Share the taste of Vadouvan of Jonnie Boer
20-10-2014
From 6 to 12 October home cooks could win a special prize by sharing the taste of Vadouvan by Jonnie Boer with their neighbors. The 20 home cooks who shared the most meals with Vadouvan, won a cooking workshop at the Librije(***) worth of € 95, -. The workshop will take place at the end of this year and gives the winners the opportunity to cook in a professional kitchen. During the workshop, the 20 winners will prepare three dishes featuring the Vadouvan spices of the ‘Original Spices’ line by Jonnie Boer. The master chef himself will provide the winners with tips and preparation techniques.
13 December 2014, D-Day for the new Allergen Law
16-10-2014
13 December 2014 is the day, every food provider in Europe is obliged to tell their customers or guest which products are incorporated into their product or dish. At least if one of those products has one of the 14 Allergen groups in it. Does your company already have a menu with Allergen Labels indicated per dish?
Restaurant Hemingway
Hemingway Restaurant, from ‘Grand Hotel De Draak’ (Dragon Hotel) in Bergen op Zoom has already a menu indicating if one of the 14 Allergen Groups are processed in a dish . They have chosen the above solution; a chart. Other restaurants and bars choose to work with symbols. Recently a restaurant owner asked whether it’s mandatory to have this stated in all of his menu’s? You don’t need to publish it on every menu but the information needs to be available within the restaurant, so you are able to inform your guest suffering from an allergic reaction to one of the 14 Allergen product groups.
So if you have a restaurant or a bar serving food, you have to be ready for this Allergen Law within 2 months!
Hufterproof concept: the BurgerBar
16-10-2014
In 2013 a burger bar was developed near the ‘PaintballStrand’ (Paintball Beach) in Ermelo. The bar is located near the water and has the relaxing atmosphere of a beach club. The wooden furniture provides the BurgerBar its rough edge which fits well with a concept like paintball. The BurgerBar serves a large 100% beef burger of 180 gram on a sesame bun with melted cheddar cheese, crisp lettuce, fresh tomatoes and onions as specialty. The burgers are served with thick fries in wooden crates. Besides the burgers other food & drinks are served in the crates as well. A special feature of the concept is that a discount is given for large orders: a crate for multiple people is less expensive then when ordered individually.
The concept of the burger bar was developed in 2013 by the Van Spronsen & Partners Group and has been implemented in a monumental farm in Ewijk as well.
The first CUP espressobar opened with help of crowdfunding
16-10-2014
After a successful crowdfunding campaign the first CUP (Coffee Unites People) espresso bar opened in Voorburg on 18 October. The espresso bar is an addition to mobile capuccinobar, MobiCcino, which has been active since 2004. Guido Dam, owner of the MobiCcino and Mario van Andel, passionate barista and manager of the first CUP, noticed that there is an increased demand for quality tea and coffee and a set location to get it. The CUP espresso bar is a place in the neigborhood where you meet with neighbors, friends and business associates, or where you treat yourself with a delicious coffee. You can also buy fresh ground coffee beans.
Why crowdfunding?
The gentlemen have chosen crowdfunding as a way to obtain money because this caused a direct involvement of investors in the neighborhood. For example: the local barber and real estate agent have to opportunity to invest in the neighborhood straight away. In total, an amount of € 50,000,- was collected.
We already wrote about the CoffeeQube of MobiCcino before.
Restaurant W36: Mixing flavors like music
15-10-2014
With the opening of restaurant W36, Amsterdam gained a unique culinary experience. By the motto ‘Mixing flavors like music’ W36 is a place where different flavors and styles mix. This is reflected in the menu, what a mixture is of different cuisines, and in the interior, where the contemporary design is combined with raw materials such as steel, wood, leather and glass.
ShakingSupper at Supperclub Amsterdam
14-10-2014
Every third Thursday of the month, top bartender Tess Posthumus organizes the event ‘ShakingSupper in collaboration with chef Joey de Vries. It is a special edition of the Cocktail Nights at Supperclub Amsterdam where Tess and Joey join hands for a special cocktail and food pairing. The evenings consist out of a five-course dinner or small bites, matching with surprising cocktails and music by Sheila Hill and Wife Beaters.
Bringing Lost Animals back on the menu
14-10-2014
‘Lost animals’ like bull calves, young goats and Jersey bulls are usually destroyed because they have little economic value. Willem Schaafsma of restaurant ‘Eindeloos’, Sicco Gerlsma of restaurant ‘Tandjong Priok’ and butcher Jan Walburg established the ‘Lost Animals’ foundation. This Frisian (north part of the Netherlands) foundation wants to prevent animal cruelty and reduce the waste of these ‘lost animals’. The foundation was launched on 4 October 2014, World Animal Day, at a special lunch in the partially reopened restaurant ‘Tandjong Priok’ in Arum by signing an agreement with a local farmer, cattle dealer and butcher.
FG Food Gamble as reaction to promotion weeks
13-10-2014
In response to the many restaurant promotion weeks in the Netherlands, François Geurds of FGRestaurant**, FGFoodLab and FGShop introduced the ‘FG Food Gamble’ promotion. For a fixed price of € 130, – per person, guests can challenge their luck with the number of courses they will get at the two starred Michelin restaurant. They may draw a card with 4 to 7 courses on it and the kitchen staff will prepare the number of courses that is drawn, or the average amount in the case of different cards. A joker card is hidden between the deck, which will mean an extra for instance live cocktail making at the table.
Counterpart of promotion weeks
With this creative campaign François Geurds introduced a countermove for the many promotion weeks. François mentions in the interview by MissetHoreca, that some of the organized actions may affect the company in a negative way. For this reason, he takes matters into his own hands with this FG Food Gamble promotion and will not join third party campaign weeks anymore.
Make your own signature Dutch cheese
9-10-2014
Would you, as chef or company, like to make your own signature Dutch cheese with Mirjam, feel free to contact her!
Mirjam van Hest, daughter of chef Martin Willemsen, started her cheese making profession after finishing her education at the Hotel Management School. Together with her husband, William van Hest, she runs the wholesale cheese company Fromagerie Guillaume, since 1995. Nowadays their son Bas also works at the company which is specialized in composing cheese assortments for the top notch restaurants.
The idea for creating signature cheeses
A while ago Mirjam had the idea to create a cheese with Cas Spijkers (famous Dutch chef), based on his herbs and spices-knowledge and her cheese knowledge. Because of the unfortunally and early death of Cas Spijkers this remained just an idea. Now, a couple of years later, the first cheeses have been created with some other inspiring chefs. Mirjam uses Dutch milk from cows which are grass-fed in the area between Heusden and Altena as a base for her artisan, extra creamy farm cheese. She also has her own website for these cheeses; Mir’s Heart & Soul, at the website you can find where her cheeses are sold.
Popular dishes from New York at Hudson Bar & Kitchen in Zoetermeer
9-10-2014
Hudson Bar & Kitchen, the New York-style restaurant with dishes like the Hudson Burger, Organic Hot Dogs, Chili Con Carne, Wraps, Nachos, Chicken Wings, Cheese Cake and cocktails such as the Royal Mojito and Long Island Ice Tea, recently opened in Zoetermeer.
Willem Post about the similarity between restaurants in NYC and Hudson Bar & Kitchen
During the opening there was a short speech by Willem Post (NYC expert) in which he indicated the similarities between restaurants in the city and the atmosphere and menu of Hudson Bar & Kitchen. He gave his new book, The Magic of New York, to Mariette van Leeuwen, who is alderman of Zoetermeer and officially opened the restaurant. She gave the owners an olive tree…. here we have to point out that currently the growth of the Hudson Bar & Kitchen chain is faster than an olive tree grows. Hudson Bar & Kitchen in Zoetermeer is already the 6th restaurant of the chain. The other locations are in The Hague, Naaldwijk, Rotterdam, Noordwijkerhout and Almere.
About Hudson Bar & Kitchen
The restaurant is located in the ‘Sara Lydia Hoeve’ in Zoetermeer. It’s a spacious, modern decorated restaurant with wall paintings and has a rural American look and feel. In the weekends they have the ‘Afterdinner Beatz’ with DJs and on Sundays the ‘family day’ includes entertainment for the little ones. The restaurant also serves a High Wine arrangement which we earlier wrote about. In the Hudson Suite on the first floor you can eat with a private group.
We wish the owners, Doina Jonkman – de Gier and Alain Reestman lots of success with their new business.
