Top 10 quirky hotels
29-3-2013
Another list with special hotels this time by Tripadvisor. Tripadvisor gives an overview of ten quirky hotels all over the world. Like spending a night in a train station or on a oil rig. The photos are of the Costa Verde Hotel in Costa Rica. The hotel has renovated a vintage Boeing 727 from 1965 and transformed it into a hotel room with two bedrooms and a bathroom. The room offers a beautiful view over the jungle and will make you feel like you are flying. Watch the website Tripadvisor for more quirky hotels.
Viva Las Vegas Food Festival
29-3-2013
The Viva Las Vega’s foundation organizes the Viva Las Vega’s Food Festival at June 1st in Amsterdam for the third year in a row. The festival is a sympathetic and accessible introduction to the vegetarian cuisine. There will be culinary workshops, interesting lectures, a Food and Lifestyle Market and food films. The festival is also the ending of the VeggieChallenge, a 30-day challenge for meat reducers.
Easter: egg in a bed
29-3-2013
Get in bed an egg on a bed served with Easter…
Gastronomixs and Koppert Cress
29-3-2013
Koppert Cress and Gastronomixc have been working together and designed a component schedule. Gastronomixs is a worldwide culinary database and an idea generator for chefs and food professionals. The schedule shows that you can do more with the Aclla Cress (fresh citrus flavor) than just food garnish. Be inspired by the many possibilities that this schedule, like a mild curry of Aclla Cress and almonds or an aromatic broth with citrus and Aclla Cress.
Jamie Dog House and Diner
29-3-2013
Jamie Oliver is preparing to launch a hot dog restaurant in central London, named Jamie Dog House & Diner. The hot dog restaurant will be in American style, with grilled sausages, burgers and big juicy steaks. Hot dogs aren’t that healthy, but Jamie Oliver will give the dishes a twist to make it healthy. The meat will be organic and of the highest quality and the sauces will be made of natural ingredients. The menu will show more healthy options.
Drink this alcohol free shot cool
28-3-2013
The ‘Bobshot’ is a non-alcoholic shooter for young people up to 18 years, but also for the people who need to drive after a party. The ‘Bobshot’ is available in three flavors: rasberry-cherry, banana-melon and tropical fruits and should be served cold. Youth can drink the bobshot during a night out, without consuming a drop of alcohol.
Nespresso Afternoon Coffee
28-3-2013
The Conservatorium Hotel in Amsterdam serves an afternoon coffee, a new version of the famous classic afternoon tea. The executive chef Schilo van Coevorden has made a special menu for the afternoon coffee, with special coffee-food combinations. The courses are served with one of the most exclusive limited editions of Nespresso coffee, the ‘Hawaii Kona Special Reserve’. The beans for this coffee are grown in very small quantities on the slopes of the volcanoes in Hawaii, and is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. Some examples of the combinations; savory scones with tomato jam and Hawaiian Sunset (Grape Fruit, Passion Fruit, Rum and Olive Oil Pearls).
Sleeping in a bubble
28-3-2013
Sleeping in the middle of the nature or high in the trees? That’s possible at hotel ‘Domaine du Tisserand’ in France. The hotel offers accommodation in a bubble. One bubble is placed 5 meters high in the trees and can be zipped open and closed. The other bubble is placed at the ground and is transparent. The bubbles provide a beautiful view of the green area and at night you can see the stars. For outdoors enthusiasts this is a wonderful accommodation. For those who prefer more comfort, the hotel also offers accommodation in suites.
Tastes of the Netherlands
27-3-2013
During which period is cep available, can you pick radishes and is mackerel caught? The culinary calendar of Slowfood looks back and forward with an overview of the availability of flowers, fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts, mushrooms, game and fish. The calendar provides practical information about the location of presence, the taste and how the products can be prepared.
Visual recipes
27-3-2013
It is so easy to lose track during cooking using text-based recipes. Every time you turn around to cut some meat or add spices you need to search for the next step. Visual recipes are the solution. Visual recipes explain a recipe by images rather than text. You can follow them more easily and it is more enjoyable to look at. You can find more visual recipes at the website of Visually.
Urban Farm in Amsterdam
27-3-2013
The urban farm in Amsterdam-Noord will be a place where you can gather fresh produce and enjoy the green and productive scenery of the countryside in the middle of the city. At the farm products like fresh fruits, vegetables are grown and it will be a place where pigs and chickens are free to roam and graze. A team of 15 enthusiastic students and professionals have started to develop an economically viable business case for the urban farm. Currently, the enthusiasts behind the urban farm are looking for donations.
A pop up cake hotel
25-3-2013
A bath filled with caramel-coated popcorn, windows and walls clad with macaroons and a meringue carpet. In the London’s Soho the British cane sugar ‘Tate & Lyle Sugars’ created a pop-up cake hotel to promote the new range of gold and brown cane sugar. The cake hotel has eight rooms, each with its own theme and made of a different type of sugar. As the Pirates of the Carribean room, characterized by a huge treasure chest full of edible pearls and coins or the British-inspired golden syrup sugar room with a giant golden lion and tarts in the shape of the British Isles. It took over 2000 hours and more than 600 kilos of sugar to bake the elements for the hotel.
Hotel with an indoor market
25-3-2013
Architect Dean Moran is the winner of the Rethink Hotels competition. He came up with a concept hotel where the focus is not only on the accommodation, but also on the ‘underlying principle of local food’. The hotel, named Allotment Hotel, will include a market where local producers can sell their products. The products, produced within 100 km and grown with sustainable principles, will also be used as part of the dishes the restaurant serves. In the center of the hotel there will also be an open-air courtyard that provides natural light. Dean Moran wants to build the hotel in downtown New York, but there are no concrete plans yet to build the hotel.
Local products in your supermarket
25-3-2013
The Danish grocery superstore ‘SuperBrugsen’ wants to connect communities and stores with producers in their local area by offering local products as alternatives. Customers can suggest locally-made products or suppliers they would like to see in the nearest store by filling in a form on the website of ‘SuperBrugsen’. After filling out a description on their suggestions and reasons why ‘SuperBrugsen’ should collaborate, managers will taste and test the products to ensure they are up to standard. Kind of crowdsource of suggestions. Restaurant owners can also use this by asking for suggestions from their guests…
The Lab in London
25-3-2013
From 25 to 27 April 2013 a new event ‘The Lab’ will be launched at the Tobacco Dock in London, organized by the people behind the ‘Taste Festival’ and AEG organisation. This unique event offers three evenings of gastronomic and interactive experiences with some of the world’s best chefs. Experience the cooking techniques from top chef Alex Atala who’s restaurant D.O.M. in Sao Paulo is currently fourth best in the world, or get inspired during the ‘Noma Flavor Test’ by Lars Williams (Noma’s head of research and development). Check the other participants at their website.
Foursquare for drinks
25-3-2013
Elixr is a new app / social network for iPhone and iPad where users can share their drinks with friends. The new app allows users to take a picture of their drink and post it with a comment and the location. Your friends can view and comment the drinks you share. It’s also possible to see where your friends have checked in and you can rate a drink to help building a grade for the venue you’re at and populates the drink menu for other Elixr Members to see.
Puschkin Whipped Cream
22-3-2013
The Vodka specialist Puschkin has developed a new flavor, ‘Whipped Cream’. Puschkin combines the power of crystal clear vodka with the sweet taste of homemade whipped cream. The ‘Whipped Cream’ need to be served cold and after drinking a shot you need to consume a little whipped cream to enhance the experience. The drink can also be used for making cocktails. The bottle has a frozen and striking look and will be sold in various stores from April in The Netherlands. ‘Whipped Cream’ responds to the hype from America where dessertflavors make the latest trend in beverage. As for example the ‘Salted karamel Vodka‘.
Dining in the green with a great view at Amsterdam
22-3-2013
Earlier we saw that ‘Buitengewoon in het land’ served dinners in the outdoors. This year on June 28, a 5-course dinner of seasonal products will be served on the roof of the building ‘Zuidpark’ in Amsterdam. On the roof of the building there is a 3,000 square meter ‘Urban Farm‘ developed. At the center of this farm, the dinner of ‘Buitengewoon in het land’ will be served. Watch the pictures of last year.
Swimming in the middle of the rainforest
22-3-2013
The luxurious villas of Ubud Hanging Gardens are located in the heart of Bali and are a paradise for nature, culture and art seekers. The villas have spectacular views of the surrounding hills and moutains and overlooks the winding Ayung River and the old temple Ubud. The infinity-edge pool stands on two levels, and overlooks the rainforest with monkeys. Besides this large pool each villa has its own horizon-edge pool. Click to see more pictures.
PoshBurger Bistro
22-3-2013
The Michelin-starred chef cook Conrad Gallangher opened a new Bistro named ‘PoshBurger’ in Las Vegas. The menu consists of Gourmet Burgers like the ‘Kobe with truffle aioli, seared foie gras and a quail’s egg or a wild-boar burger with Armagnac aioli and poached pear. You can find the menu here. The meats are all natural, free-range, grass-fed, humanly raised, sustainable and pesticide free. To get an impression of the Bistro, see more pictures at UrbanDaddy.
Sparkling, flat water or tap water
21-3-2013
During the ‘Water4daagse’ guests can order tap water (for a small fee) at a number of restaurants in Zwolle, the Netherlands. During 4 days the revenue will go to the drinking water projects of Join The Pipe in Africa. The campaign runs from 20 till 23 March and is an initiative of the students at the Landstede Institute in Zwolle and part of Upgraden.nl. ‘Upgraders’ are young people who execute positive actions for a better world. The actions contribute to one of the Millennium Goals or human rights.
Inspiration on your sandwich
21-3-2013
The toaster ‘The Image Toaster’ surprises you every morning with a random image from Google, toasted on your sandwich. The toaster can be connected to the computer via USB and searches for pictures that are related to a date, such as Easter. The toaster roasts the pictures on the slice of bread. This is still a prototype that has been created for a Creative Technology course “Innovation Lab” at the University by Scott van Haastrecht. But it would be nice a portion of inspiration in the morning or even be fun to serve in a restaurant!
Escape Flight choose a destination for people
21-3-2013
Sometimes it’s difficult to choose a destination when you want to get away for the weekend. Recently the travel site ‘Escape Flight’ launched in the U.K. ‘Escape Flight’ chooses a destination for their clients, they only have to give input as what they are looking for, like culture, food, nightlife or outdoor and sort results based on price, hassle or weather. So ‘Escape Flight’ works by finding locations that provide characteristics and attributes selected by the user, rather than searching directly for a specific deal. ‘Escape Flight is currently only operational for flights that depart from London.
Fridge with Touch screen
21-3-2013
Samsung and LG are set to introduce a smart fridge with touchscreen. The Wi-Fi fridge allows you to make a shopping list, or suggest recipes based on ingredients stored inside. The fridge can be connect with a smartphone, so you can continually add ingredients for a recipe. There is also a Twitter feed and Google calendars. With this system the fridge can reduce the food waste. The system without the connection to Evernote has been introduced in 2011.
Meat Free Week in Australia
20-3-2013
“Lamb chop move aside, it’s MY time to shine,” (said Mr Beetroot). This week is the ‘meat free week’ in Australia (18-24 march). During this week Australia needs to think about how much meat they consume, because as a nation they consume way too much. The land-based food sector and also the seafood industry are under pressure. With the meat free week the organisation hopes that people realize that they need to contribute to a brighter future for their environment, animals and farmers by eating less meat and more vegetables. On the website of The Sustainable Table you can download a recipe booklet with meat free recipes.