A breadstick crust at the pizza of Pizza Hut
14-10-2015
Pizza Hut created ‘The Twisted Crust Pizza’, this pizza combines pizza and breadsticks. The pizza features a tearable, dippable breadstick crust with a choice of 2 dipping sauces…
A breadstick crust?
Pizza Hut introduced the twisted crust pizza 21 September in the USA. The company loves to stretch the possibilities of the old-fashioned pizza. Like the hotdog pizza with a hotdog in the crust and their ‘doritos crunchy crust pizza’, we wrote about last year.
Jared Drinkwater, vice president of marketing at Pizza Hut: “We are not afraid to experiment with new and innovative flavor combinations for our food, but sometimes it’s the most obvious innovations that amaze us the most – and Twisted Crust is an example of an innovation that has done just that. We know America loves our pizza, but we have an enormous, loyal group of Pizza Hut breadstick lovers out there, too. We believe our new Twisted Crust Pizza is the ultimate flavor combination of these two popular items that consumers will absolutely love.”
Inspiration
We have seen some unusual pizza combinations in the Netherlands as well. Like last year, the sauerkraut pizza from Domino’s Pizza. Pizza Hut only serves a pizza with a crust stuffed with cheese in the Netherlands though. We wonder what pizza variations we will see this winter in the Netherlands! Anyway the ‘Twisted Crust Pizza’ can be added to the list of 10 times pizza inspiration.
Les Bols de Jean – the breadbowl is going French
13-10-2015
Leonie van Spronsen, lives and works in Paris and recently lunched at ‘Les Bols de Jean’ in Paris.
The bread bowl is centuries old and in the United States completely common as chili or clam chowder holder, but in Europe not so much. Well that’s all about to change if you ask internationally renowned baker Eric Kayser and ‘world-famous-in-France’ chef Jean Imbert!
Les Bols de Jean in Paris
Since 2 weeks Jean Imbert, former winner of Topchef France, has a new lunch place right in the city center of Paris where he serves only one type of meal and that is the ‘Bol de Jean’. A ‘Bol de Jean’ is an especially developed loaf of brioche (in collaboration with Eric Kayser) that’s hollowed and the top has been cut off as a type of lid. For in the loaf you choose the dish you would like to try that day, they usually have 5 choices and they change regularly.
A must-visit lunch spot in Paris
Guess what? Delicious! The brioche is amazingly balanced, has a great structure and doen’t taste to sweet. The dish is creatively thought out and seems to match perfectly with the bread each time. On top of that it looks beautiful and it’s a new lunch concept for all Parisians. ‘Les Bols de Jean’ – I say on it’s way to become a new classic!
From the Dutch editor: In the Netherlands the Bunny Chow foodtruck serves similar bread bowls based on recipes from South Africa. Check Jean Imbert’s Instagram account for more pictures.
Co-creation around new concepts
12-10-2015
Dick Middelweerd, chef of restaurant Treeswijkhoeve (** by Michelin), has great plans for the coming weeks. From 16 October up to 25 October you can enjoy his culinary talent during the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven as at 10 November he will cook at a pop-up restaurant at Buitenplaats Amerongen.
Allegory of the South
In the iconic Augustine Church, in the heart of Eindhoven, major entrepreneurs from the region join their traditional knowledge for the ‘Allegory of the South‘. Atelier van Asseldonk will realize a complete installation, based on a twenty meter long table. The company Oogenlust will decorate the church, supported by master builder Bruns. The nave of the Augustine Church transforms at night into a dining room, where Dick Middelweerd will offer a special menu for the occasion. Guests will toast with Beerze Beer from the region. This initiative is open to visitors during the Dutch Design Week from 16 to 25 October.
Pop-up restaurant at Buitenplaats Amerongen
On 10 November Dick Middelweerd and his team will serve a one-time pop-up five-course dinner at the historic venue ‘Buitenplaats Amerongen’. They will make some of his famous local signature dishes, like his ‘Worstenbrood’ (Meatbread), the smoked salmon (on cedar) in a humidor and ‘prol’. Location is the recently renovated coach house of the historic ‘Buitenplaats Amerongen’. Besides cooking Dick Middelweerd will take care of the music as DJ at the after party!
Co-creation around new concepts
The pop-up restaurant at the historic venue ‘Buitenplaats Amerongen’ is an initiative of entrepreneurs from Amerongen, Peter-Paul Swijnenburg of Buitenplaats Amerongen and Nico Donkelaar from the Olive Oil Shop, who already successfully brought two star chef Edwin Vinke to Amerongen. They combine a wonderful evening to enjoy the dishes of a famous chef with an after party to take the feet from the floor.
The ‘Allegory of the South’ will be a great addition to the Dutch Design Week because of the co-creation of all parties. Check out their video.
Flight Funding; KLM experimenting with crowdfunding
8-10-2015
KLM is the first airline in the world that uses its social media channels for a FlightFunding experiment. Basically an experiment with crowdfunding. It is also a fine example of creating a new word in the English language and we wonder how it effects their brand image.
Oké, you say FlightFunding?
Today Juanita from Schijndel gets 24 hours (till 9 October, 7 am) the opportunity to make use of KLM’s social media friends to ‘FlightFund’ a flight to her family in Canada. KLM wants to use this experiment to test the strength of its social network. KLM has been using social media for years, it all began with the award-winning campaign, KLM Surprise in 2010. Since 2010 KLM has 24/7 social media service in 14 languages. Per week more than 150 social media service employees answer 70.000 messages from customers and fans. Amongst those messages there are many wishes from people who can’t afford to buy a ticket, but would love to travel.
Karlijn Vogel-Meijer, Manager Social Media KLM: “We would love to help everyone, of course, but sadly this is simply not an option for a business dependent on the sale of tickets. The FlightFunding concept arose from a deep-seated wish to help people make their dreams come true. This social media experiment will allow KLM to assess how its social network responds to appeals of this kind. From the stack of requests, the care team randomly selected the story of Juanita. ”
“Trial and error has played an important part in establishing KLM’s leading position in social media. FlightFunding really is an experiment. Today Juanita’s appeal has been posted on KLM’s social media channels. Everyone can make their donation on flightfunding.com. With over twelve million fans worldwide it must be possible to fund the amount for a ticket? However, in each experiment there is a chance that it will not succeed. We are very curious about the results. ”
The creative concept for Flight Funding has been developed in collaboration with Code d’Azur. See how Juanita experiences the FlightFunding.
Birthday Card biscuits; inspiration from Biscuiteers
7-10-2015
The bakery Biscuiteers in London makes birthday card biscuits. It’s something totally different than sending a regular birthday card or a bouquet of flowers.
Besides the normal assortment that most bakers have, Biscuiteers has an extra range with tins filled with biscuits for special events and birthday cards made of cookies. Besides the standard “cookies birthday cards”, you can personalize some birthday cards as well. They can put a name or a small text on it, for example. The bakery Biscuiteers has 2 shops in London and their biscuits are shipped worldwide.
Inspiration from Biscuiteers for the hospitality industry
Recently, we wrote about some great initiatives to bring attention to someone’s birthday, like the Refinery hotel in New York, which offers guests a birthday cake from the famous Magnolia Bakery if they celebrate their birthday at the hotel. By creating something special you can attract new guests, for instance a separate and festive ‘edible’ invitation for a dinner or lunch on a guests birthday! And when you do that, make sure your audience knows what you’re doing. Earlier we wrote that the use of local bloggers and youtube-bloggers can work. Check this video of Tanya Burr, she is one of those new stars known from Youtube. She especially appeals girls of 16+. In a more than 13 minutes long video, she shows all her birthday presents with at the end a birthday card made of biscuits by Biscuiteers. Until today this video has more than 873 000 views. That beats every ad!
Creating a healthier planet while having fun with the Scale Down Challenge
6-10-2015
The Scale Down Challenge allows you to play around with your habits and choices concerning food, energy, waste and water. Thirty simple and surprising challenges can be found on the giant interactive grocery scale that travels around to schools, festivals and public spaces. The device does not weigh people, nor products, but the choices made as a consumer.
The Scale Down Challenge
Small actions can make the world a better place. Here’s a selection of the sparkling challenges the Scale Down Challenge offers: Veggie on vacation, Peanut Butter Boost, WTFridge, Supermarket Selfie, Chili sin Carne, Bring a Bottle and Bye Bye Plastic. With the last you be challenged to buy nothing out of plastic for one whole week!
Merel Mirage designed the scale with the young designers of the Design Academy. As participant you have to step on the scale and push one of the buttons. On the output ticket is written what has to been done and a special code to login and upload pictures on Instagram. The HOLY foundation of Merel Mirage is travelling to schools, conferences and museums with the scale to challenge as many people as possible. You can even enter as participant to devise your own challenge and compete for the Scale Down Challenge trophy which will be announced on Earthday 2016.
It could work in our restaurants and hotels as well: small gestures to create less waste and having fun trying to achieve the challenge!
Pancake Art
5-10-2015
Barista’s could learn to manage new skills and become an expert on the pancake griddle as well. Pancake art is a new trend, spotted in Japan.
In the beginning of 2015 we’ve spotted the ‘PancakeBot’ that allows you to ‘print’ out pancakes into about any design you can imagine. Especially easy and fun for kids and a great gimmick at your breakfast buffet. But now there is another emerging trend: Pancake Art.
Pancake Art from Japan
In an article at Eater.com, a couple of American celebrity chefs have been immortalized in pancakes. And the Italian restaurant ‘La Ricetta’, located in the city of Zama in Japan, is making high end pancake art as a part of their trademark. Although for the most part, La Ricetta seems to be committed to preparing classic Italian dishes in the traditional way. As their website is only in Japanese, check out their Twitter account for examples.
Inspiration
Who is going to be immortalized in pancake art in your country? Would guests want to pay for eating pancake art of their own pictures? It would be great to be able to serve real prince and princesses pancakes or famous iconic characters for the little guests of your restaurant. When will be the first pancake art competition next to the well-known barista competitions?
Preparation is a key component of Restaurant C
2-10-2015
Restaurant C opens early October in Amsterdam. It’s a restaurant initiated by Michiel van der Eerde and his brother Lucas where different cooking methods are an important part of the menu.
Restaurant C: Michael and Lucas van der Eerde
In 2012 Chef Michiel van der Eerde opened the pop-up restaurant BAUT at the same location on the Wibautstraat 125 in Amsterdam. After the huge success he came with a sequel called ‘BAUTZUID’ a pop-up restaurant that’s a hit as well. Next to that, the Dutch public might know Michiel from the television program ‘Masterchef Holland’. Lucas has over twenty years of experience in the media, he was for instance commercially responsible for MTV Networks Netherlands.
Menu in temperature zones
The menu with small dishes is divided into temperature zones from 0 to 200 degrees. The method of preparation is more important than the products. One and the same product can vary completely depending on the cooking method at different temperatures.
Interior design Restaurant C inspired by L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
The open kitchen is located in the middle of the restaurant. It is the heart of the restaurant and inspired by L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in London. The interior design is done by architect Ronald Hooft from &PRAST&HOOFT in collaboration with Sandra Shelves / Studio Noun and Donald Beekman / DBXL. It is a blend of sophisticated comfortable elements and raw materials. Brass, concrete shell, velvet, wood, leather and steel alternate.
Furniture and decoration
The barstools are made of steel and leather and finished with a leather belt and were custom developed by WDSTCK, Studio Noun and C. Bar lamps made from old gas cylinders are hanging above the kitchen. On the side of the restaurant there are green velvet sofa booths with round wooden tables. A melt lamp by designer Tom Dixon hangs above the tables. The acoustics are taken care of as well, there are acoustic panels fitted throughout the restaurant. The capacity is 120 persons, of whom twenty people are able to sit at the kitchen bar.
Reservations are already available: c.amsterdam
Dutch Tappies at the Mart Café in the Market Hall in Rotterdam
30-9-2015
The Mart Café serves Dutch Tappies in the Market hall in Rotterdam. The café celebrates the Dutch cuisine with the common sense the people of Rotterdam are known for with its own twist.
The Market Hall in Rotterdam (opened October last year) has a very international variety of restaurants. And in the midst of all the great international food restaurants, Mart Café from the Dutch Dudok Group, shows all the great treats from our Dutch cuisine.
Dutch tapas or as they say in Rotterdam: Dutch Tappies
Mart Café is an oasis of sobriety among all the exotic possibilities the Markt Hall offers. They offer coffee, beer and bitterballen (our famous small, round croquettes), picks with pickled onions and Dutch liverwurst, toast with mackerel mousse and ‘Kibbeling’ – our fried cod. Next to that Rye bread with cheese and of course the famous Dudok apple pie, and a matching Jenever (Dutch gin) menu with special Jenevers from the area. Café Mart wants to put our own homebrew spirits on the international map again!
The design of the Mart Café
Mart Café is located right next to the main entrance of the Market Hall, on the ground floor with a private terrace and entrance. The decor is minimalistic with raw concrete walls, wood and black and white tiles on the floor. The middle part of the ceiling is open so that a pleasant spaciousness is created between the floors. The arrangement of gleaming ceiling lamps is topped with a huge chandelier of Meccano.
Sleeping on a Dutch lake in VIP houseboats
29-9-2015
23 September was the official opening of the new Center Parcs VIP houseboats in the old Marina De Eemhof. The luxury houseboats offer fantastic views at the Eemmeer.
Last summer, we wrote an article about the catamaran hotel rooms from design studio Salt & Water from Serbia. The design of the catamaran hotel had just won the Millennium Yacht Design Award. This project was developed with the aim to promote tourism on inland waterways in Serbia, which offers a stunning untouched nature. Such a project would also be great on the Dutch lakes. At the same time Center Parcs was busy with the realization of the VIP houseboats in the old Marina De Eemhof, with the southern French atmosphere of the port town Port Grimaud. The houseboats have been build by the local craftsmanship of ABC Arkenbouw to Urk.
What do the VIP houseboats offer?
Always wanted to experience what it’s like to live on a houseboat? The new, modern equipped VIP houseboats Center Parcs offer this possibility. The VIP houseboats have two floors, a total floor surface of 120 m2, can accommodate up to six people, have two bathrooms, two toilets, a private terrace, are located in the marina and offers a place for a private or rented boat. Guests can also make use of all the facilities Center Parcs De Eemhof offers. Great way to enjoy the Dutch lake, the Eemmeer!
Inspiration
Like we wrote about the catamaran hotel rooms, projects like these fit perfectly on our Dutch lakes! So if you run a hotel or a park, look at the opportunities to expand on the water!
