Meals That Get You Laid
27-11-2015
A cookbook as inspiration for restaurants. Not only because of the recipes, but due to the idea behind it. Meals That Get You Laid, in the Netherlands awarded with the title ‘best gift for men in 2015’. Unfortunately so far only available in Dutch.
Meals That Get You Laid
Writing about a cookbook isn’t something we often do, but the idea behind this cookbook could well inspire a number of hospitality entrepreneurs to offer dishes with a sexual, humorous touch. Meals That Get You Laid, a manual in the style of a cookbook, describing all the tricks to make a woman completely defenceless. Explaining the combination of the right ingredients, atmosphere, music, and beverage choices. One of the writers is working in the hospitality business, it is therefore most likely that this theme will get attention in the hospitality industry as well.
What can a man learn from it?
According to the writers, the man will learn how to seduce a woman with the use of astrology presented over 12 different chapters. They indicate that astrology is total nonsense, but they are convinced that women believe in astrology. Who are these writers/friends? The compilers of the book are a photographer, a graphic designer, an architect, an advertising executive and an hospitality entrepreneur who regularly come together to go through things in life. Of course also to eat and drink. The cookbook with beautiful pictures made by Jaap Vliegenthart, contains 12 chapters. One for each zodiac sign. Each chapter has a starter, main course and dessert and a wine suggestion for every dish, focusing on the characteristics of the star in question. The dishes are easy to make, but look amazing. The book is full of tips and tricks to make good use of the characteristics of the particular lady. Such as a playlist at the end of each chapter, for maximum impact. Of course there are shopping lists, anything to make it as easy as possible.
The first edition was funded by crowdfunding. The book is published by the friends themselves. Their website has been transformed to the webshop, to order the book. A book with a sexy trailer.
Brew your own beer with Brewie
23-11-2015
With the Brewie machine you can brew different types of beer at home or in your own bar.
Brewie the brewing machine
Brewie started as a crowdfunding project. In January 2015 the company raised more than twice their target amount, goal accomplished! The Brewie machine will now be taken into production. The machine is standardly delivered with the ingredients necessary. It’s also possible to make your own mix of ingredients, or use different proportions. In this way you can personalize your beer even more.
Brew your own beer
Brewie works together with your smartphone using an app specifically developed to make brewing your own beer with Brewie even easier. The app can be used to save your own recipes and discover new ones. Brewie also made a video in which you can see how beer is made by using the machine. Beginners should be able to easily do it on their own. The machine cleans itself with one push on a button and can be connected to your own water system.
Serving your home made beer
It’s already a trend to serve your own beer in your bar. It creates an unique selling point as a company and makes a good impression on your guests. Maybe it’s an idea to develop a new beer together with your guests!
Convenient, a wine cloth
20-11-2015
We also love red wine, but it often leaves a red stain on our teeth and lips. You can’t get rid of those with a simple napkin, but with this special wine cloth you can, in Dutch translated to ‘wijndoekje’. It’s convenient to offer this to guests who are drinking red wine.
A wine cloth?
Yes, a wine cloth. Most wine lovers recognize this problem and it’s tough to get rid of those stains with just a napkin and some water. That’s why ‘wijndoekje’ developed a cloth which you can use to easily get rid of the red stains, which red wine leaves on your teeth and lips. The cloth is wet and smells like mint and aloe vera, which gives you a fresh and clean feeling.
The cloth is such a relief for any wine lover and on top of that it’s also good for the environment. There are no preservatives used and it’s completely biodegradable.
BuzzBar developed alcoholic ice creams for adults
19-11-2015
BuzzBar has designed various ice cream bars specifically for adults. The ice contains liquor and only natural ingredients. They also produce ice cream bars that are suitable for vegetarians.
BuzzBar as an alternative for the cocktail
The average ice cream bar contains about 2 percent alcohol, so you won’t get really drunk, but it could be a great alternative for a cocktail in the summer. The ice cream bars and popsicles come in a lot of different flavours, some examples are: Mojito, raspberry and lemon sorbet with lemon vodka, whiskey and chocolate, strawberries with rum and vanilla combined with cognac.
Inspiration
The ice cream bars could be a fun idea for a cocktail bar, this way guests can taste their favourite cocktails ice cold. Maybe people will even toast with BuzzBars in the future?
The Tea Ceré or matcha brewing device
16-11-2015
Matcha is very healthy and popular, they even made a Tea Ceré – a matcha or tea home-brewing device. With this tea ‘brewing’ machine tea lovers can enjoy matcha drinks at home.
Matcha increasingly popular
Leonie van Spronsen already wrote about the ‘matcha latte’ she drank at Maison Kitsuné in Paris last February. In this article, more about the health effects of matcha. This Japanese tea has become a popular ingredient, even for cocktails. Partly because of the beautiful green colour of the tea.
The Tea Ceré will grind your tea to powder
This tea brewing device is produced by Sharp (Canada) and it kind of looks like a coffee machine. It’s designed to make a perfect cup of tea, of course only if you use high-quality tea leaves. The machine grinds the leaves into a fine powder. The water in the machine will be boiled to the right temperature and even whisks in the tea. You can even make matcha (or another tea) lemonade with the machine.
Buzzed – beer as a refill for your 3D printer?
16-11-2015
‘Buzzed’ is an invention made by 3Dom USA for your 3D printer. This refill for your 3D printer is completely produced with the waste and by-products derived from the beer process.
With Buzzed you can…
The latest product from 3Dom USA is ‘Buzzed’ an official refill suitable for the use in a 3D printer. The thread is 100% made from waste and by-products derived from the beer process. The produced wire (‘Buzzed’) is 1.75 mm thick and gives your homemade product a rich golden colour and a distinctive natural grain. The bio-based ‘Buzzed’ is already the second product in the line of ‘c2composites’ that 3Dom USA brings to the market. The first product, also a refill for 3D printers, is made entirely of waste and by-products of coffee called, ‘Wound Up’.
Drinking beer from a home-made beer mug
As an example 3Dom USA made a beer mug of ‘Buzzed’. So for the real beer lovers and owners of a 3D printer, from now on you can drink your beer from a home-made mug made from beer!
You can use the refills of 3Dom USA in almost all PLA (a type of plastic made from natural raw materials) 3D printers. The cost for a role ‘Buzzed’ is $ 49, =. Are you inspired and did you make a nice product with the ‘Buzzed’, please let us know!
The iSommelier by iFavine
13-11-2015
The iSommelier filters oxygen from the air and herewith the decanting process is being accelerated, reducing the time from a few hours to minutes. The iSommelier is a product of iFavine.
Glass carafes fit in the neatly designed device in which purified oxygen is added to the wine. In the corresponding mobile app the knowledge concerning thousands of wines from around the world is collected. The device is programmed in a way that the winemaker tells the user how the wine should be drunk.
The iSommelier by iFavine, a perfect balance between oxygen and wine.
That is the effect of the iSommelier, which excludes all the limitations of traditional decanting. Several natural elements in the air can affect the quality of a wine when it is traditionally decanted; pollution, odours, moist, differences in air pressure or temperature. This first ‘smart decanter’ uses new technology to provide solutions to these problems. Three filters purify the air and increase the oxygen content from the average of 21% to a maximum of 90%. Moreover, it removes pollutants and moist. The device isolates oxygen from nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. The iSommelier includes a patented glass carafe. This carafe is specially designed to distribute oxygen evenly throughout the wine. This results in a constant level of oxygen in the wine which makes tannins rounder and the wine tastes more elegant. As a result of this method all flavours will be enhanced and the full potential of the wine will be revealed.
According to the Dutch ambassador of the iSommelier by iFavine, Edwin Raben (famous Dutch sommelier) each restaurant should have a iSommelier. “Restaurants will be able to decant their (arrangement) wines by the glass. Moreover, also young wines can be consumed much earlier because of the softening effect at the tannins. The effect on white wines is also huge, think for example of young Riesling.”
There are already a couple of Dutch restaurants working with the iSommelier: for example FG restaurant and FG Food Lab by Francois Geurds (Rotterdam), restaurant Beluga (Maastricht), Restaurant Fred (Rotterdam), Wolf Atelier (Amsterdam) and the Sotto Wine Lounge (Ermelo).
Alain Rosier (sommelier restaurant FG & FG Food Labs) over the iSommelier
“We started working with the iSommelier last week and we are experimenting as we speak. This week we opened a great Château Mouton Rothschild 1985 (see photo) and we were able to serve the wine after 30 minutes with a great bouquet. With the iSommelier you can act quickly if a wine needs a little more oxygen to make the wine more tasteful. Heavy tannins as in wines with 100% Tannat grapes, break down easily with the iSommelier. Additionally, you can serve wine more quickly and you do not have to decant the wines for hours if they are ordered beforehand.”
The iSommelier by iFavine is sold from 24 November at the Makro and for consumers in the Netherlands at Oldenhof Kookwinkel.
Our/Amsterdam Vodka, made locally and sold locally
12-11-2015
Since early October Amsterdam has its own Our/Amsterdam Vodka. Our/Amsterdam is one of the nine small production facilities owned by France’s Pernod Ricard.
Our/Amsterdam Vodka
Our/Amsterdam has started producing their Vodka in the distillery at the Helikoperstraat 32, in Amsterdam. The distillery has a production facility and a tasting room which is ideal for small events and tours. The tasting room is very trendy, with industrial lamps combined with green plants and copper accents. The vodka in Amsterdam has a soft taste with a subtle aroma. Although the recipe for all the Our/Vodka’s has been developed by Vincent Hoarau of The Pernod Ricard Research Centre, most ingredients are sourced locally and every location has its own brew master. In addition they say that in every city the taste is infused with the personality and expression of the city.
Although part of a global parent company with locations all over the world, every Our/Vodka produces a local vodka, sold for local markets. Like Our Vodka Berlin, Stockholm, Detroit, Seattle and Our London will open this month and next year New York, Los Angeles and Miami will follow.
About the team behind Our/Amsterdam
Amsterdam entrepreneurs Marcel Wortel and Ivo Hulscher teamed up with Pernod Ricard to be the Our/Amsterdam partners of the Our/Vodka family. The team is completed with Joris Doesburg, sales manager, Martijn Schavemaker, distillery manager and Anton Bal, social media guy. Their message: Our/Amsterdam is smooth, fresh and composed to blend well with any mixer. But keep it simple, it’s vodka.
Dim Sum Now
11-11-2015
On 4 November Dim Sum Now opened an eatery in Amsterdam, ‘De Pijp’, for eat–in and take-out. Dim sum is part of an international revival, will dim sum also become more popular again in The Netherlands?
Healthy and tasty
After selling dumplings and gyoza at various festivals became a success, the owners of Dim Sum Now felt it was time to take the next step. These entrepreneurs, Guido van der Meijen and Ting Yiu Cheung have found a natural flavour enhancer to use in their dishes. Because of the fact that the food is being steamed, no flavour and nutrients are lost. That’s what makes dim sum so healthy and delicious, and that’s also the reason why it has become increasingly popular. The founders Guido and Tin Yiu see the eatery as an opportunity to make dim sum accessible to everyone. Dim Sum Now is dim sum from now – it’s all in the name.
Dim Sum Now
The counter is filled with steaming steam baskets full of dumplings and gyoza. Each of them served in five different variations with pork-, chicken-, duck-, fish- or a vegetarian filling. Next to that there are specials such as the BBQ Bun, the Lotus Leaf Wrap and sides like edamame and seaweed salad. On the façade of the eatery is displayed in mint green neon letters that they are selling ‘baskets of steamy goodness’. The eatery can be found at the Ferdinand Bolstraat 36 in Amsterdam. In addition, it’s also possible to pick up the dim sum or have it delivered to your home.
Inspiration
Dim sum is currently very popular in cities like London and New York. Top chefs who are inspired by the Asian cuisine are also using the small steamed Chinese snacks in their kitchen regularly. For example, I recently ate delightful dim sum ‘Peking Duck’ at Tim Raue (**) in Berlin. And since you can make almost unlimited variants by using different ingredients and flavours, we expect that dim sum will also become more popular in The Netherlands. ^Marjolein
Seaweed that tastes like fried bacon?
9-11-2015
US researchers have discovered a strain of seaweed that tastes like fried bacon when fried. The seaweed not only tastes delicious but is also very nutritious.
The strain of seaweed ‘dulse’
The discovered ‘dulse’ is a red algae that can be found along the coast of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and is often used in the Asian cuisine. This is due to its high protein content and ‘umami’ taste. ‘Dulse’ has been used in Europe as an ingredient for smoothies and as a dried product it is used in a dietary supplement. The smoky bacon flavour can only be brought out when it’s fried. The seaweed grows in offshore farms in an environmentally responsible manner. The ‘dulse’ grows in recycled water and it only needs a limited amount of sea water and sun.
Seaweed as a substitute for meat
This seaweed could be a replacement for meat in the future. Besides that, it also allows vegetarians to taste the smoky flavour of bacon, without actually eating meat. With the impressive nutritional values, ‘dulse’ will be seen as a superfood, even though we are getting a bit bored with the ‘superfood’ hype. Anyway whether we stigmatize it as a superfood or not, this seaweed is another possible alternative food source.
Inspiration
It might be a great idea for restaurants, especially those located at sea, to start experimenting with this ingredient. The Food Innovation Centre (FIC) is currently also experimenting with this product, along with two other parties. Their Agricultural Experiment Station is located in Portland, Oregon. Read more about this meat substitute here.
