The Snertkroket, a taste of winter in a crispy crust
15-1-2016
At the Horecava Frio Food introduced the Snertkroket. The Snertkroket is a real Dutch speciality, a croquette filled with ‘snert’, which is a soup made of split peas.
Typical Dutch dish used in a croquette
The typical Dutch dish ‘erwtensoep or snert’ used in another typical Dutch treat the croquette; the Snertkroket. This real wintery dish has a crispy crust filled with a creamy ragout made of the best of ‘split pea soup’! Filled with vegetables such as peas, carrots and real pieces of sausage. Frio Food the producer of the Snertkroket recommends to serve it on a slice of rye bread or just as a snack. We place the Snertkroket in our overview of variations on the traditional Dutch croquette.
Developer of the Snertkroket
This real winter delicacy was developed by Harald Swinkels, who dreamed of his own croquette factory as a 15 year old boy. He prepares his products in a traditional way with the finest ingredients and uses traditional recipes that have been used by his father. From his father he learned the tricks of the trade. The Snertkroket is one of the many ‘kroketten’ Frio Food sells.
You might consider putting a kroket or bitterbal on your menu. It’s one of those streetfoods most foreigners love in Holland!
McDonald’s Next, is high-tech the solution to a healthier reputation and more sales?
14-1-2016
McDonald’s Next in Hong Kong; a new high-tech restaurant and a new experiment to revamp their reputation.
McDonald’s Next serves
The new high-tech restaurant, located in the Admiralty district, has touch-screen computers where you create and order your meal, so no more queuing in front of a counter. The new restaurant has a salad bar which is shown in the ‘theatre kitchen’. This allows consumers to watch the process of the making of their salad. Examples of the salad ingredients are asparagus, couscous, corn and quinoa. As you watch the video or check out the pictures in the article of the Daily Mail Online you can only conclude that the salad bar matches what you might expect in a deli. In addition they also serve fresh pastries and premium coffee in the McCafé style.
Besides the salad bar you can order from the regular hamburger menu or make use of the ‘Create Your Taste’ option, allowing you to build your own burger with gourmet ingredients. This ‘Create Your Taste’ option is already implemented at the McDonald’s in Australia and in New Zealand.
The Next interior
The interior; pleasant lighting for a relaxed atmosphere, long wide tables create a cafe / restaurant ambiance and like at many coffee shops chains they have wireless phone chargers. Furthermore the elements, wood, glass and stainless steel are used. They’re also experimenting with table service after 6 pm…
You will probably not recognize this McDonald’s except for the golden arches ;-). The Daily Mail concludes it’s a new attempt of McDonald’s to change direction and create a more healthier image. Well we would love to see a McDonald’s restaurant like that here in the Netherlands!
Ice cream macarons
12-1-2016
A new twist of a French specialty: the ice cream macaron! Otelli introduces these ice cream macarons in two flavours, mango-passion and raspberry during the Horecava in Amsterdam.
The ice cream macarons are made locally
The ice cream macarons by Otelli, producer of ice cream and patisserie specialties, are prepared in the Netherlands. At Otelli in Haarlem, the French almond macarons are baked. The macarons are filled with ice cream made from organic milk, pasteurized at a farm in the Haarlemmerliede. A swirl of mango-passion sorbet or raspberry sorbet is added to the ice cream. The macarons are 8 cm in diameter and served in a nice packaging with Parisian drawings.
Available at Otelli
These trendy ice cream macarons can be used as dessert or be served as a to go snack. Otelli offers a wide range of homemade ice creams, mono desserts, petit fours, tarts and dessert buffets. All products are made with real cream and butter, pure nut pastes, couverture and fresh fruit.
Sichuan bitterballen (small croquettes)
6-1-2016
On Aziatische-ingredienten.nl you can find a delicious recipe for Sichuan bitterballen. Bitterballen are small and round croquettes, which are a real Dutch treat.
Of course there is an Asian example of our Dutch pride: the Sichuan bitterballen
We received multiple reactions on the article about croquettes in the leading role, in which we also included the Italian bitterballen (Arancini). Amongst others Robin Kok send us her recipe for Asian bitterballen. The recipe, unfortunately only available in Dutch, sounds delicious!
For her Sichuan bitterballen Robin used ‘Sichuan style red boiled beef’ that includes ingredients like ginger, chilli bean sauce, rice wine and Chinese dark soy sauce. She makes a dummy proof roux with gelatin. Because of the gelatin the small croquettes are much easier to mold once the roux is cold and therefore need less flour. For the crust she uses panko! On Aziatische-ingredienten.nl Robin shares more recipes. I read some blog posts which are mouth-watering like dried tangerine peel, Youtiao (fried bread sticks) and Salak (snake fruit). ^Marjolein
Burger Kitchen by New York Pizza
30-12-2015
Since yesterday (29 December, 2015), The Burger Kitchen, the hamburger by New York Pizza can be ordered in the Netherlands. During 2015 New York Pizza has researched and tested the way to deliver a perfect, warm hamburger. Having started as a pioneer in the pizza market (1993) New York Pizza is now going to create a market for delivering luxurious burgers. As the first chain in the Netherlands, New York Pizza has created a deluxe burger, made of pure beef with no artificial ingredients, to deliver.
Burger Kitchen
According to the CEO of New York Pizza, Philippe Vorst, is their hamburger, which they called ‘Burger Kitchen by New York Pizza’, made of 100% top quality beef, pepper, salt and love for the profession. At New York Pizza the delivery process is one of the core activities and this process is well managed. This allows them to ensure that they deliver a hot hamburger.
For the Dutch hamburger market Philippe Vorst foresees a big growth. According to the latest Foodshopper Monitor by FSIN (FoodService Institute Netherlands) the Dutch eat on average 25 hamburgers a year. The average American in contrary eats 150 hamburgers a year. In addition, the Monitor reports a sharp increase and continued demand for honest and fresh fast casual food, which include hamburgers.
Wrong Christmas Sweater party
23-12-2015
On the Korte Heuvel in the Dutch town Tilburg, they celebrated the last Friday Afternoon Party before Christmas with a ‘Wrong Christmas Sweater’ theme.
Wrong Christmas Sweater party
Last year, the largest Friday afternoon party from Tilburg has been a huge success as well and they had the same theme; Foute Kersttrui (Wrong Christmas Sweater). Hundreds of people gathered at the party area of the Korte Heuvel to kick of the holiday season with colleagues and friends. Santa and his Christmas wives were present and there were torches everywhere. One could eat our famous Dutch pea soup (snert) and there was plenty of glühwein (mulled wine) and beer. This year the ‘Wrong Christmas Sweater’ party was held on Friday 18th December as from 17:00 everyone was welcome. With a wrong Christmas sweater you received free mulled wine at Polly Maggoo. Initiators are the owners of Polly Maggoo and it is now adopted by a number of cafes in the area.
Inspiration
Come up with a nice theme and prolong the festivities surrounding Christmas. Since 18 December, the Christmas Season started and there is no one available for work-related Christmas parties so this initiative in Tilburg is a lovely way to throw a party and to generate additional revenue. Win / win for participants and entrepreneurs. Just as the ‘Kerstmiddag’ (Christmas Afternoon) on 24 December in Hengelo.
Sommelierwijnen; a new Dutch initiative for sommeliers with guts
22-12-2015
Sommelierwijnen (Sommelier Wine) is making exceptional wines from small, but very good winemakers available for the Dutch gastronomy. Sommelierwijnen is an initiative of eight wine importers who have joined forces to sell all their wines through one contact. Various sommeliers from Dutch Michelin starred restaurants already work with them.
Collaboration to make wine from small but major wineries accessible
The founders of Sommelierwijnen are all importers with great skill and passion for wines that are being delivered to restaurants. By combining their offerings they make it possible for sommeliers to work with several wineries that would otherwise be inaccessible or impractical. In plain language: you’re not waiting for yet another wine supplier where you might only buy 60 bottles a year or even less. Even though the wine is very special! Thanks to this initiative, sommeliers are now able to order wines at 8 different importers with the benefit of just one contact and one invoice.
One-stop-shopping at Sommelierwijnen
These importers offer many unique wines from the Jura, Corsica, India and even Thailand. Even from within Europe, they sell classic wines made from unknown grapes like Tibouren, Elbling, Frühroter and Roter Veltliner and unknown wines from for example Madeira, Serbia and Bosnia. The 8 different wine suppliers do introduce themselves at the website, each with two of their so-called ‘signature wines’; wines that are an example for their vision and quality.
Curiosity Kitchen gives the ancient ‘oliebol’ new flavours
18-12-2015
Curiosity Kitchen has created three unique ‘oliebol’ flavours. An oliebol is a traditional Dutch treat at New Year’s Eve and tastes like a donut. The flavours: hazelnut paste, lemon curd and raisins soaked in whiskey and crispy fried bacon.
The oliebollen
They will make three types of the ancient recipe from oliebollen on the 31st of December. Oliebollen with hazelnut spread, with lemon curd and in whiskey soaked raisins and crispy fried bacon. They searched for bold flavours which also guarantee a good texture so the oliebollen still have the right creaminess, hot and cold.
Curiosity kitchen oliebollen pick-up party
The three friends, Dennis Favier, Joeri Hollink and Jeroen Advokaat will be baking the oliebollen themselves and will organise a party while selling them. The friends will start baking early in the morning and hope to sell more than 2,000 oliebollen! You can pre-order your oliebollen but they also make sure that people who are spontaneously visiting the pick-up party in Pavlov cafe in Gorinchem (The Netherlands) will be able to buy some oliebollen. Don’t be disappointed if all the oliebollen have been sold already During the pick-up party the café will serve glühwein (mulled wine) and there will be music!
Plans for 2016
Officially Curiosity Kitchen will start in 2016 and within the concept they will design new food concepts and products. Meaning that with this initiative they will start 2016 appropriately! Dennis and Joery both are educated food designers and they have many plans, including a series of Kitchen Takeovers. As Dennis Favier told on the phone; they are going to bring their hobby into practice and hope that this will grow beyond their wildest dreams. We wish them lots of success! ^ Marjolein
Roast Chicken Bar, a hip chicken concept
17-12-2015
On Sunday, 13 December a new restaurant, the Roast Chicken Bar has opened in Haarlem (The Netherlands) on the Turfmarkt. A hip chicken concept with rotisserie chicken!
The initiators and owners of Roast Chicken Bar, Bas Lammersen and Michael Kras want to create a place where you can eat the best chicken of Haarlem and surroundings. The hen and her eggs are the highlights on the menu. The eggs are served in many ways, for example as ‘Egg Store Sliders’ (in a brioche bowl) with names like ‘The Hangover’ (egg with bacon and gorgonzola). And ‘The Eggsperience’ including an Avo & Egg combination which is really appealing! In addition there are some classics on the menu such as Egg Benedict and Florentine and snacks, salads and sides such as bio chips with homemade mayo. We think that the menu sounds good. When we are in Haarlem, we most certainly will visit the Roast Chicken Bar!
Hip chicken concept
In March 2015 our colleague Guido Verschoor wrote in his blog (unfortunately only in Dutch) that he expected a revival of chicken concepts in the coming months. Partly based on rotisserie chicken concepts in New York, such as Papa Poule, but also closer to home, Poule Poulette in Antwerp. This is what happening now, in a fairly rapid pace! Even in Haarlem they have a second chicken concept: De Kippenhal.
We wish Michael and Bas lots of fun in their new business and success of course! ^Marjolein
A small hospitable gesture: Children’s buffet
14-12-2015
The 5-star Brown’s Hotel in London, is not only entertaining for parents but for the children as well. Brown’s Hotel offers, besides the normal buffet, a full equipped children’s station on the buffet during breakfast.
Children’s buffet
The children’s buffet at the Brown’s hotel can only be used by children, ‘no parents allowed’! Equipped with a selection of cereal favourites, fresh fruit, pastries and even reading material for when they are waiting for mum and dad to finish their breakfast and newspaper.
The Italian Baglioni Hotel Regina offers a small buffet especially designed for children as well. One of our followers sent us the pictures, as can be seen above, of the hotel situated in Rome. The Brown’s Hotel and the Baglioni Hotel Regina are both member of The Leading Hotels of the World.
If you spot nice hospitable gestures, please let us now and send an email to tip@spronsen.com.
A guide for child-friendly hospitality industry
The children’s buffet could have been mentioned in the guide for a child-friendly hospitality industry named ‘Kinderen aan tafel’, published in Belgium. The booklet provides a self-test for restaurant owners, practical checklists, tips & tricks for child-friendly service, menu suggestions, tips for plate decoration and additional services. Unfortunately it’s only available in Dutch.
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