Cooking with matching music
24-10-2013
Get in the mood during cooking? The new Spotify-app Supper combines recipes with music. The app provides the difficulty level per dish and it shows for how many people the recipe is. There are two playlists per recipe: one for when you cook and one for when you eat. If you for instance bake a pizza, you will get more in the mood with the matching Italian music. The app is available in Spotify’s desktop program, but the number of recipes is still limited.
Check-splitter by Google
22-10-2013
A group of Google employees have applied for a patent that describes a process for splitting bill. This application might indicate the development of an app where (restaurant) bills can be divided easily and mobile payments are tracked automatically.
Is this the solution for ‘Going Dutch’ in restaurants, or just an unnecessary gadget?
Hans is hungry
22-10-2013
The vertical pop-up restaurant ‘Hans heeft Honger’ (translated as Hans is hungry) took place in the ‘Hans Struijk’ bicycle warehouse on 11 and 12 October. Organizer Milou Turpijn (Ourground) convinced Bastiaan Hagenouw (Owner ‘Hans Struijk bicycles) to open up the warehouse for this event and upcoming chef Edwin Sander created the dishes in a temporary kitchen on location and the guests were brought to their tables by fork-lift truck. A fully 5 course dinner was cooked with extraordinary tastes like ‘escabeche’ from lime leaf, Gillardeau oyster and red onion compote with vanilla. The grand dessert was served directly on the tables that were coated with a special canvas for this occasion.
A first date at Bagels and Beans
21-10-2013
The online dating platform Pepper.nl started a collaboration with Bagels & Beans to help the love a little. By pressing the button JustCoffee, new members of Pepper.nl can go on a mini-date at Bagels & Beans worth € 10,= per person. At one of the 54 Bagels & Beans locations singles can meet each other and see if it really clicks into real life. This collaboration stimulates a first date and it gives a nice interpretation of the JustCoffee button.
Innovative fast food packaging
18-10-2013
The innovative ‘Togo Burger’ packaging is developed by the American student Seulbi Kim. In the package, you can put some fries, a burger and a drink, it is a lot smaller than a normal fast food packaging. The ‘Togo Burger’ is more durable and you can wear it in one hand. Unfortunately the Togo Burger is not yet for sale.
A work in Progress by Rene Redzepi
17-10-2013
During the opening of the Restaurant week Leiden on November 7, top chef René Redzepi will present his new book ‘A work in Progress‘. René Redzepi wrote down all the occurrences of his restaurant NOMA which resulted in the book ‘A work in Progress’: Notes of Food, Cooking and Creativity. The book consists of three parts: a diary, a recipe book and a photo book. The book contains never before seen photos taken by René Redzepi and his team. It will give readers a peek behind the scenes of the restaurant. During the meeting on November 7, various restaurants in Leiden will serve culinary delights and guests will receive a copy of the new book. You can be present for € 100,=, this includes a signed copy of the book. Check the website of Leidslekkers for the program.
Rollware
16-10-2013
Love to bake, but want some variation? Use the Rollware, a set of laser cut dough rollers with different patterns. By rolling the Rollware over the (bread) dough, you will simply get an original patterns. The dough rollers are designed and developed by students at the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam.
Flammkuchen available in the Netherlands
15-10-2013
In the spring I spent a few days in Germany, during which we went for drinks with friends and with that we shared a ‘Flammkuchen, originated from the Alsace region (France)’. Actually we thought to get a quiche but the thin crust of the ‘flammkuchen’ tasted much better. In addition, everyone at the table was convinced that this would taste great as lunch or light dinner dish as well. And the crust can be used with al kind of toppings of course.
Alex Klein Casual Dining BV introduces the ‘flammkuchen’ currently in the Netherlands as a new revenue model for catering businesses. Indeed, the margins on this product are very good and the preparation time is one minute and baking takes 3 minutes. A great business model for entrepreneurs and I know from experience that you will do your guests a favor. ^ Marjolein
Curry pop-up in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Boston
15-10-2013
The Mandarin Oriental, Boston Curry Pop-up will be in the hotel’s lobby lounge every day from Sept. 30-Nov. 1, 12 pm until 1:30 pm. They choose for the curry theme to pay homage to the hotel’s Thai roots in Bangkok. The curry pop-up offers a choice of 2 Thai Curry Bowl’s who recipes originate from the Sala Rim Naam Thai restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok. Great to use the original cuisine from the chain as pop-up in a hotel lobby. An originated Dutch hotel would serve ‘stamppot’ (in between stew and hotchpot) in a pop-up lobby restaurant during the winter. At the Sala Rim Naam Thai Restaurant they have an eye for small details, like a rose in a wine cooler or flowers in an ice sculpture. We are wondering if the pop-up restaurant in Boston also implements these details. Only the atmosphere of the terrace of the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok can’t be equalized in Boston.
Four Seasons Taste Truck
14-10-2013
Giving people a chance to taste the dishes from Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the hotel chain has introduced the FS Taste Truck. Since 16 September, the food truck drives to eight destinations in three states, from Palo alto, California to Santa Fe, New Mexico. During the tour the nearest Four Seasons Hotel will take over the FS Taste Truck and serves dishes inspired by the city visiting. The food truck will be parked for one week in each location at the Four Seasons Hotel there, hosting a series of events. The FS Taste Truck can be followed via #FSTasteTruck on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.