Getting started in the hospitality industry
8-6-2015
SVH has developed a game for newbies in the hospitality industry.
Getting started in the hospitality industry
We cannot stress enough that the personnel in the hospitality industry in general and at the terrace in specific is very important. It can be difficult to find the time and resources to train personnel in the right way. For (potential) personnel with little or no experience in the hospitality, SVH will launch the game ‘Getting started in the hospitality industry’. With the app, newbies can learn and test their knowledge and skills. Additionally, a restaurant owner or manager can prepare them for future situations that could occur on the terrace. The app will be launched officially on 22 June, we’re looking forward to testing it.
Hospitality
Because a satisfied guest often means word-of-mouth advertising and a disgruntled guest the opposite, training is important, especially during busy periods. This app is an accessible way to teach and test basic skills. Besides training of the personnel, small welcoming gestures can make a difference as well . Read more about small welcoming gestures in the hospitality industry.
Games
The municipality of Utrecht developed a game last year to positively impact the hospitality as well.
Geef Café comes to Amsterdam with “pay as you can” restaurant
5-6-2015
Social enterprise Geef Café wants to make healthy and fair food accessible for all the people in Amsterdam.
Pay as you can
The concept is based on the ‘Pay as you can’-model where the guest decides what he or she pays. This allows people with less money to spend to visit Geef Café as well. After several successful pop-ups and an extensive trial period, it is time for the next step: a permanent location in Amsterdam. Therefore, the founders start a crowdfunding campaign and get help from Ben & Jerry’s.
Poverty
The Netherlands has many people who have little money to spend. As a result, these people often have no access to healthy food and eating out is an unaffordable luxury. Hence Judith Manshanden decided to establish the Geef Café with Laura Schön and Rogier Charles in 2013.
Trial and target price
Inspired by the pay as you can-movement in the US, the founders of the Geef Café wanted to open a restaurant in the Netherlands where everyone is welcome. The concept proved to work very well in Rotterdam and generated a lot of positive reactions. Over 80% of visitors were paying more than the target price. “Now is the time for a permanent location in Amsterdam, to inspire so many more people from The Netherlands and abroad,” said Manshanden. The Geef Café is supported by Ben & Jerry’s through the ‘Join Our Core incubator’ program.
Food Waste
Geef Café cookes with vegetables that are normally discarded. During previous pop-up dinners in Amsterdam and during the trial in Rotterdam, a total of 2.500 kilos of waste products was collected from wholesalers and used in their meals.
With the support of Triodos Foundation and the DOEN Foundation they’ve already built a budget. The last push is needed to provide a green light to the Geef Café, therefore they’ve started a crowdfunding campaign at the Doorgaan.nl platform. Donators get various rewards in exchange for a donation. For example, € 150,- gives you a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream party for 50 people.
The campaign ends on 16 July and after that the Geef Café hopes to open as quickly as possible at a permanent location. With 42 days to go they’ve acquired 55% of the targeted goal.
NH Hotel Group presents VIP Level in NH Collection Eurobuilding
4-6-2015
NH Collection Eurobuilding in Madrid officially launched the VIP Level service concept
VIP level in the hotel
The VIP Level offers guests a range of services and privileges at the hotel itself, including a private reception and guest relations desk, a VIP Breakfast Room with high-quality a la carte offerings, early check-in from 12:00, late check-out until 14:00, unlimited access to the luxurious Metropolitan Fitness & Wellness Centre, access to the Executive Lounge on the fifteenth floor and priority if you want to reserve a table at the 3 * Michelin Restaurant Diverxo, also located in the building.
Privileges outside the hotel
Outside the hotel the VIP level offers more privileges, such as a Personal Shopper, premium shopping services at El Corte Ingles and Las Rozas Village, the Europcar Prestige Service (where premium cars are delivered to the hotel), quick access to the Prado Museum and the Thyssen museum and the option to reserve a VIP box at the nearby stadium of Real Madrid.
For guests who expect something more
According to Hugo Rovira, Managing Director of NH Hotel Group Spain, Portugal and Andorra, the VIP Level fits seamlessly into the existing services of the hotel: “Since the reopening, the NH Collection flagship in Spain NH Collection Eurobuilding has become one of the best business and leisure hotel in Europe. It offers the guests that expect ‘something more’ from their journey everything they need to make their stay a memorable experience.”
Niven Kunz launches NIVEN foodbox
3-6-2015
Niven Kunz from the Michelin-starred Restaurant NIVEN in Rijswijk launched his own “NIVEN foodbox. The box contains gourmet delicacies that are ‘100% Niven-worthy’ and will have a different content four times a year.
NIVEN Foodbox by Niven Kunz
The products in the box come from suppliers that Niven Kunz trusts and he uses in the kitchen on a daily basis. One of the unique selling points of the box will be the outstanding quality. The products each have their own story and are from small entrepreneurs with a traditional and authentic background. The products can vary from coffee, beer, chocolate to balsamic, chutney and salt. The contents change every season and are aimed for the home market.
Availability and tasting
One box costs €49,95 and is sold at Restaurant Niven as well as through the webshop www.nivenshop.nl. An annual subscription of € 199, – will get you a NIVEN foodbox four times a year and a three course lunch for two, including wine and water served at Restaurant NIVEN.
There will be a pretesting possibility during Taste of Amsterdam, from 4 to 7 June.
Projection at the table with mini-cook
2-6-2015
A cartoon in and around your plate. That’s one cool experience! Antoon Verbeeck and Filip Sterckx created a demo with their artistic collective ‘Skull Mapping’ where they make a mini cook run around your plate and on the table.
Projection at the table
By playing with movement within the projections, static objects seem to move. In addition they add a projection at the table and create optical illusions. One of the examples is the projection of a fork and the placement of a real knife next to the plate.
Video projection in total experience
Earlier, we wrote about the Sublimotion restaurant in Ibiza that uses video projection for a total experience during one of the most expensive dinners in the world. The initiator of that dinner experience then gave as response that “Sublimotion is the cheapest life changing experience you can have”, costing ‘only’ € 1500, -. The mini cook is an example of how you can apply it on a smaller scale yourself.
Restaurant Wynwood will soon open in Eindhoven
28-5-2015
Star Chef Wouter van Laarhoven (former chef of restaurant De Molen*) and Eveline Wu will open restaurant Wynwood in Eindhoven in the beginning of July. The restaurant has an international profile with food and drinks at top level and at attractive prices.
The restaurant, named after the art and fashion district Wynwood in Miami, is located in the district Strijp-S, the creative, cultural and technological center of Eindhoven. The restaurant is 650 sqm with over 100 seats.
Wouter van Laarhoven about his Wynwood
Wouter van Laarhoven starts Wynwood with business partner Eveline Wu, who owns several catering companies. Van Laarhoven: “Wynwood is a sexy restaurant with an international flair and a global appeal. This is reflected in delicious high quality food at a very attractive price, perfect service, contemporary décor and a stylish international atmosphere. We serve a four-course meal for around thirty euro made with top-quality ingredients, being presented at luxury tableware and with linen napkins. Guests will experience luxury in all facets but without the associated financial consequences. Guests can visit for a (business) appointment, a good cup of coffee with freshly made pastries, lunch, dinner and at the bar for a cocktail or glass of wine with barbites. In short Wynwood will be buzzing all day. At Wynwood you can eat fantastic food and great drinks for the same price as in a coffee shop or brasserie. Despite the high level I have no ambition to earn a Michelin star with Wynwood.”
Bar and Terrace at Wynwood
The restaurant features a bar area where bartenders serve special cocktails and wines together with barbites. The bar is also open for just a drink in the evenings. Outside is a large terrace and adjacent Wynwood, a fully separated takeaway will be realized where fish and chips is sold in a fancy manner.
We follow the developments of restaurant Wynwood through Facebook where they are keeping their audience informed about all the developments. The exact opening date will be notified here as well. If past results are a guarantee for the future, even if he isn’t pursuing a Michelin rating, then Eindhoven has a new gourmet restaurant in town! And maybe Wouter will be serving his nut bread to accompany a cheese platter!
Siseng, the Asian Food Bar
27-5-2015
Siseng, the Asian Food Bar at the Quai de Jemmapes in Paris opened in December 2014. The food bar adds the Bao Burger to the thriving food scene of the Canal St.-Martin.
Siseng, worth the visit and the wait
The Asian Food Bar rapidly became popular amongst the Parisians! Last weekend there was a long line outside the small, packed but trendy and casual chic bar. Once inside you share a table with others in a tastefully decorated small bar with light bulbs, bare brick walls, dark table tops and bar stools. Very nice but busy servants who are having trouble delivering the food to the guests! And they make delicious cocktails with Asian ingredients like wasabi, ginger and sake. Combine a cocktail, glass of sake, or an Asahi beer with their great spring rolls or croquettes all served with an Asian sauce.
Tip to eat in Paris when you stroll down the canal Saint Martin
You don’t have to stroll down the canal, you can also have a relaxing afternoon with friends there like a lot of Parisians do, but anyway the signature burgers at Siseng are a great tip! The burgers are served in a bao, a steamed Chinese bun made out of rice flour. The bao burger 5 spices contains a beef patty (grilled medium rare, the French way), marinated in the 5 spices and comes with onion tempura, onion confit, rocket leaf and a caramelized tamarind sauce. But you can also choose the chicken burger Kaï with a piece of chicken, breaded in a Japanese style with coleslaw ‘maison’, fresh basil, confit de red peppers and a basil sauce with coconut milk. We also loved the tempura of vegetables and the sweet potato fries, which are really rare in Paris. The menu has been illustrated by Soba Paris.
Inspiration for those seeking for a new restaurant, we think that a small Asian Food Bar like Siseng would do great in Amsterdam or any place in the Netherlands as well!
Fresh fish at the Boterlap ‘Fish Market’
26-5-2015
Bar, Brasserie and Terrace De Boterlap in Harderwijk daily serves fresh fish. To promote it, they recorded a short film about their fishing adventures in the style of “Deadliest Catch”. It is a nice and humorous way to bring their daily ‘Fish Market’ to the attention and another great example of storytelling.
The Boterlap was awarded for having the best terrace of The Netherlands in 2013, according to the Terrace Top 100 by Misset Horeca.
Give your guests the choice of the cordial syrups by Agroposta
22-5-2015
Great to serve this summer, a lemonade box with the sachets of Agroposta, like a tea box. 1 sachet + 200 ml of ice water = 1 glass of refreshing lemonade, add some mint leaves … and done!
The cordial syrups
Agroposta cordials are offered in small secure sachets and filled with 32 ml of concentrated syrup with the following flavors:
Refreshing Lemon – created from the lemons grown and handpicked in the Croatian Islands of the Mediterranean.
Sage – a mild, subtle and distinct flavour. It’s made from handpicked sage flowers from the Adriatic coast.
Elderflower – The elderflower lemonade tastes just sweet enough. The aromatic elderberry blossoms is also picked by hand.
Raspberry – this lemonade tastes sweet with a subtle sour undertone. The raspberries are also handpicked in the many forests and mountains in the Balkan region.
Lavender (natural tranquilizer) – The lavender syrup is not too sweet and slightly different. The syrup is made from the ecologically cultivated Lavandula angustifolia plant that is also handpicked.
About Agroposta
Agroposta is a Croatian company founded in 2004 and with a lot of experience in organic farming. The company started in 2011 with the production of the cordials. Agroposta has its own factory in Zagreb, completely designed according to EU standards in terms of food and provisions. The requirements of HACCP are also strictly maintained. Agroposta stands for sustainability, love for the environment and fair trade in all processes and in all products.
Rembrandt ‘The Naked Truth’ during five-course dinner
21-5-2015
The Rembrandt Tower Boardroom and the Rembrandt House Museum are joining forces for a pop-up restaurant. For two weeks, guests can eat between artworks about nude studies by Rembrandt and his colleagues during a five-course dinner at top notch level with breath-taking views of the Dutch capital.
The exhibited etchings are an exclusive preview of the exhibition ‘The Naked Truth’ held in the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam from 12 February until May 14, 2016. Last July we wrote about the first edition, which turned out to be a great success. This second edition from 21 September to Rembrandt’s death anniversary on October 4 will be on the top floor of the famous Amsterdam Rembrandt Tower as well. It’s one of the rare moments when the boardroom opens its doors to the public.
With its special location and excellent service, the Boardroom normally is a popular venue for private business meetings of Top 500 enterprises from the Netherlands and abroad. The 360 degree view from the tallest building in Amsterdam is impressive: on clear days even Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam can be seen.
Repeated due to the large success
What began in 2014 as a one-off initiative is repeated due to the large success. Alexandra Hutter, founder and director of the Rembrandt Tower Boardroom: “The response we received last year during ‘Hemels Rembrandt’ (translated as ‘Heavenly Rembrandt’) were overwhelming. Dutch personalities like Gerdi Verbeet, Eva Jinek and Cornald Maas enjoyed this unique synergy of art and gastronomy, like many others. Due to popular demand and to our great joy we organize a new edition this year. ”
Rembrandt Tower Boardroom supports the Rembrandt House Museum in the purchase of an important work by one of Rembrandt’s pupils, made in the workshop of the museum. This original work is also shown at ‘Hemels Rembrandt’. Rembrandt’s nudes were controversial, because he wanted to create a realistic picture: sagging breasts, folding pockmarked bellies and thighs, he did not hesitate to portray such “flaws.” This horrified fellow artists who prefer to draw graceful, classically proportioned models.
Reservation
Enjoy art and gastronomy in Amsterdam at high level during the Hemels Rembrandt weeks and book from 2 June onwards. Keep in mind that the prices are as exclusive as the event.
