The iSommelier by iFavine
13-11-2015
The iSommelier filters oxygen from the air and herewith the decanting process is being accelerated, reducing the time from a few hours to minutes. The iSommelier is a product of iFavine.
Glass carafes fit in the neatly designed device in which purified oxygen is added to the wine. In the corresponding mobile app the knowledge concerning thousands of wines from around the world is collected. The device is programmed in a way that the winemaker tells the user how the wine should be drunk.
The iSommelier by iFavine, a perfect balance between oxygen and wine.
That is the effect of the iSommelier, which excludes all the limitations of traditional decanting. Several natural elements in the air can affect the quality of a wine when it is traditionally decanted; pollution, odours, moist, differences in air pressure or temperature. This first ‘smart decanter’ uses new technology to provide solutions to these problems. Three filters purify the air and increase the oxygen content from the average of 21% to a maximum of 90%. Moreover, it removes pollutants and moist. The device isolates oxygen from nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. The iSommelier includes a patented glass carafe. This carafe is specially designed to distribute oxygen evenly throughout the wine. This results in a constant level of oxygen in the wine which makes tannins rounder and the wine tastes more elegant. As a result of this method all flavours will be enhanced and the full potential of the wine will be revealed.
According to the Dutch ambassador of the iSommelier by iFavine, Edwin Raben (famous Dutch sommelier) each restaurant should have a iSommelier. “Restaurants will be able to decant their (arrangement) wines by the glass. Moreover, also young wines can be consumed much earlier because of the softening effect at the tannins. The effect on white wines is also huge, think for example of young Riesling.”
There are already a couple of Dutch restaurants working with the iSommelier: for example FG restaurant and FG Food Lab by Francois Geurds (Rotterdam), restaurant Beluga (Maastricht), Restaurant Fred (Rotterdam), Wolf Atelier (Amsterdam) and the Sotto Wine Lounge (Ermelo).
Alain Rosier (sommelier restaurant FG & FG Food Labs) over the iSommelier
“We started working with the iSommelier last week and we are experimenting as we speak. This week we opened a great Château Mouton Rothschild 1985 (see photo) and we were able to serve the wine after 30 minutes with a great bouquet. With the iSommelier you can act quickly if a wine needs a little more oxygen to make the wine more tasteful. Heavy tannins as in wines with 100% Tannat grapes, break down easily with the iSommelier. Additionally, you can serve wine more quickly and you do not have to decant the wines for hours if they are ordered beforehand.”
The iSommelier by iFavine is sold from 24 November at the Makro and for consumers in the Netherlands at Oldenhof Kookwinkel.
Ski slope at the Christmas fair
10-11-2015
At Potsdamer Platz in Berlin a ‘Winter’ fair has already opened with a ski slope! Something different than the ‘standard’ skating rink!
Every year more cities are hosting an authentic ‘Christmas or Holiday’ fair at the end of the year. The most beautiful locations for Christmas fairs in the Netherlands are in the South of Limburg (Valkenburg), but also in Leiden where the Christmas fair is located on water… Both with skating rinks, an addition to the winter fun at Christmas fairs.
Dry Ski slope at the Christmas market instead of an ice rink
Last week I spent a couple of days in Berlin were we visited the ‘Winter’ fair at the Potsdamer Platz. They don’t have a skating rink (yet), but one can glide down a ski slope on tires. It is a dry ski slope with some fake snow from which one can glide on snow tires.
In my perception a dry ski slope is much more sustainable than an ice rink! Furthermore, winters are rare therefore children can’t learn how to skate on natural ice, so the group that knows how to skate is getting smaller. ‘Rutschen’ from a slope on a snow tire is a lot easier! ^ Marjolein
If you are looking for more inspiration, check out other Christmas markets all over the world. Fodors collected 10 holiday markets in this article.
Robotic arm to slice kebab.
16-10-2015
Super Kebab in Stoke Newington, North London has introduced a new robotic arm to slice their döner meat. We noticed some technical improvements excluding a lot of manual labour.
At Super Kebab they’re working with a robotic arm
The user controls the robot with a remote control enabling him to adjust the speed and the thickness of the slices. If you watch the video, you will notice that the slices are very thin making your döner kebab more yummy!
The robotic arm is made by Atalay döner in Istanbul, Turkey. They installed the first Robotic arm in the United Kingdom at Super Kebab in London. The robotic arm glides up and down the tower of meat guided by sensors. The owner Hakan Gorenli is very happy with his investment (around 5.000 pounds) and thinks many kebab restaurants will follow. His customers are happy with the precise and hygienical way the meat is cut.
Robots in the hospitality industry
We recently wrote about the healthy fast food (lunch) restaurant ‘Eatsa’ in San Francisco that looks more like an electronics store than a restaurant. There is no staff to take orders and everything is fully automated. The founders of Eatsa promise faster, more nutritious, affordable and tastier meals. This is realized without staff at the front of the restaurant, like the robotic arm that reduces the manual labour. In the hotel section we spotted The Hen-na hotel that opened this summer and is staffed with robot receptionists, porters, cleaners and waitresses. Are robots slowly taking over? I hope that hospitality remains human. 😉 ^Marjolein
Virtual Reality pop-up cinema in Amsterdam
9-10-2015
&samhoud Consultancy brings the first Virtual Reality pop-up cinema to Amsterdam. The technology of virtual reality will be shown at their office on 31 October.
Virtual Reality pop-up cinema
In this pop-up cinema in the office of &samhoud Consultancy you will be centered in the middle of a movie with the help of the virtual reality glasses and headphones. The technique of virtual reality will be applied on a large scale for the first time in the Netherlands, in this pop-up cinema. Tickets will be 10 euros and can be purchased through a dedicated Facebook page. Jip Samhoud tells more about developments in Virtual Reality worldwide in an article in a Dutch Newspaper, het Parool. He thinks that the initial hype in virtual reality is over and that virtual reality will increasingly integrate. He also admits that the movie they will show, is especially made to show the effects of virtual reality. A big challenge for film producers to create new movies! The video above shows how to use the virtual reality glasses.
Creating a healthier planet while having fun with the Scale Down Challenge
6-10-2015
The Scale Down Challenge allows you to play around with your habits and choices concerning food, energy, waste and water. Thirty simple and surprising challenges can be found on the giant interactive grocery scale that travels around to schools, festivals and public spaces. The device does not weigh people, nor products, but the choices made as a consumer.
The Scale Down Challenge
Small actions can make the world a better place. Here’s a selection of the sparkling challenges the Scale Down Challenge offers: Veggie on vacation, Peanut Butter Boost, WTFridge, Supermarket Selfie, Chili sin Carne, Bring a Bottle and Bye Bye Plastic. With the last you be challenged to buy nothing out of plastic for one whole week!
Merel Mirage designed the scale with the young designers of the Design Academy. As participant you have to step on the scale and push one of the buttons. On the output ticket is written what has to been done and a special code to login and upload pictures on Instagram. The HOLY foundation of Merel Mirage is travelling to schools, conferences and museums with the scale to challenge as many people as possible. You can even enter as participant to devise your own challenge and compete for the Scale Down Challenge trophy which will be announced on Earthday 2016.
It could work in our restaurants and hotels as well: small gestures to create less waste and having fun trying to achieve the challenge!
Foodpairing with olive oil ice cream
1-10-2015
Bertolli celebrated its 150 years with foodpairing on the store floor of Albert Heijn supermarket. Foodpairing with special preparations and surprising demo mobiles. Amongst others they served the first Italian caprese ice cream with Bertolli olive oil, tomato, mozzarella and basil prepared on a cold teppanyaki plate.
Caprese with olive oil ice cream
Recently we wrote an article about ice cream that tastes like Greek salad and ice cream with pizza flavor. In addition, many chefs are experimenting with preparation methods and savory flavors of ice cream, which often taste great! Patrick Peeters sent us a link to this video with a special method to make ice cream. At several Albert Heijn supermarkets this ice was made and people could watch the preparation and taste it ….
PinkFreeWifi: Free Wi-Fi in exchange for a like
4-9-2015
More and more bars and restaurants offer free Wi-Fi in exchange for a Like or Tweet. PinkFreeWifi also provides a powerful database to obtain data which an entrepreneur can use to get acquainted with his or her guests and use to organize an appropriate campaign or activity.
Still bars, hotels and restaurants that don’t offer free Wi-Fi
With a website such as hospitalitytrends.eu we spot developments at an early stage. We wrote an article about SO WIFI by the end of 2012, which is also a supplier of routers for ‘free Wi-Fi in exchange for a like’. Meanwhile, there are more free Wi-Fi providers on the market, including PinkFreeWifi. This company is based in the Netherlands but has implemented PinkFreeWifi worldwide and they create benefits for their customers by offering the router and a database. And since we also noticed that there are still many bars, restaurants and hotels that don’t offer free Wi-Fi, we have chosen to write another article about it.
Free Wi-Fi plus a data system
The software of PinkFreeWifi is developed in collaboration with the major manufacturers of routers such as CISCO and Merraki. PinkFreeWifi works from the cloud and is therefore always available. The system is focused on the social media and uses its statistics. The entrepreneur can use these data for promotional use. The system only uses data that users share via their open social media channels. For example the system will make analyzes like the demographic area your guests are coming from etc.
Tapas Bar Català uses PinkFreeWifi
There are already several companies using PinkFreeWifi. One of the best known users is surely the Tapas Bar Català in Amsterdam. This restaurant at the Spui – diagonally across from Café Luxembourg, has been around since 1985. The owner Gabriel Machin has taken over the restaurant in 1990 and serves only tapas with an authentic Spanish flavor. His quote:
“Our guests are our main focus and it has been our mission for years to give them that home-away-from-home feeling in the best Spanish style. We have our dishes and our kitchen under control and monitor the taste of our dishes, they taste as if they are made in Spain. Fresh, healthy and high-quality products. Amsterdam is a busy city with a very diverse audience that visits us. From the tourist to Prime Minister Rutte, but also our King and Queen, HRH Willem-Alexander and HRH Maxima enjoyed our service, quality and taste. In recent years, during the economic crisis, our industry had to deal with decreasing turnovers but our motto has always been to give our customers an enjoyable and pleasant evening. We looked around to find more market opportunities to better anticipate to their wishes. That’s how we got introduced to PinkFreeWifi and that has helped us tremendously in the communication with our guests. Our restaurant is in fact very small, we only have seven tables outside and seven tables inside. PinkFreeWifi told us of the opportunities that exist through social media today. Based on the data we pulled from the database, we have adapted our menus to the wishes of our guests. Our guests come from all over the world and we were able to adapt even better. As result: an enormous increase in turnover and a waiting line outside to enter our 40M2 large/small restaurant. We even won a TRIP ADVISOR Award.”
Eatsa affordable and healthy fast service restaurant
3-9-2015
Quick and affordable quinoa lunch in healthy fast service restaurant Eatsa in San Francisco.
Healthy fast service restaurant Eatsa
The fast service (lunch) restaurant Eatsa in San Francisco looks more like an electronics store than a restaurant. There is no staff to take orders and everything is fully automated. The founders of Eatsa promise faster, more nutritious, affordable and tastier meals. The prize will be attractive at $ 6.95 for all meals.
Quinoa
The meals are all based on quinoa (pronounced as Keen-wah). The founders have chosen for quinoa because it contains all the necessary proteins we need as human beings. The production of quinoa is a lot less damaging to the environment than animal proteins.
Order
The meals can be ordered on a touch screen, once your food is ready your name appears on one of the glass cabinets and you can grab it. This video of TechCrunch shows how it works. The restaurant is located at 121 Spear Street in San Francisco and is open weekdays from 11:00 to 17:00 hours.
Keenwawa and fast food experience engineering
Eatsa is the first project of Keenwawa, a Silicon Valley start-up that focuses on quinoa. By making use of nutritional science and extensive use of software they want to apply so-called ‘fast food experience engineering’ to raise awareness and accessibility of alternative food sources.
Bulletproof coffee and FATwater
1-9-2015
Bulletproof Coffee is a branded coffee drink consisting of “Upgraded” black coffee blended with grass-fed butter and “Brain Octane oil” (coconut oil). The drink is supposed to boost cognitive performance and has opened a stand-alone bulletproof café in Los Angeles last year. FATwater also contains coconut oil extracts and water, a new product from the same Bulletproof company.
Bulletproof coffee
We already spotted the drink while writing an article back in September 2014 about the pop-up coffeebar in the black box in Ghent (Belgium). The pop-up coffeebar was part of CrossFit Ghent. The original recipe of Dave Asprey is created in 2009 and is originally based on the Yak-butter tea from Tibet. The coffee consists of a special coffee, butter from grass fed cows and a special kind of coconut oil. Just blend these 3 elements and you’ll have your Bulletproof coffee.
Dave Asprey now sells his own ‘Upgraded’ black coffee and the ‘Brain Octane Oil’ (an 8-carbon fraction of medium-chain triglyceride oil). Dave Asprey even claims that the drink will have you lose weight. The drink is very popular amongst sportspeople and entrepreneurs. Although we have read a couple of reviews which say that there is no scientific base for the claims and some people have been drinking so many Bulletproof coffees that their cholesterol level increased! Last year the Bulletproof coffee got a lot attention on shows like Good Morning America and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, like the above video shows. Here a link to another video showing Dave Asprey making a Bulletproof coffee.
FATwater
At the website of PSFK we read that from the makers of Bulletproof coffee also comes FATwater. Another drink laced with coconut oil extracts and a punch of energy. The statement of Bulletproof Coffee about their new product: “Experience clean-burning fuel from fat instead of sugar. Using patented nano-fusion™ technology, FATwater concentrate is an emulsion of Bulletproof® XCT™ Oil and purified water, ready to be stirred into water or beverage of your choice.”
Inspiration
When and where can we drink Bulletproof Coffee and FATwater in Europe? Wouldn’t it be great to be the coffee company that introduces these drinks in Europe? Would you try one?
The Green Toaster, an asset for your café or restaurant?
31-8-2015
The Green Toaster is a smartphone cleaning device. One of the places the Green Toaster would be a benefit would be in cafes or restaurants. You could offer your guests a sanitization of their phone while they have a drink.
Smart phones do have a big effect on how to accommodate your guests
We’re already getting accustomed to delivering ‘free Wi-Fi’, some restaurants, grand-cafés are even able to give their guest the opportunity to charge their mobile phone. Through either charging tables or pillars like ‘Charge to go’ and ‘Implug’ for smaller businesses. And now we’re faced with a new ticker to boost our sales and another investment… Ad agency Innored and UK-bases design school Kinneir Dufort created a sanitizing device for Korean e-commerce giant Gmarket. The Green Toaster.
The Green Toaster
The Green Toaster cleans every smartphone. Did you know that there are up to 7000 types of bacteria living on every smartphone? How often do you clean your smartphone? Wouldn’t you like to have the opportunity to clean it somewhere?
The Green Toaster does deep clean any smartphone using UV light! Wouldn’t it be great to have as excuse to go to a bar; “Honey, I’m going to have my smartphone cleaned.”
More about the Green Toaster on Springwise.
