The Frozen Butcher
4-12-2014
Last weekend we’ve tasted two new hamburgers from The Frozen Butcher, the Iberico Burger and the Angus certified Burger. We really loved their taste! On their website we learned that The Frozen Butcher has a whole range of burgers aside from the Iberico and Angus burgers; a Wagyu burger, a US beef burger, a lamb burger and an organic burger.
Frozen in time… Fresh on your plate
The burgers are immediately frozen after production by using special freezers to guarantee the true butcher’s quality. This technology enables them to produce without artificial preservatives, colouring agents or other additives.
SIAL Innovation Award 2014
At SIAL Innovation 2014 the Frozen Butcher won the award in the category Meat Products. The jury, made up of independent experts, selected the concept as winner because of the premium meat quality, the clean design of the packaging and the valorization of the country of origin.
Serve your guest a burger to their liking
Great way to use these burgers in a burgerbar; your guests can pick their own meat, each with another taste, another origin and another story! Give your guests a choice in buns and ingredients and let them design their favorite burger at your restaurant. ^Marjolein
Flying robotic waiters
2-12-2014
By end-2015 autonomous flying robotic waiters will be deployed at 5 outlets of the Timbre Group in Singapore. Infinium Robotics Pte Ltd chief executive officer Woon Junyang signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Edward Chia, managing director of Timbre Group, on 31 October this year.
Prototype
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong observed an autonomous flying robotic waiter serving food during a demonstration at Singapore’s National Productivity Month 2014 Launch Event at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre.
Seeking productivity-related government grants
The costs are high but the flying robotic waiters could be a solution for the labour-crunch in Singapore and the robotic waiters do allow human waiters to focus on higher-value tasks such as explaining the menu, upselling and getting feedback from customers. At this moment both Infinium Robotics and the Timbre Group are seeking productivity-related government grants to help offset deployment costs.
The flying robotic waiters at work
Do you want to know more about these robots? CNBC did an interview with the owner of Infinium-Serve and had a demonstration in the studio.
Designer table StayAwesome No.1
1-12-2014
StayAwesome is a young company that is constantly searching for original products to produce and to launch on the market. In this way they would like to create an awesome lifestyle for people.
Designer table StayAwesome No.1
StayAwesome No.1 is a designer table that people can use at the park, in the garden but especially on the beach. For the design of the table, StayAwesome joined forces with designer Rogier Daamen. The designer table looks like there is a shovel stabbed in the sand. Besides that, the table looks original, the table saves a lot of space and makes sure that food and drinks do not end up in the sand.
Production
StayAwesome works together with Inmade, that is a producer within the prison system in the Netherlands. It is a factory located in Alphen a/d Rijn where prisoners are responsible for the production of StayAwesome No.1. The prisoners are given the opportunity to improve their lives. StayAwesome No.1 is currently the only one of its kind and soon available in their webshop.
Dutch Coffee Makers back in The Netherlands
28-11-2014
Coffee has gained a more exclusive status over the past years and there are a lot of connoisseurs nowadays. That said, most of the coffees are brewed hot and the (re)introduction of a cold brew method might bump into some doubts.
Dutch Coffee
The classical Dutch brewing method dates back to the Dutch East India Company period. With this method cold (ice) water drips through the ground bean reservoir. Making a pot of coffee takes four to six hours, the result is a less bitter and less acid coffee. The cold coffee barely oxidates and therefore has a longer shelve time. The Dutch Coffee contains zero calories because the fat in the beans doesn’t dissolve in cold water.
Design
The design of the classical Dutch Coffee machines, or installations, dates back to the trade of the Dutch East India Company. The elegant design is a fusion between Dutch stolidity and Asian craftsmanship.
Taste
The various tastes of the coffee bean are well preserved by the cold brew method. The founders of the ‘Dutch Coffee’ company, Jits Krol and Robert Nijhof, say it’s even strange that we’re brewing coffee hot. This tradition probably started back in the days when it was more hygienic and healthier to brew coffee with boiled water. It does have a negative impact on the taste though.
The website www.dutch-coffee.nl/en shows a variety of serving methods, brew-experiments and the machines of course.
Shopping via hotel television
26-11-2014
Guests from hotel The Dylan in Amsterdam can virtually shop in stores around the hotel via the tv screen in the room. Luckily the hotel is positioned in the shopping area ‘The 9 streets’, with a lot of boutiques.
Once the order is paid, distributer PostNL makes sure that it is delivered in your room within one hour. Return items that don’t fit can easily be dropped off at the hotel reception. The service is a collaboration between The Dylan Amsterdam, 9straatjesonline.com and PostNL.
Room Shopping
The www.9straatjesonline.com website offers virtual visitors the opportunity to browse online through the range of 40 boutiques without taking one step out of the door. The Room Shopping concept launched earlier this year with a temporary ‘Room Shopping Package’. Although the package is not available anymore, the unique Room Shopping service remains. The initiative is a nice extension of the hotel’s service as well as a strong promotion of the shopping area.
Blackjack with taste, Vino Casino
25-11-2014
Last Sunday at the ‘Wine Weekend’ wine fair I spotted the ‘Vino Casino’ game. ‘Vino Casino’, as you can see in the picture is a specially developed BlackJack table, representing a large world map and different vintages on the side.
Blackjack with taste
The game begins with a wine tasting, without seeing the label. Through smell, taste and look participants need to indicate the country / region and the age of the wine. Blackjack with taste thus! The casino chips, which are distributed in advance, must be deployed on both the country and the age groups. When the country or year is correct the number of casino chips is doubled. You can agree in advance how many bottles to taste at this blackjack table. The one who has the most casino chips at the end of the flight, is the winner.
For staff parties or during a tasting
This game is perfect to teach your staff or guests more about wine, in a fun and playful way. It gives a competitive element to a tasting and selects the real ‘wine connoisseur’ among your friends and colleagues. ^Bram Kosterink
A Christmas wreath as dessert for the whole table
24-11-2014
Desserts shared by the whole table, like a Christmas wreath from meringue, is one of the fine examples you can come up with for Christmas. If you have great examples you’re willing to share, we love to mention it as inspiration.
On a regular basis we hear that the ideas we show at our website are not in line with the daily reality of the restaurant or hotel entrepreneur. There is too little time to bring ideas, with your own twist, in practice. Earlier this year we have written about the trend in Bistros to serve desserts for the whole table. Like a giant profiterole or chocolate balls which are broken at the table. It provides a lot of commotion at the table and is very easy to adapt to your own capabilitees!
Inspiration from colleagues and Pinterest
Chefs with Michelin stars are sharing inspiration, Grant Achatz (among others from Restaurant Alinea in Chicago) for example inspires us regularly with video’s like this one about his menu with as dessert the chocolate ball. Inspiration other chefs can use for their own dishes. Pinterest can be another source of inspiration.
A Christmas wreath as dessert
Wherever you look for inspiration, sharing a dessert with the whole table is special and cozy in the Holiday season. Last month I made a huge long profiterole, filled with lemon curd and sour cream and fresh fruit for a party. Profiteroles can be made in all kind of shapes, so it’s easy to adapt it to Christmas. Last weekend, I made a Christmas wreath from meringue with raspberry sauce, fresh red fruit and some holly leaves as decoration. Easy and fun to eat! ^ Marjolein
Signature cheeses; chef Edwin Kats makes Noble cheese
21-11-2014
Create your own cheese. Mirjam van Hest offers chefs and businesses this opportunity. Interested? Feel free to contact her. Last month we wrote an article about the company of Mirjam van Hest, Mir’s Heart & Soul, and about the Amstel Cheese she designed with Chef Rogér Rassin (chef at the InterContinental Amstel Hotel and its restaurant La Rive). In this article you can read about how Mirjam got the idea for her business, how the Amstel Cheese is co-created and the flavour notes of the cheese.
Noble cheese
Recently, she made a cheese with Edwin Kats, chef-owner of restaurant Noble in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. Mirjam uses Dutch milk from cows which are grass-fed in the area between Heusden and Altena as the base for her artisan, extra creamy farm cheese.
Edwin Kats about his Noble cheese
“After I had literally earned my Michelin stars as chef in the Netherlands, I wanted to achieve more and look further. That is why I worked for more than four years as Executive Chef in Lebanon and China. I’ve seen and learned a lot. My new challenge is to make as many people possible, enjoy that knowledge. Making this cheese in cooperation with Mirjam van Hest is one of the ways to show my experiences. I’ve added a lot of herbs and spices from my voyages. The Noble cheese ensures a unique taste experience. The Noble cheeses is a delicious dessert but is a surprising appetizer as well and I have used the cheese in a couple of wonderful recipes.”
The Dutch recipes Edwin Kats created with his Noble Cheese are here! See here where you can buy the cheese.
A magnifying spoon
20-11-2014
Designer Ernesto D. Morales has designed a spoon made out of magnifying glass as part of a series of absurd products for his fictional company Object Solutions. The spoon is intended to enable the user to inspect each area of a meal prior to consumption to ensure the absence of glass, hair, bugs or other contaminants. The food can be eaten using the same implement. Restaurant owners worldwide shouldn’t be surprised if their guests start scanning their dishes before they start eating with this magnifying spoon, if the spoon goes into production! At this moment the only possibility is to subscribe for a limited edition at his webshop.
Ernesto D. Morales about the magnifying spoon: ““You may be the victim of needless contamination, but you’ll be damned if you’re ever caught eating it.”
This Thursday; the Beaujolais Primeur will arrive!
18-11-2014
The Beaujolais Primeur/Nouveau is becoming popular again. Do you already treat your guests to a Beaujolais menu?
Mid October, I went to Paris for a long weekend and I noticed that there are many restaurant announcements for a Beaujolais Primeur / Nouveau menu on November 20 around the ‘déblocage’. I still remember the years that certain Beaujolais Primeur wines often sold out in advance! Due to various scandals the popularity of the Beaujolais Nouveau dropped rapidly. But the Beaujolais is gradually becoming more popular again, thanks to the quality improvements that growers in the region have implemented.
The third Thursday of November, Beaujolais Primeur menu
People start celebrating The ‘déblocage’ again, so owners of restaurants dedicated to the French cuisine should celebrate this as well! Another reason for a party! Marc Cruellas, owner of Bistrot de la Place in The Hague remained faithful to the Beaujolais Nouveau, every year he treats his guests after the ‘déblocage’ with dishes from the wine region. This while enjoying a ‘pot of Beaujolais Nouveau’ and live French music.
