Cragels, the kickoff of the year of hybrid foods
27-1-2014
Cragels – the adventurous hybrid between a croissant and a bagel, the newest “famous” pastry of New York. Originating from The Bagel Store on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg this is the snack that tries to challenge the cronut in 2014. Saturday January 25, was the first day that the bakery was serving flavored cragels next to the basic cragels and we were there to try them out! They were selling plain, chocolate, bacon-cheddar-egg and parmesan spinach cragels. Personally I was especially impressed by the way both items were actually to be found in the eating sensation. When you take a bite, the first you notice is the flakiness of the croissant but when you are really eating your bite you feel and taste the denseness of the bagel. On top of that the flavor is very full and I have to say the bacon-cheddar-egg cragel was a delight for the taste buds! Hospitality insiders already predicted it.. 2014 will be the year of hybrid foods and I would say, this is a great kickoff!^Leonie van Spronsen
Shepherd Ham
24-1-2014
Shepherd Ham is made from sheep that are taken to graze on moorlands, dikes and other natural grazing and they are accompanied by a shepherd. Shepherd Ham is a local product of Limburg and is soft and full of flavor, available with or without bone. The meat is massaged with fine sea salt and then dry-cured for a length of time. Each Shepherd Ham has its own story: every shepherd has a UBN number that can be traced through the website. So you can see the information about the shepherd and the grazing locations.
Vending machine with salads
24-1-2014
We already have seen a number of vending machines, but mostly with unhealthy products. The vending machine of Farmers’s Fridge sells healthy, fresh packaged salads, fruits and breakfast. The company prepares the salads made of organic, local en fresh produce early in the morning and delivers the packed salads to the vending machines by 10AM. The unsold salads from the previous day will be donated to the local food bank. The vending machine has a touchscreen and is made of wood and recycled materials. Farmer’s Fridge currently has vending machines in the Chicago area.
Design contest for bed Sofitel Luxury Hotels
24-1-2014
Sofitel Luxury Hotels organizes a design contest in collaboration with the Wallpaper magazine. Designers, artists and students worldwide can submit their bed design inspired by MyBed (the Sofitel bed concept). The winning design will be displayed in the lobby of Sofitel München Bayerpost and the winner gets a free night at a Sofitel Hotel.
Brand beer brewing challenge
22-1-2014
Brand beer challenges hobby brewers to create the best Inda Pale Ale beer. Contestants have to prepare twelve bottles for tasting and testing and ten candidates can make it to the finals. Subscibtions must be made before 1 April, the bottles must be ready on 26 April. The winner will produce the beer together with the Brand brewers and will get his or her name and picture on the packaging of the first brew.
Pop up store with 22 creative entrepreneurs
21-1-2014
In the Jan Evertsenstraat in Amsterdam citizens joined forces to make the shopping street more vivid with pop-up stores. The latest achievement is the ‘Geef om de Jan Eef’ pop-up store where 22 entrepreneurs and artists host a 400m2 shop together. Doing this, they can be part-time entrepreneur and can run the shop in shifts. The product range includes goat-wool t-shirts, art, vegan wines, fashion, bikes (of course, it’s Amsterdam) and there is also a coffee corner by ‘Cup of Jo’. The combination of the various concepts enhances the reach of the shop and makes it a vivid meeting place for creatives from the area. The pop-up shops make the neighbourhood more interesting for other entrepreneurs. The street becomes a place where startups can develop in a steady pace and perhaps open a permanent shop in the future.
Buy a cow
16-1-2014
The need for sustainable produced meat increases. At the website koopeenkoe.nl consumers can buy a ‘horizontal’ part of a cow together with other consumers, also called ‘crowd butching’. The cows of koopeenkoe.nl have three times more space than an average cow and don’t eat manipulated food or antibiotics. If the entire cow is sold, the cow is slaughtered and the meat matured. Buyers receive a 7,5 kilo meat packet for two persons, from steak to sausage. The more people buy a cow, the faster you receive the meat package at home. Because the meat of koopeenkoe.nl goes directly from farmer to consumer, the meat is affordable.
PeekInToo
15-1-2014
Curious about someone else’s life? With PeekInToo you can look through the eyes of other users for 12 seconds. Select the user based on location to catch a glimpse of a sold out concert for instance or see if the party at your local disco has started already. Facebook and Twitter had a direct influence on spreading the ‘places to be’, this app allows you to have a realtime peek in a café of club. See the video.
Kromkommer crowdfunding
13-1-2014
Around 5 – 10% of the Dutch vegetable and fruit produce is wasted because the products don’t fit the ‘common appearance’. Kromkommer wants to use these weird shaped vegetables and fruits for an alternative series of soups. Therefore Lisanne van Zwol, Jente de Vries and Chantal Engelen started a crowdfunding campaign to raise € 25. 000,- and produce the soups themselves. Their goal is to motivate 20.000 crazy vegetable heroes in 2014. According to the ladies, someone is already a vegetable hero after buying one of the soups, because the content would otherwise be wasted. The collected donations will be used for purchasing vegetables from growers, transportation to the factory, production of the soups and design and print of the labels. Donators can choose from a range of rewards like tickets to the launch event (€ 10,-), a visit to the factory or one of the growers and a fair amount of soup packages (€ 500,-).
In 2013 Kromkommer collaborated with hospitality industry wholesaler ‘Zegro’ to reduce waste. With their Kromkommer concept the ladies are nominated for the ‘Horecava Innovation Award’ 2014.
Wine cellar Graham’s 1890 Lodge
10-1-2014
Graham’s 1890 Lodge, located in Portugal in Vila Nova de Gaia, was reopened after a renovation in March 2013. This stylish nearly 200 year old wine cellar was renovated by P06-Nuno Gusmão with the idea to create a timeless and total concept were it looks like some objects and spaces were already there from the beginning. History and modern are combined and the use of wood the wine cellar gives a quiet and clean look. Not only casks of Port are aged at the lodge but it is also a visitor center where you can see thousands port barrels, cellars and you can taste different types of port. The restaurant VINUM Restaurant & Wine Bar serves traditional Portuguese dishes with an international twist and because of a huge glass wall it looks like you sit between the vessels with port.
