Beer Bit | warm beer in pub belongs to the past
From now on you can enjoy your beer as the brewmaster intended! Beer Bit chills your craft beer to bring out its optimal taste. read more
From now on you can enjoy your beer as the brewmaster intended! Beer Bit chills your craft beer to bring out its optimal taste. read more
At Horecatrends we spot a lot of national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write articles about, the smaller trends we use in our column ‘Trends we spotted this week’. This week among others, the unique collaboration between Spa Zuiver and Rituals, and the ‘rookworstkroket’ by FEBO & HEMA.
If you like to read the whole article, click the title. Enjoy reading! read more
Finger cookies are ideal for dipping in chocolate, caramel or syrup. Last year Italian designer Paolo Ulian came up with the idea of the cookies which are designed to fit perfectly on your fingers. The cookies are cone-shaped and are made like a thin wafer. These cookies served with some sauces and coffee would probably taste finger lickin’ good! read more
Sweetgreen combines healthy- and fastfood. The company was founded in 2007 in Washington and is tumultuous growing since then. Currently, the chain has 65 locations in the United States. read more
The marketing- and sales of Hilton Amsterdam Schiphol is going to use Virtual Reality as a sales tool. Potential clients who don’t have the opportunity to visit the hotel, can still experience the hotel with the help of their Virtual Reality glasses. read more
The best city hotel we have had the pleasure to visit! The World Heritage city of Porto has an iconic hotel, The Yeatman. With a breath-taking position overlooking the Douro River and the historic city centre, The Yeatman offers a great place to stay with stunning panoramic views from the terraces, the indoor and exterior pool (in the shape of a port bottle), the rooms and restaurants. Some of the small gestures of hospitality from The Yeatman, the naming of the rooms, the design elements, the housekeeping & maintenance and of course the friendly approach from all the staff. read more
Another fine example of latte art. We wrote about 3D latte art in 2013, but Leo’s Espresso in Hong Kong takes this to the next level and makes the 3D art (which are mostly animals) ‘jiggle’ in your coffee. The 3D animals are made of milk foam, Latte Art 2.0. read more
At Horecatrends we spot a lot of national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write articles about, the smaller trends we use in our column ‘Trends we spotted this week’. This week among others, how the world of online reservations is evolving in the Netherlands, a 3D printer that creates full colour candy and the Hangover Bar from Amsterdam went viral worldwide.
If you like to read the whole article, click the title. Enjoy reading!
The Netherlands is a real potato country. Because of the excellent climate potatoes have been growing there for centuries. They are cheap and every Dutchie has his ‘own’ potato dish. A product to be proud of! However, knowing that the potato is one of the most wasted vegetable in the country is less inspiring. It’s actually a bit of a shame, as there are plenty of products which can be made out of the remains. To inspire we gathered some examples of drinks made from almost ‘wasted’ potatoes. read more
The florist bakery named ‘Baked Bouquet’ is creating eatable cupcake bouquets. Although we know that the cupcake trend has long been finished, we got really excited when we saw a couple of bouquets of the Baked Bouquet at pictures. Some inspiration for the catering companies: place the cupcake bouquets at dessert buffets. read more
As from late July, The Milk Train Café in London is serving particular ice cream in a particular way! The Café serves soft-serve ice cream in a cloud of cotton floss. The flavours of the soft ice cream are special: Asian flavours, London style! The café opened late July and is extremely popular. read more
Golden Tulip Hotel ‘De Reiskoffer’ (translated: the travel suitcase) in Bosschenhoofd, Noord Brabant (the Netherlands) uses storytelling quite some years now. For example they give their guests a travelduck to take on their next travels since 2007. Recently a short movie was released, starring the hotel called ‘Avonturen bij de Buren’, which means adventures with the neighbours. Another great example of storytelling with a twist. read more
Dirt Candy was one of the first restaurants in New York that focused on the vegetarian cuisine, one of the initiators of today’s vegetarian trend, ‘veg-only food in a modern context’. The restaurant menu is completely vegetarian of high quality and a great way to present the food on the plates. Of course we do have some great examples of vegetarian only restaurants in Europe as well, we visited for example Cookies Cream in Berlin. Both restaurants are a great example for those restaurants only serving a ‘standard’ alternative, like salads with goat cheese or cheese croquettes, to their vegetarian guests. They have tasted those alternatives to often…. If you don’t want to serve to fancy dishes check out the products of for example The Vegetarian Butcher.
At Horecatrends we spot a lot of national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write articles about, the smaller trends we use in our column ‘Trends we spotted this week’. This week among others, Karl Lagerfeld will launch a hotel brand, some examples of the use of rooftops in Melbourne and a new beer.
If you like to read the whole article, click the title. Enjoy reading!
Villa De Bear can be found in an old teddy bear factory, situated in the west of Bangkok. If we are talking about special concepts and storytelling around your brand, this restaurant should be named. Although the production of teddy bears in this factory stopped a long time ago, the history of the property is still clearly visible. A perfect example of a concept which is conducted in detail. read more
Belgium, the country of French fries, is testing a fries vending machine. For a number of years we get croquettes, cheese soufflés and minced-meat hot dogs through a hole in the wall, so why not fries? The fries vending machine ‘De Friethoek’ from BreakTime Solutions offers fries for € 2,50. Within 90 seconds you will get fries with salt and mayonnaise or ketchup. A number of countries are already serving fries via vending machine, but Belgium claims to serve the best fries because of the use of special vegetable oil.
The western edition of 24H Amsterdam takes place on 7 and 8 September. For 24 hours companies, organizations, museums and theaters open their doors in Amsterdam West. There is for instance a tour by the ‘Afval Energie Bedrijf’ (Waste Energy Company) and a tour through the fourth harbor of Europe. Sporty (hotel) guests and employees of the Conscious Hotel Vondelpark will ride for 24 hours on a stationary bicycle to collect money for the ‘Bike for Water’ project and the second edition of The Race To The Top takes place at the Ramada Apollo Hotel. The next edition of 24H is in the northern district of Amsterdam.
Fresh fruit, organic and sometimes herbs or tea.. These are the healthy pop-ice cream ‘Nice on a stick’. Nina and Elisabeth were looking for healthy and tasty snacks for themselves and their children and started to make ice cream of fresh fruit. The ‘Nice on a stick’ are 100% natural, made of organic fresh fruit and contain less sugar. The flavors for this summer are raspberry+ hibiscus, pear+orange, pure strawberry and watermelon+mint. These happy and healthy ice creams are available at several outlets and festivals in the Netherlands.
The Origin Chocolate Event will take place in Amsterdam on October 22 and 23. The most renowned and award-winning chocolatiers from around the world will come together during this event. The chocolate experts will tell you everything about making chocolate. During these two days, presentations will be given by chocolate makers from different countries such as Ecuador, Switzerland and Grenada. Culinary delights are sampled from top pastry chefs and chocolatiers, there is an opportunity for meet & greets with chocolatiers and there are tastings.
Hotel chain Marriott has launched ‘Xplor’, a mobile game trip. During this game you will visit five cities (NYC, Paris, Beijing, Dubai, Sao Paul), you get sight-seeing challenges, solve puzzles and answer trivia questions. Players can create their own avatar, ranging from backpacker to jet-setter. For each city completed the player will receive 100,000 Marriott Reward points. Those who complete all levels before November 25, will receive three major prizes. The game is developed for all ages.
The Spotted Pig- New York. A one Michelin star restaurant that is in nothing comparable to our European idea of Michelin star restaurants. The restaurant looks like a combination between a nice little cafe and flea market, the waiting staff wears t-shirts and jeans, no reservations can be made and things as amuses/greetings from the kitchen is far from what is happening in this place. Al together I do understand why Michelin inspectors decided to award this restaurant a Michelin star. When you compare the service (for American standards you get a lot of time to enjoy your food and company, the waiters know what food they are serving and what wine they are pouring and they are very alert) and the food (everything is fresh and combinations are all spot on) with what you experience in other restaurants in New York you see a clear difference. Combine this with the cool atmosphere, all the pigs collected all around you and the beautiful location, I can understand Michelin’s decision. But my question remains is this decided based on comprising with other restaurants in the city or solely on the quality of this place? When you are in the neighborhood, definitely try to get a table, it’s the best price/quality ratio you will ever see in a Michelin star restaurant! ^Leonie van Spronsen
Inspired by ‘The Hunger Games’, the ‘Waldorf Astoria Grand Wailea’ in Hawaii offers a ‘Wilderness Survival Program’. During the program children ages 5 and up learn how to survive in the wilderness, a unique experience during their stay at the hotel. Children can practice archery, their endurance is tested, they learn more about food and edible and non-edible plants and they will work on their camouflage skills. The hotel has four water slides, a white water rapids slide and a Tarzan pool where the skills of the participants will be improved.
The Meatball Shop in New York. Upon entering you know you are in a cool place, everything looks a little crooked, a little worn out but is beautifully put together. The menu that is presented to you is no nonsense, its balls, balls on a sub or balls plus a salad. There are a few specials on the board but basically you choose what meat you want with what sauce and you are ready to go. The portion seems really small but don’t overestimate yourself, it is more than enough! This is not the place to have a nice evening filling dinner but it is definitely a cool alternative for other fast dinner options! My tip; take their specialty sauce ‘Parmigiano sauce’ it’s amazing! ^Leonie van Spronsen
Customers can win a Warsteiner bike by purchasing a six pack Warsteiner Radler in the supermarket or on the beach. The promotion is only available at locations where there are special Warsteiner teams and will be until August 24. With the special Warsteiner app consumers can scan the label of the beer and see if they have won the bike. They can also win small prizes such as caps, bottle openers and covers. The bike is made from recycled frames with durable materials. The bike has a six pack holder made of used conveyors, specially made for Warsteiner bottles.
To celebrate the mile stone of 10.000 Twitter followers we’ve visited one of our connections, Kitch& in Leiden, the Netherlands. We entered the restaurant with a bottle of Limonchili and were welcomed by co-owner Edwin van den Akker. He got acquinted with Horecatrends during one of our regular trend presentations. Kitch& uses Twitter to start an easy accessible dialogue with guests. Next to Twitter the restaurant uses DineRate to promote feedback on dishes and service, feedback through this service is rewarded with culinairy rewards on next visits. Edwin van den Akker uses Horecatrends.com to keep himself up-to-date with the latest trends in hospitality. “I don’t check the website every week, but if I do, I browse a few weeks back. The trends are for approximately 10% inspiring for my business, so definately worth to look at.” We would like to thank everyone for archieving the 10.000 followers, please keep sending tips via @horecatrends and tip@spronsen.com.
To celebrate the mile stone of 10.000 Twitter followers we’ve visited one of our connections, Kitch& in Leiden, the Netherlands. We entered the restaurant with a bottle of Limonchili and were welcomed by co-owner Edwin van den Akker. He got acquinted with Horecatrends during one of our regular trend presentations. Kitch& uses Twitter to start an easy accessible dialogue with guests. Next to Twitter the restaurant uses DineRate to promote feedback on dishes and service, feedback through this service is rewarded with culinairy rewards on next visits. Edwin van den Akker uses Horecatrends.com to keep himself up-to-date with the latest trends in hospitality. “I don’t check the website every week, but if I do, I browse a few weeks back. The trends are for approximately 10% inspiring for my business, so definately worth to look at.” We would like to thank everyone for archieving the 10.000 followers, please keep sending tips via @horecatrends and tip@spronsen.com.
The Mexican restaurant Wahaca surprises guests with chili seeds that comes with the bill. The guests receive a small booklet with some Serrano chili seeds to grow their own chili at home. To help people growing the chili, the restaurants has published a number of expert videos to show people how to grow and take care of the seeds. A nice gesture.
Yesterday the famous Dutch television chef Pierre Wind presented two healthy cocktails. The two non-alcoholic cocktails ‘Happy Vink’ and ‘Way of Life’ contain less than 30 calories and are meant to make people more conscious of their choice of beverage. The cocktail ‘Way of Life’ is based on water, corn and a mix of cucumber, the ‘Happy Vink’ is based on vanilla water with a date mixture.
Cities around the world are faced with vacant shops. Earlier we’ve spotted the Public painting machine in empty stores in Poland. Now Niklas Roy has found an interesting marketing solution to target vacant spaces in Sherbrooke. The sign ‘for rent’ follows the passers-by if they walk in front of the shop window. Watch the video to see how this system works.
Beverage brand SanPellegrino has launched a new campaign called ‘Three minutes in Italy’ in partnership with Ogilvy NY and Deeplocal. Facebook users in the U.S. can get a virtual tour through the city Taormina in Sicily, Italy through the eyes of a robot. With a special Facebook application they can control the robot for three minutes. The robot is equipped with a translation system and through an audio and video connection Facebook users can communicate with the locals. The Facebook profile picture is displayed on the head of the robot. The beverage brand offers Americans an extraordinary Italian vacation experience through this campaign.
Earlier we spotted a vending machine that you need to hug to get a Coke, or a vending machine where you need to yawn to get a free cup of coffee. But with this Amstel vending machine you don’t have to do anything at all to get a can of beer. In an effort to give young professionals a few minutes rest after work, Amstel Bulgaria and Next-DC have developed a special beer vending machine. You only need to take a rest for three minutes and you will get a can of Amstel. The video shows how difficult it actually is….
After the laying wine glass rEvolution of Martin Jakobsen, the designer developed a special glass for lemonade together with VINICE. The lemonade glass Halm literally puts every drink upside down. Fill the glass with lemonade, a cocktail or an other drink and put the white stopper on the glass. Then turn the glass upside down, shake and put a straw in the glass so you can enjoy your drink. Stylish, innovative and wasps don’t have a chance! Watch the video about the Halm glass to see how it works.
This Year ‘Get Dirty Farm Tours’ will be organized in Oregon, Portland. During the ‘Get Dirty Farm Tours’ unique local farms will be visited and in a quest to find the culinary secrets of Portland. The participants will get in touch with the local farmers and get the opportunity to see how the products grow and are produced. One excursion will be organized a month, each month has a different season based theme During the food tour at least two sustainable farms will be visited and a lunch on location.
This Monday café Vrijdag opened on the corner of the Amsteldijk and the Vrijheidslaan in Amsterdam. Owners Sikko de Jong and Reinout Ezinga want to create a ‘second living room’ for neighbours and offer an alternative for people in the South of Amsterdam for the (over)crowded city center. The interior is designed by ‘Koelhuis Frigo’ and has characteristic raw elements like stone, wood and steel.
Until October 1st Chef’s Table is located at pop-up location ‘Undercurrent’ in Amsterdam. Chef Jeffrey Verwey and his team will present accessible classical dishes on this floating restaurant at the IJ. From August 15 onwards there will be a recycle art gallery in Undercurrent as well. Curator Naleye Sultan Buddista will exhibit special –buyable- artworks in the build up to the Art & Design Recycling Fair 2014. The pop-up location is the former information center of ‘IJburg’.
The Spa at the Four Seasons Hotel Houston has introduced a Spa Happy Hour. Guests and locals can get USD 30 off at a 60 or 90 minute massage, facial or body treatment from Monday through Thursday from 12:00 to 6:30 pm. They can also choose a special Happy Hour menu that includes free Spa cocktails and snacks. The promotion continued to December 31. A new kind of happy hour, not just like the Happy Hour at a bar…
In Japan a phone-holding camera stand is installed on tourist spots so tourists can take pictures of themselves without the help of others. The camera holder can rotate 360 degrees and is installed at the right height and distance to take a group photo. The stand is suitable for any smartphone and even tablets.
Waving tentacles, a dish that breathes or wriggles around? Sounds unreal, but it is possible! With the project ‘Living Food’ Minsu Kim brings food to life. Through synthetic biotech artificial life can be created in dishes. The synthetic biology pearsin haute cuisine and molecular gastronomy, but Minsu Kim brings this to another level with the project ‘Living Food’.
Artist Alex Schweder has developed a floating pop-up hotelroom named ‘Lloyd in the Sky With Diamonds’ for hotel chain ‘The Curtis’. The inflatable hotel room is located on top of a van and can be lifted up 22 ft in the air. The room has a bed, couch, curtains and a small bathroom with a shower, toilet and sink. Because the wall and ceiling are transparent guests can enjoy the view of Denver when the van is parked. One night in the hotel is now offered for $ 50,000 as part of a special package.
An ice cream soda, refreshing, old-fashioned and blessed! The last couple of warm days I experimented with this drink from my childhood. The base is a soda with a scoop of ice cream. You don’t see this drink in the most restaurants, while it is a easy drink to make! My daughter especially liked the sweeter varieties with vanilla ice cream. Personally I find the variant with a dash of lime juice and lime ice cream with sprite delicious! Yesterday I served this drink to my colleagues and they found it wonderfully refreshing! I also made the Mojito ice cream soda with lime ice cream, it was very tasty! ^Marjolein.