La Cantina Del Mar | Bonaire Blond meets the ocean
The newest dish from the chef’s table at La Cantina Del Mar at Bonaire. At the chef’s table they serve dishes inspired by local products and with Bonaire Blond beer. read more
The newest dish from the chef’s table at La Cantina Del Mar at Bonaire. At the chef’s table they serve dishes inspired by local products and with Bonaire Blond beer. read more
A chips or crisps restaurant, Hipchips London opened in November. Situated on Old Compton Street in Soho, the crisp restaurant sells their fresh chips from a conveyor belt topped with heritage potato slices and fancy dips. read more
Band of Bohemia, a brewpub in Chicago has been awarded with a Michelin star last November. Very special if you consider the fact that beer is the main event at this brewpub. The Band of Bohemia received the Michelin star after being open for just one year. Michelin is awarding stars to more and more surprising food joints. For example in Singapore where street food stalls Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle and Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle got a star. More recently we had dinner at The Harwood Arms, the only English pub in London awarded with a Michelin star. Which surprising kind of restaurant, food bar or food truck will be next in line after Chicago, Singapore and London? read more
Mahbir Premium Indian Saffron launched in Amsterdam during the ‘Hotelnacht’. The 100% pure red stigma‐tip saffron strands, handpicked in Kashmir, India, are now available in the UK and in Amsterdam. One of the new ways saffron is being used is in cocktails, a Gin & Tonic with saffron-infused ice cubes for example. read more
Recently opened in The Hague: Capriole Café. A restaurant and roastery in one. Capriole Cafe is located in an old industrial building on the waterfront at the Fokkerhaven (a port) in The Hague. Their guests are able to visit the restaurant during the whole day, for a cup of coffee in the morning as well as for a hamburger during dinner. They also give coffee workshops. read more
A Swiss design hotel and superb architecture under a single roof and as the latest architect indicates: “The human race may share common roots, but we are a pretty diverse bunch, so do we really have to put up with stereotypes?” Thom Mayne, the latest architect for 22 rooms in this hotel, says an emphatic no. Well, the 7132 Hotel in Vals is the embodied result of offering rooms designed by prize winning architects. With as latest asset the rooms created by Thom Mayne and the other 63 newly designed hotel rooms which are created by other top architects. Truly the house of architects in Switzerland. read more
Especially for those special beer lovers who live in or near Rotterdam, the first beer boutique in the Netherlands will open its doors early February. A joint with the look of a boutique resambling the time of The Great Gatsby. A great place to relax and enjoy a special beer. Naturally, the old familiar lager remains on the beer menu. read more
Wim stands for Wine in Moderation and it’s a Dutch name for a man. In the Netherlands, the Royal Dutch Association of Vintners (KVNW) initiated the International Wine in Moderation initiative. The KVNW takes their social responsibility in the provision of wine very serious and wants to encourage responsible wine consumption by consumers. ‘Wim about Wine’ has to become the platform for the Dutch consumer to find tips and explanations about the moderation of consuming wine. read more
As far as we were aware Instagram is used to share pictures, clips and social cinema. KFC has launched a game on Instagram though, the ‘Colonel Saunders’ Kentucky Fried Chicken Football Challenge’.
KFC has launched “Colonel Saunders’ Kentucky Fried Chicken Football Challenge’, where Instagrammers can “play” on an American Football field across different animations on the social media platform. The game tags Instagram accounts, which players can click on to reach a new stage. KFC’s game utilizes 31 animations and 35 different Instagram accounts to tell the story of a short football game.
Great way to get more followers and likes with the Super Bowl less than a month away. Created by agency Wieden + Kennedy.
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 amongst others, Starbucks takes wine and beer off evening menu at more than 400 stores nationwide. And will we spot a Food bowl mania in the Netherlands in 2017?
If you like to read the whole article, click the title. Enjoy reading!
For many Dutch snackers probably the solution: now you don’t have to choose between a Kroket (croquette) or a frikandel. These are both typical Dutch snacks. The krokodel is a Burgundian croquette with frikandel ragout. Jeroen Balkenende and Freek Haverman living in Breda (in the South of the Netherlands) came up with the idea. They went to chef Guilaume de Beer from restaurant ‘Breda’ in Amsterdam. He rolled the first krokodellen by hand, so that they could taste it during the ‘Frikandeldisco’ in Amsterdam at Café Sanders in September 2016. From there it went really fast. read more
If you have ever eaten at Mussel & Gin in Amsterdam you must have noticed their gin mayonnaise, served with the food. The mixture of ‘Zaanse Mayonaise’ and Bobby’s Dry Gin has been created back in 2014, but is now also available to take home in a tube. The tube gin mayo can be purchased separately for € 1.95 at the restaurant. read more
With Happy Drinks The Battle 2017 Pierre Wind and the Trimbos Institute want to challenge the business schools for restaurant, catering and hospitality education to make alcohol-free drinks in bars and restaurants more exciting and diverse. Anyone can join The Battle: from the professional bartenders to home shakers who like to invent their own drinks. But Happy Drinks The Battle 2017 is perhaps most interesting for the business schools for restaurant, catering and hospitality education. The winner will earn the title Happy Drinks Master Shaker 2017, gets € 500,= in vouchers of bol.com and the winning recipe will be squeezed by Pinky Rose in a special edition handmade syrup. read more
An already backed project at Kickstarter: the Ullo wine purifier. This wine purifier claims it removes sulphites from your wine and thus prevents hangovers, only from wine of course! read more
The new bottle and the improved positioning of Sayah spekkoek liqueur is presented at the Dutch Horecava. The owners of SAYAH, the Pieplenbosch family, went looking for a more authentic look with as result a ‘Dutch Delight with an Indonesian twist’ on the label. As several drinks who have rebranded their drinks they also give guidelines at their website on how to drink the Spekkoek liqueur, either pure on the rocks or in the coffee (Indonesian Coffee) and you can experiment with cocktails. At their website they give the recipe of their signature cocktail which is the Ticket2Bali. read more
Four Seasons brings the guests journey to life with Pin.Pack.Go, a new travel planning service on Pinterest. Via Pinterest you can make your own Pin.Pack.Go board and specify the Four Seasons hotel you will be visiting during your holiday. Follow that specific hotel and the hotel will follow you back. The Four Seasons hotel will pin recommendations like tourist attractions, restaurants and shops. And through your board they have an insight in your interests. The Four Seasons thus plans your ideal travel from start to finish via Pinterest. An interesting and innovative way to inform your guests before their stay, a kind of concierge. And it increases the anticipation for your guests…
After the Twitter hotel in Majorca, the first Instagramhotel is now opened in Australia. Hotel 1888 has 90 rooms decorated with photos take by guests and is fully dedicated to Instagram. When you have more than 10.000 followers on Instagram you will get a free stay at the hotel and the guest/photographer of the Instagramphoto (of the hotel) of the month also receives a free additional stay. The hotel has a special room where you can take photos of yourself and guests are guided through the environment by an Instagram map.
Our colleague Steven van ‘t Hart celebrated his holiday in America this summer. He went out to eat the ‘Pizza-burger‘ by ‘Boston Pizza’ at the Niagara Falls location. We did mention this burger on horecatrends in April (kind of a April the 1st joke) and the burger will be on the menu in September. But Steven got to taste one! Especially the Pepperoni version was considered very tasty! He also noticed that children received a mini pizza box by entering the restaurant, containing coloring pages, games and crayons. Nice small gesture… That of course can be taken home ….
In the first version of the ‘small gestures in hospitality‘, in January 2013, we showed a ‘bedtime story’ that we found on our pillow in Hotel ‘The Palace’ in Dubai. A beautiful, simple poem about going to sleep. At the Copley Square Hotel in Boston, they wish their guest a good night with ‘bedtime stories’ by children. The stories are written by students of 826 Boston. 826 Boston is a non-profit writing center dedicated to supporting students age 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills and helping teachers inspire their students to write. Another great ‘small gesture in hospitality’.
On September 20 and 21 the ‘Museumpark’ in Rotterdam will be transformed into a huge outdoor restaurant. Inspiration is the famous square in Marrakesh, Djemaa el Fna. This square will transform in the evening from a market into an outdoor restaurant where visitors can buy snacks at various stalls. During the first edition of the ‘Djemaa el Fna’ in Rotterdam, some entrepreneurs will make Moroccan snacks with the goal to make the diversity of cultures and nationalities visible. There will also be different Moroccan products for sale, musicians, dancers and camels. ‘Djemaa el Fna’ is part of the ‘World Food Festival’.
During my holiday we were introduced to the PET bottles of Firefly. Attracted by the fresh design, I bought a few bottles on the go. A delicious fresh taste, 100% natural and thirst-quenching. Is currently sold in the Netherlands in glass bottle and soon in PET bottles. Available in the tastes lemon & Lime, Orange & Passionfruit and Rasberry & Pommegrate. Also nice to sell in a hotel lobby shop…. ^ Marjolein
Marriott Hotel asks their reward members to give feedback on the hotel rooms. The members are invited to the headquarters to give their opinion on the rooms, ranging from type of bed to the shower pressure. In the basement of the headquarters ‘The Underground’ lab is opened in June. ‘The Underground’ is an area where they work on innovation and improvement of the future of Marriott. Members can design their own hotel room in this area by moving the interior. Marriott get additional information for improvement in the future.
The Trump hotel in SoHo offers a special program for the children and teenagers. The program is for children between 3 and 17 years. There are child friendly facilities such as special kids cocktails, coloring books and children’s room service menu. But there are also special rates for children at the luxury spa, a map of the city with must see spots and movie channels. Parents can hire a nanny or let their kids have swim lessons.
Last holiday we enjoyed reading Alain Caron’s book, Tour d’Alain (a French chef living in the Netherlands, so unfortunately in Dutch). Because of his enthusiastic stories about Montpellier we spent a few hours there. There we saw a new initiative by the former French three-star chef Marc Veyrat. In addition to his self-service restaurant ‘Cozna Vera‘ in Annecy, he opened ‘Glaces &Jus by Marc Veyrat’ early August in Montpellier. A small shop where you can pick frozen bio fruit and put it in various size cups, after which you can choose whether they will make an ice cream, yogurt ice cream, sorbet or smoothie from it. We had a delicious rhubarb yoghurt ice cream with raspberry, a smoothie of wild strawberries and a banana milkshake … Delicious …. And if you’re ever near Montpellier, go soak up the city and a bowl of healthy fruit processed at Urbanfruits. ^Marjolein
Taco Bell has held a fun stunt in collaboration with agency Grip Limited during the launch of the long-awaited arrival of Doritos Locos Tacos in Canada. Impatient customers were surprised during a special fan event. The exasperated tweets from the impatient customers were burned with a special laser on the first batch of shells and served to the specific customer. These customers ate literally their own words on the taco.
Boutique hotel Affinia Hotels has started a partnership with US online grocer ‘FreshDirect’ to offer their guests an extra service. The rooms at the Affinia Hotels are equipped with a kitchen, separate dining area that allows guests to cook in their hotel room. Therefore the hotel offers meal packages by FreshDirect, such as the Healthy kit or the Business kit. The boxes are filled with food like fruits, vegetables, biscuits, dairy products and chips. Guests can order these boxed when they make the reservation for the hotel room or during their stay.
Two starred michelin chef Moshik Roth and business partner Salem Samhoud will open the DNA restaurant &samhoud Foodlab in Amsterdam on 31 October. It will be the first restaurant in the world that serves DNA in the dishes. The restaurant will serve three natural GenBoosters with DNA extracts. The menu also contains small shakes and meals, as well as lunches, dinners with GenBooster to choice. The exact location in Amsterdam is not confirmed yet. The restaurant will be open seven days a week.
Update: The foodlab appears to be a hoax to feed the discussion about better food for everyone.
During the open door days of supermarket chain Albert Heijn on 21 and 28 September you can personally meet local farmers and growers. Approximately 140 participating farms, greenhouses and orchards are open for visitors. For adults there are guided tours organized where they can learn everything behind the product. Children can experience where there food comes from and get their farmers and growers diploma. Using the online map of Albert Heijn you can see which farmers and growers participate in the Netherlands. During these days consumers can meet the people behind the fresh products of Albert Heijn.
From 3 till 6 September the second edition of the ‘On The Roof Film Festival’ will be organized. During the four evenings films and documentaries with the theme ‘your green heart’ will be played. The festival will take place on the roof of the ‘Vrije Universiteit’ in Amsterdam. Every night, before the film starts, interviews with scientists about their green heart will be shown. Watch the video to get an impression of last year’s edition.
Frossja and Martijn are serving coffee with organic mini donuts from a 1974 caravan . The ‘Donut factory’ makes traditional mini donuts of organic flour and the toppings are adapted to the occasion. The ‘Donut factory’ also serves several fair trade coffees, teas and organic soft drinks and juices. You can find the ‘Donut factory’ at festivals, (organic) markets, fairs in the Netherlands but it is also available for rent for companies or individuals.
Hotel Country Inn & Suites in Niagara Falls offers their guests an easy way to order pizza. Guests don’t have to search for a local pizza delivery because the hotel room telephones have a pizza button. The pizza button connects the guest directly with a local pizza company to order a pizza. An extra service for emergency pizza cravings.
Cafellow is a new social platform focused on cafés, bars and terraces. Consumers can find a café selected on characteristics such as location, type of cafe, specialties, atmosphere and openings hours. They can also invite friends or share their favorite café through this platform. At this moment the service is available in six cities in the Netherlands, where more than 1,200 cafes are mapped. Cafellow creates a direct connection between supply and demand in the market.
After chocolate beer, breakfast beer and coffee beer, a new special beer is introduced. During the opening of the Avocado Festival in Los Angeles, Angel City Brewery introduced a on guacamole inspired ‘Avocado Ale’. This special beer is made from a blend of Californian avocado, coriander, garlic, red pepper and lime. Ingredients that you normally use for guacamole. We are wondering if this beer also tastes delicious with tortilla chips?
In the Yotel hotel in New York, the luggage of guests is stored in a special way. It is not the concierge at the hotel taking the luggage, but the robot arm ‘Yobot’. Guests easily place their luggage in a bin and enter a pin number with their name. Yobot picks the luggage and stores it safely in one of the lockers. Guests will receive a receipt with a barcode that they can use to collect their luggage. An ingenious idea that gives more experience during a stay at the hotel. Watch the video of world’s first luggage robot here.
Earlier this year Hotel Zetta in San Francisco opened its doors with the motto ‘work hard, play hard’. Designed by Andrea Dawson and her team of Dawson Design Associates, the hotel has 116 rooms and a creative and sustainable design with a unique experience for tourists and business travelers. In the lobby guests can enjoy various games. On the ground floor is a bar with different lounge areas and a large game where guests can roll a ball from top to bottom and score points. Upstairs is another public area with sofas, TV, video games, a pool table, a shuffleboard and other games. By offering these games, the hotel generates a creative (work) place for guests.
Holiday park Landal GreenParks has introduced the first bungalow for hearing impaired at the Landal Rabbit Hill park in collaboration with the Dutch Association for Hearing impaired. The bungalow has a number of adjustments and additional functional elements to make the stay of the guests with a hearing loss more enjoyable. There is an audio induction loop for the radio, DVD, TV and WII console. Both the smoke detector and the alarm are linked with an alarm- and warning system. This system creates intense lights and vibrations if necessarily. The front desk also has an audio induction loop. If the bungalow is successful, Landal GreenParks will extend the number of bungalows for hearing impaired to other locations.
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.