Food Fighters Universe | The first NFT-backed restaurant group
11-4-2022
Andy Nguyen and Kevin Seo, the foodpreneurs behind the world’s first Bored Ape restaurant, Bored & Hungry, recently announced Food Fighters Universe (FFU), an NFT collection that will connect food and Web3. Launching in May, FFU will be a collection of 10,000 unique tokens on the ETH (Ethereum) blockchain. Each purchase will help to develop the world’s first NFT-backed restaurant group, focused on building gathering places in real life (IRL) and the metaverse, while offering utility and experiences for Food Fighters NFT holders. “I saw the Web3 space as a way to fix those problems and save the restaurant industry.” – Andy Nguyen.
Although we don’t see exactly what Andy Nguyen means with saving the restaurant industry, it’s an interesting development. They opened Bored & Hungry last Saturday and the 10,000 tokens will give members access to special events, rewards, and other perks. In January 2022 we wrote about the exclusive Flyfish Club, which is expected to open in New York City in 2023. A membership card for this exclusive club and restaurant is an NFT purchased with cryptocurrency.
3 minutes read
RoboBurger | The world’s first robot burger chef in a vending machine
7-4-2022
RoboBurger, the world’s first fully autonomous robotic burger chef, recently launched with a ribbon cutting at the Newport Centre, a Simon Mall in Jersey City, NJ. This restaurant in miniature cooks restaurant-quality freshly grilled burgers from scratch, and it will soon be heading to airports, malls, colleges, offices, factories, and military bases across the country.
2 minutes read
Trends we spotted | Week 13
4-4-2022
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 and amongst others three Instagram posts we spotted, the special branding of Mr. Charlie’s in Los Angeles with their red/yellow colors as well as the upside down smile. And Miss Crispy Rice who recently opened inside the Oasis Wynwood in Miami, serving crispy rice sushi!
Another Instagram post that we really love is one from Paris where restaurant La Bourse et la Vie hired 3 refugees from Ukraine and changed their cuisine and their name in Le Borscht et la Vie as of yesterday for 2 months.
Dubai is the 36th destination which will have its own Guide MICHELIN! The first selection of restaurants will be revealed in June. And McDonald’s USA surprises fans with unexpected Szechuan Sauce drop. Great idea a limited time offer of products from the past, which product would you bring back?
SALSA SHOP is a fast growing brand of fresh Mexican food restaurants, they recently opened the 10th restaurant in the Netherlands and they have big dreams for Europe. And a great initiative of Culinair Leiden in our hometown, a 6.5 km long festive ribbon of tables along the Singelpark route on 25 and 26 June 2022: Singelpark Dinner.
Restaurant commerce platform, GoTab, recently announced that it is partnering with Mastercard to transform the digital checkout experience in hospitality venues across the US with the implementation of Click to Pay.
Wendyverse™ | Wendy’s® opens first restaurant in virtual reality
1-4-2022
Wendy’s® is teaming up with creators in Meta’s Horizon Worlds to make (virtual) dreams come true with the grand opening of the Wendyverse™ in Horizon Worlds on April 2. Virtual reality becomes reality as Wendyverse™ gives fans all-new 3D opportunities to virtually interact with each other and the brand – as only Wendy’s can.
Another brand that seeks the Metaverse, recently we read that McDonald’s USA also has plans in that direction.
3 minutes read
Under The Sea by Ephemera Restaurant Group | The first immersive restaurant in Paris
31-3-2022
Recently opened in Paris, at the MK2 Bibliothèque on 160 Avenue France in the 13th arrondissement, the first immersive restaurant in France: Under The Sea by Ephemera. The three young entrepreneurs of the Ephemera Restaurant Group, Jade Frommer, Annaïg Ferrand and chef Loris de Vaucelles, created a restaurant where your taste buds will be surprised, without breaking the bank and where you will immerse yourself and your company in the theme of the ocean. Video projections on large screens, light and sound effects and a spectacular décor: everything to create a unique atmosphere within the place. The chef is Loris de Vaucelles and he works with high quality products and has a lot of creativity, watch the video later in the article.
So if you’re driving to the South of France this summer, a visit to Paris and a plonge in the ocean to discover its ‘majestic fauna and luminescent flora’ whilst enjoying real French cuisine for a reasonable price, might be a fun idea!
1 minute read
Trends we spotted | Week 12
29-3-2022
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 amongst others the Bjarke Ingels Group, they unveiled a treetop hotel room in Sweden covered with 350 bird houses. And the 25hours Hotels introduce a 4-day working week in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Some openings: The Big Mamma Group will open Giorgia Trattoria in Munich this summer and today (March 28) the fourth Gucci Osteria will open in Seoul. In Berlin the new Café Camaleon opened, it’s an all-day casual dining concept at the Casa Camper Berlin. Camper is a famous shoe concept from Spain.
Come 2025, the way Parisians commute will change with the launch of Câble 1, Paris‘ first urban cable car. The new 4.5-kilometer line will connect suburbs in the city’s southeast to the Metro system. And a link to great images of the high-end breakfast all day concept in Berlin: Frühstück 3000.
Starbucks and Volvo will build an EV charging network from the Colorado Rockies to their Support Center in Seattle. And Portland in Oregon will get the first sports bar dedicated to women’s games: The Sports Bra.
DB collection | Fashionable work sneakers by Bata Industrials
10-3-2022
Bata Industrials is launching the DB collection of work shoes in collaboration with Beekman Group. This fashion collection consists of stylish safety sneakers designed by top designer Dyanne Beekman (DB). The first series of the DB collection consists of three work sneakers in Black, White and Black and White. Each of them are eye-catchers under any business outfit. The trendy DB.01 sneaker is feather light and offers excellent support and comfort for good stability. It has high-quality grip and slip resistance, even above the European safety standard. The sneaker is antibacterial and washable for maximum hygiene. It is available for women and men, EU size 35/48.
3 minutes read
Trends we spotted | Week 9
4-3-2022
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 Deliveroo that opened its first real restaurant in London, Pizza Paradiso. Do you wonder why?
The award ceremony of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2022 in July moves from Moscow to London. And Ikea opened its first city centre shopping mall in west London, Livar.
Also in London: the reopening of The Connaught Grill. Another opportunity to taste the cuisine of Jean-Georges Vongerichten. And European aparthotel operator Staycity has opened a new-build property at Germany’s Frankfurt Airport this month, its third opening in Germany, bringing its total apartment count up to 5,000 in 30 properties at 14 European destinations.
Being able to get a pizza from a vending machine 24/7: Resto’Clock currently installs about 30 vending machines per month in France and Belgium. We also came across BistroBox in Austria where you can pull a pizza from the machine within 2 minutes.
The #KentuckyFriedGivingChallenge in America is a good example of involving young guests in ‘a good cause’ via TIKTOK®. And in the field of sustainability, we came across the Norwegian material science company B’ZEOS. They are working with international companies to replace single-use plastics with seaweed-based alternatives.
Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
Trends we spotted | Week 8
25-2-2022
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 amongst others a new restaurant for Alain Ducasse in Paris, Le Salon des Manufactures and the Dutch restaurant chain ‘The Avocado Show’ will open in Stuttgart in April.
Bunk Hotel Amsterdam is reopening with a special give-away – a Staycation party! Check out your change to win this party. And the Dutch Kever Genever is facing legal problems with their Kever John Lemon Canned Cocktail.
The 2nd edition of the Colors Festival will be held in Paris, From April 2 to May 8 2022, you can enjoy street art in the 11th arrondissement. Two new spectacular editions of Grand Marnier, Quintessence and Révélation, give expression to the simplest of combinations: cognac, orange essence, wood, and time.
Travel Outlook, a premium hotel call center, introduced Bella. Bella is the hospitality industry’s first AI-powered Virtual Hotel Agent™ and Aldi in Australia is testing a robotic pizza vending machine, the Pizzabot.
As many virus experts say that COVID is here to stay, it might be wise to install an air purifier. AiroDoctor® V10P-ID is a passive in-channel photocatalysis unit designed to effectively filter and clean the airflow in small and medium-sized air handling units (HVAC).
Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!
SavorEat | Personalized plant-based 3D printed hamburgers made by a chef robot
24-2-2022
An ordering app as your waiter and a robot as your chef! More and more examples of these two items are spotted worldwide. The app is common use now and robots are spotted in restaurants as well. They’re an asset at the moment you can’t find enough staff. But we now spotted an Israeli foodtech firm SavorEat that combines it all. Customers order their personalized plant-based hamburger through an app and their robot will 3D print it and cook it to their preferences.
The robot chef of SavorEat is a technological solution to digitally manufacture meat alternatives from non-GMO plant-based proteins, according to individual tastes. They focus on consumer’s needs and are putting the individual front and center. This approach puts the company in the new future of the Food Industry while offering solutions for fast-moving kitchens. The robot chef has been unveiled in collaboration with the Israeli hamburger chain BBB (Burgus Burger Bar). They also connected with Sodexho, which feeds students at major US universities, to start trial the system this year.
2 minutes read
Food Fighters Universe founders Andy Nguyen and Kevin Seo. credits Evan Lancaster
Food Fighters Universe founders Andy Nguyen, Phillip Huynh and Kevin Seo with advisory team member Bun B. credits Evan Lancaster
Food Fighters Universe Mascot "Pete Za".
The Food Fighters Universe team in Los Angeles on March 30, 2022, during NFTLA. Credits Evan Lancaster
