Amazon free take-out delivery

15-9-2015

Amazon starts with one hour free take-out delivery for premium members in Seattle.

Free take-out delivery

Online retailer Amazon.com Inc. has begun a free take-out delivery service. Amazon Prime members get free delivery on their take-out orders from dozens of outlets and receive them within the hour. The Amazon Prime service costs $ 99 per year.

Delivery of beer, wine and spirits

A few weeks ago Amazon already announced that they began with one-hour delivery of beer, wine and spirits in Seattle. The city is the only place in America where customers can order beer and spirits via fast mail-order. In the rest of the country the delivery is limited to wine. Amazon offers a fast delivery service for alcohol in London already.

Growth of the delivery market

With the rapid deliveries Amazon wants to compete with restaurant delivery parties like GrubHub. The American GrubHub is comparable to the Dutch ‘Thuisbezorgd.nl’. The company delivers take-out meals from 30,000 local restaurants and has customers in 800 American cities. Americans spend an estimated 70 billion dollar on takeaway and delivery meals in 2013. With such numbers offering a one hour delivery service for take-out pays off. In March 2015, total sales in restaurants and bars was higher than the grocery market (!) for the first time. With the expansion of the delivery market, restaurants can increase sales at peak times, without adding extra seats.

Game workshop by Nestlé Professional and Sligro

14-9-2015

Nestlé Professional and Sligro put Dutch game on the menu with a wild harvesting and game workshop for chefs.

Game workshop by Nestlé Professional and Sligro

Sligro Food and Nestlé Professional have joined forces to let chefs discover the possibilities and culinary variations with Dutch wild boar. Recently eleven chefs from restaurants throughout the Netherlands got inspired during a wild harvesting workshop and wild clinic in Lingewaard. In addition, they were challenged to create combinations of wild boar and CHEF products. Game, and escpecially wild boar, gets more accessible by processing it and make for example a wild boar burger or hot dog with the meat.

Pulled Swine

“Game is the finest free-range meat there is. Guests often think that game tastes very strong, but that’s a misconception we would like to take away, “said Edwin Detering, culinary consultant at Nestlé Professional Food. “In addition, a local product such as Dutch wild boar now widely available. By putting accessible game dishes on the menu, the threshold for guests to discover new game is lowered. Think of a dish like a ‘pulled swine’ sandwich. ”

Edwin Florès

During the game clinic and wild harvesting workshop the chefs discovered the edible nature under the guidance of Edwin Florès, professional wild harvester and cookbook author. The score of the wild harvesting included wild mushrooms, fresh watercress and water mint. These were incorporated into the food from the game clinic.

Beautiful dishes from neck and shoulder

The chefs attended a deboning demonstration of a wild boar. It was explained how to prepare tasty dishes with the obsolescent parts. “The front part, including shoulder and neck, is used less frequently, but there are lovely dishes to be made of” Hein Willemsen, SVH Master Chef explains. “Through slow cooking at low temperature (sous-vide), the meat is very tender. A shoulder pad can be grilled after cooking and you can serve it with pasta and mushrooms. The neck piece can be cooked in a game sauce based on demi-glace. The taste of wild boar meat can be well combined with powerful sauces such as the CHEF red wine sauce or pepper sauce. A nice piece of meat such as a Dutch wild boar deserves to be combined with a high quality sauce or stock, like the products of the CHEF. ”

Deboning workshops

Earlier, we wrote about a deboning workshop for consumers by Gertjan Kiers at Julius Bar & Grill. A trend that we applaud to. Let us know if there are workshops like these organized in your neighbourhood or if you choose to organize one yourself.

Slow Cow relaxation drink

11-9-2015

The Slow Cow relaxation drink clears the mind.

Slow Cow was developed by three hyperactive stressful entrepreneurs. They sought, and found, an alternative to energy drinks. A drink to help relax, focus and concentrate. Together with various partners and investors they launched Slow Cow in Canada in 2008.

Slow Cow ingredients and effect

Slow Cow promotes the feeling of natural tranquillity. The drink does not cause sleepiness or fatigue and isn’t the opposite of an energy drink at all. Slow Cow was developed in Quebec, Canada. The drink contains almost no calories, no caffeine, no sugar and no preservatives. It does contain extracts of green tea, valerian, chamomile, passionflower, lime blossom, lemon grass, potassium and sodium.

Alternative

The creator present the soda as an alternative to every day’s hectic pace, the adrenaline and race against the clock. In terms of taste it could have been a bit less sweet in our opinion. That will probably be due to our limited energy drink consumption normally. It is certainly an interesting alternative to high school students who are regularly hyper on the caffeine and sugar bombs that they consume in large amounts.

Mascot

Slow Cow mascot Harry plays a leading role in the promotional campaign. His mission is to help the Dutch people to relax in their increasingly stressful daily life. Through his discoveries, he reminds us constantly about his message “It is important and urgent to adopt a cool lifestyle.” Harry is the champion of ‘cool’ and relax. He embodies calmness in all situations.

Tres Hombres prepares a viral launch with Thunderclap

10-9-2015

Thunderclap sends a message through subscribed social media accounts at the same moment. By requesting users’ permission to send via their social media channels like Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr, it is possible to schedule a launch at one time.

Thunderclap social media distribution

The social media distribution tool shows who participates with the Thunderclap, it provides insight into the users supporting the message and creates a measurable reach. It gives the people joining a togetherness feeling because only the backers know about this upcoming ‘internet flashmob’ which can quickly provide be a trending topic. For the non-profit sector it is an interesting way to promote awareness campaigns by a “social contribution” instead of having to ask a financial contribution.

Sailing ship Tres Hombres

Using Thunderclap the crew of sustainable sailing ship ‘Tres Hombres’ will promote a campaign for organic coffee that the sailing ship will transport in 2016. Besides coffee, the ship was used to transport barrels of rum and chocolate with pure wind power over the ocean for the past five years. The ship can carry around 35 tonnes of cargo. Erik Rauws is one of the sailors Erik Rauws who has sailed along several times. He will join the sailing crew that will transport organic coffee from Costa Rica and created the sustainable coffee brand ‘Anemoi Coffee’. Half the ship is dedicated to cargo transport and half is used for passengers. People interested can join the crew on (a part of) the trip. The ship sails in the beginning of the summer in 2016 and a round trip takes about 5 months.

Anemoi Coffee by Sail

Share the Thunderclap by Erik Rauws and his Anemoi Coffee by Sail as well. The Thunderclap will be delivered on 11 September.

“We want to sail the most sustainable coffee in the world next year by sailing from Costa Rica to Amsterdam, join us!”

SUSHISAMBA, a culinary mix of Japan, Brazil and Peru

9-9-2015

At restaurant SUSHISAMBA you can eat a unique blend of the Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine.

We don’t know many restaurants in the Netherlands that combine a cultural coalition in one cuisine. We recently wrote an article about the Nikkei cuisine (Japanese & Peruvian Cuisine) and in reaction somebody wrote us about another great tri-cultural coalition namely SUSHISAMBA. This cuisine is created in the early 20th century when thousands of Japanese emigrants traveled to South America’s fertile soil to cultivate coffee plantations and find their fortune. In bustling cities like Lima in Peru, and São Paulo in Brazil, the integration of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cultures flourished. The restaurant in London, nearby for us Dutchies, opened in 2012.

What to expect when dining out at SUSHISAMBA

Hearty moquecas and colorful seviches found a place at the table alongside simple miso soup and tender sashimi. SUSHISAMBA serves these traditional dishes, plus more inventive creations, including sawagani, tuna tataki and anticuchos. The restaurant in London is located at the Heron Tower. A private glass-walled express lift hurtles up the outside of Heron Tower, taking you 38 storeys above the city. Once you’re up there, SUSHISAMBA has a pretty impressive rooftop bar that’s open all year round. Check all the pictures for an impression of the restaurant and the menus on their website. Certainly a restaurant and rooftop bar with a view. The next time I visit London, I most certainly will visit SUSHISAMBA!

About SUSHISAMBA

SUSHISAMBA started in New York City in 1999. Samba Brands Management was founded by Shimon Bokovza, Matthew Johnson and Danielle Billera. The company operates SUSHISAMBA® restaurants in New York, Miami, Las Vegas, London and Coral Gables. In addition to SUSHISAMBA®, the group manages SUGARCANE raw bar grill® in Miami and Duck & Waffle in London. ^Marjolein

Food on the rails in the Panorama Rail Restaurant

8-9-2015

With the Panorama Rail Restaurant train lovers and enthusiasts of culinary cooking can enjoy a train ride in the West of the Netherlands and a dinner, every Saturday.

Every Saturday evening the Panorama Rail Restaurant offers a trip by train through the heart of the Netherlands with Amsterdam Centraal as starting point. The train takes you along typical Dutch villages, rural landscapes, the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Haarlem, Gouda and the ‘Green Heart’ of the Netherlands.

The train

These dining cars from the sixties (the TEE trains Rheingold and Rheinpfeil panorama coaches) have a rich history and were originally used in European luxury travel industry. Recently they have been fully refurbished. The train can accommodate about 100 guests and has tables for two, four and six people. The historic trains of the Panorama Rail Restaurant comply with the strictest standards imposed from both the EU and the Environment and Transport Inspection.

The Panorama Rail Restaurant

The unique train restaurant is developed by Promo Rail, a leading provider of charter transportation by train in the Netherlands and Europe. The four courses menu which is served during the train ride will be specially developed by a Michelin-starred chef, each quarter another one. Currently by Edwin Soumang of restaurant One in Roermond. The menu of Edwin Soumang is based on the New Dutch Cuisine. The food is prepared and served by an experienced catering team led by Roland Vos of Buitenpoort Catering Amsterdam. Especially for tourists a nice way to see and taste a piece of Holland in two hours and three quarters.

The Vega Pop-up restaurant will be in Rotterdam in October

7-9-2015

From the first of October the Vega Pop-up restaurant will serve exclusively vegetarian and vegan dishes in their pop-up restaurant in Rotterdam for five days per week (Wednesday/Sunday). They will be in the ‘Westelijk Handelsterrein’ in Rotterdam for the entire month of October.

Why a Vega Pop-up restaurant?

Earlier we wrote about the initiative of, amongst others, Friedjof Kempenaar. They want to show the people in the Netherlands that the vegetarian kitchen is already far beyond the ‘Birkenstock’-image. They serve various small dishes to choose from the menu but you can also opt for a full evening menu. The dishes are served in the size of a ‘side dish’ so that you can taste even more … The wine list is vegan as well, which means that the wines are not filtered with the use of animal products.

Improve the image of the vegetarian and vegan cuisine

Vega Pop-up responds to the lack of good, but especially modern, vegetarian and vegan restaurants in the Netherlands. Through a variety of campaigns and food scandals, more and more people start eating ‘mindfully’ and sometimes even make the choice to eat vegetarian or vegan. At most restaurants the choice for these people is still poor. The Vega Pop-up is serving a trendy choice of vegan or vegetarian dishes and is having a cocktail bar and a DJ until the early hours on Friday and Saturday.

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.”

Royal De Ruijter opens pop-up sandwich restaurant in the Netherlands

4-9-2015

Royal De Ruijter opened its first sandwich restaurant in the Netherlands. In the 9 Streets district of Amsterdam, restaurant Struisvogel temporarily transformed into a cozy breakfast and lunch restaurant. The sandwiches restaurant is dedicated to special sandwiches and pastries. Guests can use various sandwich spread products of Royal de Ruijter to create their ultimate sandwich.

Two kinds of spreads

The reason for opening the pop-up sandwich restaurant is a recent research showing that most Dutch people eat a lot of bread, but vary only little with two types of spreads. Moreover, the sandwiches are routinely eaten in fifteen minutes according to the research. This while variety and attention are really important in enjoying food. Despite the popularity of the sandwich, it does not get the attention it deserves. With the restaurant Royal De Ruijter wants to change this and inspire people to make sandwiches special again.

Pay with #broodjebijzonder at sandwich restaurant

The sandwich restaurant in restaurant Struisvogel runs for one week from Friday 4 September onwards and is open between 9:00 and 14:00. Anyone can walk in from 9.00 am onwards for a creative selfmade sandwich until 10 September. Fresh bread, fruit and Royal De Ruijter products like Vlokfeest (chocolate flakes), aniseed sprinkles, Fruit- and Strawberry-Raspberry sprinkles, ‘Gestampte muisjes’ (crushed aniseed sprinkles) and Bebogeen are yours to use. There is no menu and no price list. Guests pay by sharing a photo of the creation on social media with #broodjebijzonder.

Broth-to-go at Brodo in NYC

3-9-2015

Broth is very popular, especially in those cities with very cold winters. Last year we’ve spotted Brodo in NYC at the end of wintertime. And as we’re all rethinking our winter menu’s it might be an idea to consider serving broth-to-go.

Broth-to-go instead of coffee-to-go

We already wrote an article about it last March, with the main focus on an European soup initiative in Montpellier (France) by chef Marc Veyrat, Urban Soup. At his soup place, guests can create their own soup. With the first week of bad weather in the Netherlands, we would like to inspire entrepreneurs to follow the example chef Marco Canora of Brodo gave us last winter and start serving broth-to-go during the cold days.

In NYC you go to the window of Brodo for a broth-to-go

Marco Canora started the trend of broth-to-go with his East Village take-out window dedicated to bone broth, offered in a few different varieties and served in a steaming paper cup for easy sipping. There are a handful of add-ins like bone marrow, fermented beet juice and fresh turmeric, plus a couple of more traditional soups too.
Check out Zagat’s interview with Marco Canora and reconsider serving broth-to-go this winter at your place, whether you’re a butcher, restaurant owner or a coffeeshop.

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.

Restaurant Kaat Mossel celebrates its 25th anniversary with a unique mussel dish

2-9-2015

Unique mussel dish and numerous festivities at restaurant Kaat Mossel Rotterdam for their 25th anniversary.

Chef cook Ron Hirt and his spouse and hostess Marie-Claire, celebrate the 25th anniversary of their restaurant Kaat Mossel in September. A fact that is celebrated in a festive manner in this restaurant in Rotterdam, which is famous for its timeless atmosphere, fair food and the recognizable faces.

Restaurant Kaat Mossel is throwing a party in September

While Rotterdam is on international lists as an über trendy city, the nostalgia is cherished at mussel restaurant Kaat Mossel. That’s where the attractiveness lies of this ‘gezellige’ (sociable, cozy) restaurant. The unpolished interior with numerous portraits of the 18th century mistress of mussels: Kaatje Mossel. The restaurant breathes characteristic temperament for which guests keep coming back for decades now. Throughout the month of September, the 25th anniversary is celebrated exuberantly. During the National Mussel Week from 29 August until 6 September 2015, there is a special three-course mussel menu for the price of € 25,= (for the 25th anniversary). And from 1 September all mussel dishes from the menu will be served at the price of € 19,90. The price refers to the birthdate of restaurant Kaat Mossel in 1990. This autumn they will present ‘The Golden Mussel’ in a playful way to a famous person who has done something great for the city Rotterdam. And as a sensational extra blow a mussel dish was created.

Unique mussel dish: mussels à la Kaat Mossel

The chef has created a new unique mussel dish: Mussels with fennel and thyme by the name of ‘Mussels à la Kaat Mossel’. Two kilos of the highest quality mussels from Schmidt Zeevis with fennel, parsley, garlic, thyme, olive oil, butter and white wine, all prepared in the wok. Guests will also get the recipe to take home.

Inspiration

Great idea to create a special dish for an anniversary and to give your guests the recipe to take home. We wish Chef Ron and his spouse Marie-Claire lots of fun with their anniversary celebrations in September.

Van Dobben Corner in Amsterdam Arena

1-9-2015

At the first tier of the Amsterdam Arena, behind the F-side, opened the first ‘Van Dobben’ Corner. As from this footbal season, the beef croquettes, bitterballs (small round croquettes, famous in The Netherlands) and rolls with the Van Dobben veal frikandel or the Van Dobben luxury cheese soufflé are no longer only available at mobile snack carts. The Van Dobben Corner also serves: a ‘Van Dobben’ sausage roll and a special meatball roll with Hellmann’s Honey Mustard Sauce.

Van Dobben Corner

The first Van Dobben Corner just opened before the first home game of Ajax and was officially opened by former Ajax player Johnny Rep. There are already plans for several Van Dobben Corners in the Arena. Hans van der Linden, Catering Club and director Frank Visser, Commercial Director of Van Dobben are happy with their successful co-creation and have plans for more Van Dobben Corners in the Amsterdam Arena.

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.