Small hospitable gestures | Telescopic spoon, ‘First Dates for Kids’ or dessert served on a spoon
1-4-2025
A blog by Marjolein van Spronsen featuring some small hospitable gestures she has seen recently. From small desserts served on a spoon to a telescopic spoon to pick at your tablemate’s dessert.
This blog was previously published in Dutch on the Van Spronsen & Partners Group’s website.
2 minutes read
Trends we spotted | week 13
31-3-2025
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:
- Have more plan(t)s for dinner! The Sustainable Plant FWD restaurant week will be held from April 5 to 12 in Amsterdam.
- Jade Frommer, co-founder of the Ephemera Group, is shaking up the fast-food industry in Paris with the launch of pop-up restaurant, called 6,90. And their main course is available for just €6.90.
- KFC® USA is dropping an all-new “Dunk It Bucket” – the brand’s first new bucket in nearly a decade – featuring also-new Mashed Potato Poppers.
- Talenti Gelato & Sorbetto, the #1 best-selling gelato brand in the U.S., is raising the bar of its unique Layers line by introducing the Bakery Collection. They created ‘The Dipped Whisk’ in collaboration with Dominique Ansel.
- McDonald’s – A Minecraft Movie Meal and Happy Meal are available at US restaurants nationwide for limited time starting April 1.
- Kimpton teams up with Tiny Zaps for exclusive tattoo pop-up series for ‘Tattourists’ at 5 locations in the US.
- Schmarrnsinn is the first pop-up Kaiserschmarrn Café in Frankfurt, kaiserschmarrn with all kinds of toppings!
- There’s a pub in Ireland with your name on it! A worldwide search by Heineken® to find a new owner to keep the family tradition of the McLoughlin’s alive.
- nhow Hotels launched ‘dance nhow, change now’.
- The Dutch Bird Brewery launches exclusive Easter beer Kakelfris.
- Restaurant Vestdijk47 in Eindhoven tackles food waste and receives Orbisk certificate for 16 per cent reduction in eight months.
Happy reading!
Trends we spotted | Week 10
10-3-2025
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:
- A castle full of Michelin Chefs and it’s not even a fairy tale! Sterren Preuvement 2025 takes place at Kasteel de Wittenburg from 28 to 30 March 2025. Tickets are still available for Friday and Sunday!
- The Hoxton Florence at Via delle Mantellate 2, is opening its doors! With a ‘House’ apartment, free bikes for their guests and various sports facilities, even external.
- Robuuste Reiger (Robust Heron) is Bird Brewery’s first 2025 special.
- Prêt-à-Portea, the high fashion version of the Afternoon Tea at The Berkeley in London, is now also available as The Red Carpet Collection at the Maybourne Beverly Hills in Los Angeles.
- Shrink and Print, a mini 3D model of yourself or together with your loved one is a fun unique gift for those who already have everything.

- The Aziz Foundation’s Ramadan Lights London with over 30,000 LED lights are turned back on at Piccadilly Circus!
- You’ve probably never heard of soft-serve ice cream and bubble tea chain Mixue Bingcheng but they do have more outlets than McDonald’s and Starbucks.
- For fans of the Netflix series Somebody Feed Phil; this spring a neighbourhood restaurant will open in Los Angeles in honour of its parents: Max and Helen’s.
Enjoy reading!
Young entrepreneurs & new concepts | Café Restaurant Amice, Loop51 en NORRA
4-3-2025
Every day we spot fun, new concepts. This week, three new concepts from Weesp, Amsterdam and Bilthoven. Located on the Herengracht in Weesp, Café Restaurant Amice has a cosy, warm ambiance and of course a ‘Weespermop parfait’ (a delicious local cookie) on the menu! Loop51 is a special brunch concept where you immerse yourself in a club during the day! They combine brunch with vinyl and if you want to dance… you’re welcome to. And fine-dining restaurant NORRA will open in Bilthoven on April 2nd. It will be Lieke Nicole-Creemers’ second restaurant, alongside restaurant Le Nord, which is undergoing a culinary formula change this week. An old favourite dish of ours is on the menu here: ‘Pizza Thon’, originally from Las Vegas and always on the menu at Joop Braakhekke’s former restaurant Le Garage in Amsterdam.
We wish these entrepreneurs and their teams lots of fun and success with their concepts. More information below!
Trends we spotted | Week 09
3-3-2025
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:
- A cake collab by Claridge’s ArtSpace Café and The Connaught Patisserie. Simple and easy collab to create but if the cake ‘Gâteau des Amis’ is easy to make? We doubt it but it looks delicious!
- Zoocade, is the first holographic zoo in the US, located in Austin, Texas.
- TeamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi will open to the public on April 18 within the Saadiyat Cultural District in Abu Dhabi.
- Set-jetting is popular, for example the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok and the Four Seasons are attracting fans because of the HBO series The White Lotus.
- On March 7 restaurant La Forêt Secrète par Jean Imbert will open in the Disneyland Hotel Paris.
- Crystal Lagoons Eco-Heated lagoons technology – repurposing waste heat from data centers to naturally warm the lagoon year-round.
- Restaurant merch – the pizza chain Otomat from Belgium created limited edition t-shirts, inspired by their iconic pizzas.
- The Special Beer Festival by Brouwerij (Brewery) Homeland will be held in the ‘Scheepvaartmuseum’ (our National Maritime museum in Amsterdam) on March 7 and 8.
Enjoy reading!
Young entrepreneurs & new concepts | Café Caat, LES DEUX and Restaurant Shun
25-2-2025
Every day we spot fun, new concepts. This week, three new concepts from Leiden, Maastricht and Medemblik. Café Caat is, just as we are, situated in Leiden; the foyer next to the Main Room in the ‘Stadsgehoorzaal’ Leiden has been renamed to Café Caat. LES DEUX restaurant opened in Maastricht late last year. LES DEUX, means both, so their interpretation of this name is that the culinary experience as well as the hospitality experience are on equal footing. And in Medemblik, restaurant Shun opened on February 6th, we were at the opening and the snacks were delicious!
We wish all these entrepreneurs and their teams lots of fun and success with their concepts. More information below!
2 minutes read
Trends we spotted | Week 08
24-2-2025
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:
- Fletcher Hotels head office staff are preparing for the annual spectacle: the ‘Fletcher Hotel Take Over’ on Sunday 23 March 2025.
- Stayokay has reopened its renovated and sustainable hostel on Kloveniersburgwal in Amsterdam, Stayokay Amsterdam Stadsdoelen.
- The CuliQuiz was launched during the Horecava. Second grand final takes place on 31 March in the H2O E-Sports Arena. Fun to participate in with a restaurant or bar team.
- PowerSoul Café, a popular Nevada-based restaurant chain known for its healthy and delicious menu, has become the first restaurant chain in the world to be independently certified down to 5 parts per million (ppm) of gluten, setting a new gold standard for gluten-free dining.
- Taco Bell® and Milk Bar® launch new Milk Bar Birthday Cake Churros in the US, another crossover.
- Marriott Bonvoy and Manchester United invite the club’s most passionate fans for a once-in-a-lifetime stay in The Captain’s Suite Inspired by Legend Gary Neville.
- Enjoying a Fensterccino at the Fenster Café on the Fleischmarkt in Vienna, Austria. Their coffee is served in a cone waffle cone which is coated in chocolate.
- At The Flower Bowl Entertainment Center in Preston (UK) you can enjoy Crazy Golf, Bowling, a virtual reality ride, shuffleboard, watch a movie at their cinema or play Crazy Pool at their Cue Gardens.
Enjoy reading!
New hospitality businesses in Brussels | GRINGO & KAGE
21-2-2025
KAGE recently opened its doors in Brussels: a new destination for specialty tea, cocktails and culture. In short, a tea shop, tea bar, with tea-tails and tea education-all under one roof. And GRINGO brings bold tacos & good vibes to Brussels! GRINGO opens its doors on February 25th in the bustling Châtelain district. Located at 89 Rue Américaine, GRINGO brings the flavours and energy of CDMX (Ciudad de Mexico) to Brussels.
2 minutes read
The first dual-branded Applebee’s | IHOP restaurant has opened in Seguin, Texas
20-2-2025
Dine Brands Global, Inc., the parent company of Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar®, IHOP®, and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop® restaurants, announced the grand opening of its first dual-brand Applebee’s | IHOP restaurant in the U.S. in partnership with franchisee Ramzi Hakim Group. The new restaurant opened to the public on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, in Seguin, Texas, just outside of San Antonio.
Reading time: 2 minutes
Lasagneria Senza Fondo opens in Shoreditch | Big plates, big energy and bottomless lasagna
20-2-2025
Senza Fondo, a new Italian-American restaurant promising the return of big plates and big energy, is opening in Shoreditch on the 24th of February. Spearheaded by first-time owner Joe Worthington, the Rufus Street restaurant will honour the Italian meaning of its name ‘without end’, serving up all-you-can-eat lasagna and endless good times. Saying goodbye to the small plate concept, the premium lasagneria is committed to being a celebration of great food, great drinks, and great people, with pop-up Chef Michael Bagnall at the helm of the kitchen.
2 minute read