VAN SHA Aromatic Spice | A distilled non-alcoholic alternative
9-12-2021
Inspired by her own family’s roots, founder Sharan Bal captured the powerful and intense flavours of India in the distilled non-alcoholic dark spirit VAN SHA Aromatic Spice. The aromatic blend of Indian spices like saffron, neroli and galangal – with a subtle fresh-floral aroma, a hint of bitter-sweet citrus and warm spicy notes – creates a dark spirit. VAN SHA Aromatic Spice can be enjoyed pure on the rocks or in the mix with ginger ale. For cocktail lovers – VAN SHA is also delicious in a Not So Old Fashioned. VAN SHA is sugar-free, low-energy, GMO-free, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan, and it does not contain added sugars, sweetener or artificial flavours.
There is plenty of choice in non-alcoholic alternatives for a festive lunch, brunch, dinner or even breakfast? A mocktail is a fun addition at the holidays!
Reading Time: 2 minutes
GINAMIS | A new 0% spirit from Amsterdam
9-12-2021
GINAMIS wants to further challenge the norm in drinking in the category ‘non-alcoholic with good taste’. With this new alcohol-free spirit from Dutch soil, a cocktail can be enjoyed every moment of the day, even at breakfast. GINAMIS was officially launched on the Dutch market this week. It is a non-alcoholic spirit inspired by gin and developed, distilled and bottled in Amsterdam. The brand was conceived by brand new entrepreneurs and friends (amis) Jaap van de Weg and Cheng Yeung, who believe that taste and experience are the keys to success in the non-alcoholic segment. Both have extensive experience in the beverage industry.
The taste profile of GINAMIS is strongly determined by a unique and unusual ingredient; dandelion leaf! The dandelion (in French “dents de lion”), was the inspiration for the birth of Dan the Lion, the mischievous mixologist character of the brand. At The Dutch Non-Alcoholic Spirit Awards in October 2021, GINAMIS received a medal in the “White Spirits” category as the best Dutch non-alcoholic spirit based on taste, design and concept. Great for a non-alcoholic alternative for the upcoming Holiday Season, you can make cocktails with it for breakfast, lunch or just for fun…. With 2 mocktail recipes!
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Liemès Food District Utrecht
9-12-2021
LIEMÈS Food District is the place to be for business appointments, while shopping or for a snack on the go. In this centrally located food hall in shopping center The Wall in Utrecht, different chefs cook their dishes from around the world and bartenders shake their top cocktails. Liemès is a food district like you’ve never seen before.
Foodhall meets restaurant, streetfood meets à la carte: at Liemès you take a seat at one of the set tables and order from the food stands and the bar using a QR. The hospitable staff then serves your order(s) at your table. They don’t use disposables at Liemès, everything is served on tableware. This enhances the eating experience and is more sustainable.
In August 2020 we wrote about the Liemès Food District, it was supposed to open that autumn. We wish the entrepreneurs the best of luck and let’s hope there will not be more COVID-19 measures!
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Caféco | A consolidation of franchise formulas in the Netherlands
7-12-2021
Coffee franchise Doppio Espresso (25 venues), chocolate franchise Chocolate Company (19 venues) and coffee franchise Barista Café (23 venues) join forces, the consolidation of the franchise formulas will be called: Caféco.
Reading time: 1 minute
Trends we spotted | Week 48
7-12-2021
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…. Bacardi who has announced Astrophel “Troy” Arquiza as the new Global Master Blender for BACARDÍ® rum (the “Maestro de Ron”). And high-quality cocktails from Williams Premium such as the Margarita, Daiquiri, Espresso Martini and Old fashioned are now available in cans.
Butcher and steakhouse owner John Stirk, thought the price of the golden Tomahawk steak at Salt Bae’s new restaurant (in London) was way too high. Stirk Italian Steakhouse now has a much more affordable golden ‘Stirk-Bae’ on his menu…
Wagyu beef is known all over the world as a very exclusive piece of meat. But in Japan you simply ‘pull’ the steak from a vending machine these days! New on the market is the food safety device from Asus, which lets you know whether you have washed your fruit and vegetables sufficiently.
Foodspotting.com preceded the introduction of the app known as Foodspotting. The site allowed its users to take pictures of food that they loved. It was bought by OpenTable in 2013 and doesn’t exist anymore. ChefsTemp on about what happened to this app!
Designer water: this year’s limited-edition glass bottle of Evian water has been covered in Snowflakes by designer Not Vital. A collaboration with Moncler. Another great campaign for the Holiday Season in the UK, this time for the Bounty Bar: ‘The Lonely Bounty’.
Online cooking tutorials called ‘The Secrets of French Cuisine’ at the website of ‘Fine Dining Lovers’. We included the tutorial of the ultimate croque monsieur! And the same website gives you all the details behind the 100 days pop-up in Paris: restaurant ADMO!
Chiqueolatte opened its 8th location in The Hague and The Hoxton hotel group will open four new hotels in Europe in 2022. Tony’s Chocolonely announced that it will not build its own chocolate factory in the near future.
Reading time: 4 minutes
Trends we spotted | Week 47
26-11-2021
At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu 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 amongst others McDonald’s Germany that is testing reusables in 10 restaurants and the platform Foodsteps that helps food businesses monitor their carbon emissions.
‘The most beautiful butcher shop in the world, Victor Churchill’ opened a new butcher shop in Melbourne, check out the great images in this article. And Pizza Hut USA unveils their new, limited edition holiday Hut Shop.
The Savoy in London has unveiled the world’s first champagne forest, great decoration inspiration! And On Giving Tuesday (November 30), KFC will donate $1 for each KFC Chicken Sandwich sold to to Blessings in a Backpack.
‘Illegal Chips’ come in flavors like horse meat, Casu Marzu and poison blowfish. And a link to all the winners of McDonald’s anti-littering contest in Finland, with great ideas!
Get your pet in a festive mood at 29 Hilton locations in the UK and Ireland with a three course dog menu. Our office dog would love this menu!
24 Karat Gold Turkey | Thanksgiving at Empire Steak House
24-11-2021
Empire Steak House in New York will surprise their guests this holiday season with a unique dish, the 24 Karat Gold Turkey! A traditional dish with a fancy twist.
We’ve seen the gold wrap marketing stunt on a regularly basis, the food is always astronomical priced, but they’re also always picked up locally and internationally for some free publicity. Especially if there is also charity associated with it. Quite recently we saw the ‘Golden Boy‘ of ‘De Daltons’ in Voorthuizen in the Netherlands, who raised 5.000 euros. This amount has been donated to the local Food Bank. We also wrote about a marketing stunt by Bubbledogs in London who gave away 100 golden hot dogs as a Christmas present, and whoever got one also got a small bottle of champagne. Last summer Chipotle packed their burritos in gold foil every time the USA won a golden medal at the summer Olympic Games.
Reading time: 1 minute
FRENCH IT! | Sofitel introduces series of films to express its ‘Live The French Way’
24-11-2021
As the first international luxury hotel brand to originate from France, Sofitel Hotels & Resorts is a renowned global ambassador of modern French Art de Vivre and style. Revealing an edgier and more playful expression of the brand’s Live The French Way ethos, Sofitel is launching FRENCH IT!, a global digital campaign of six stylish short films that spotlight the brand’s passion for arts and culture by bringing the whimsy of the French language to life.
Reading time: 4 minutes
Trends we spotted | Week 46
22-11-2021
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 the Icelandverse, a great example of an ad for tourism and Redefine Meat. This Israeli start-up expands operations into Europe, they are going to 3D-print beef substitute in the Netherlands.
This Holiday Season you can play curling at the garden of the Langham hotel in London and the Alexandra pub in Wimbledon is hosting ‘don’t be on your own day’ as a lovely gesture to combat loneliness on Christmas Day.
In Hamburg you can enjoy raclette, glühwein and other Swiss winter season food in old ski gondolas at the 25Hours Hotel. And an initiative to tackle the shortage of hospitality staff from Amsterdam: The ‘Leidseplein’ class.
Korean Childhood snacks are an overnight hit because of Squid Game especially among Korean-American restaurant owners! And also in New York: the Antony Bourdain hawker centre is set to open in the beginning of 2022.
Arby’s in the US sells meat with curly and crinkle fries and now they announced the upcoming launch of its limited edition Curly Fry and Crinkle Fry Vodka. And check out the sky at Bercy Village in Paris, we love what they did!
New store concept in New York by Starbucks Pickup and Amazon Go
22-11-2021
The new store integrates the digital and physical retail experience, bringing together the connection and comfort of a Starbucks café and convenience of ‘Amazon Go’s Just Walk Out’-shopping experience. The new store concept by Starbucks Pickup and Amazon Go in New York City at 59th between Park & Lexington, opened on November 18 2021.
Reading time: 4 minutes
Distilled non-alcoholic dark spirit VAN SHA 
Distilled non-alcoholic dark spirit VAN SHA 
Sharon Bal created Van Sha
