maritozzi are a classic Italian pastry made from soft brioche buns generously filled with whipped cream. Check the festive maritozzo in the reel below or head to Dolce Vyta’s website that is linked in the title.
Dit bericht op Instagram bekijken
Escoffier celebrates milestone graduation season
As innovation continues to shape hospitality education in the Netherlands, institutions abroad are also making strides. Across the Atlantic, the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, the largest culinary school brand in the United States, recently celebrated a milestone graduation season. A total of 3,786 students from across the U.S. and beyond completed their programs, underscoring the school’s broad reach and growing impact on the culinary and hospitality professions. Escoffier’s programs combine classical French techniques with modern culinary approaches, emphasizing sustainability, farm-to-table practices, business acumen, and food entrepreneurship.
Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts celebrations
