TonTon Club XL is coming back!
In 2016 the TonTon Club XL is coming back to the ‘Westergasfabriek’ in Amsterdam. For up to two weekends in March you can enjoy pinball games, shooting games, air hockey and many more. read more
In 2016 the TonTon Club XL is coming back to the ‘Westergasfabriek’ in Amsterdam. For up to two weekends in March you can enjoy pinball games, shooting games, air hockey and many more. read more
Good news for popcorn lovers in the Netherlands. On March 5th the first popcornstore in the Netherlands will we opened in Amsterdam. read more
Some people may be disgusted by it, but the edible insects are becoming more popular. Currently you only see them as an exciting snack on exclusive parties, but they already are in the supermarket as well. This superfood pasta Bugsolutely consists of 20% cricket flour and also has loads of protein, calcium, iron and vitamins. Besides, cricket flour makes the pasta even tastier. read more
Credits: @dominiqueansel’s Instagram. Guest blog of Leonie van Spronsen, living and working in Paris, heard her colleagues complain about the long queues during the ‘Taste of Paris’ last week. Due to the start of the festival season last weekend with the ‘Taste of Holland’, Leonie blogs about the annoyance of queues. It is not too late to do something about them yet..
Over the past few years they have been popping up all over the world, these “foodie-festivals”we mean, they are either indoor or outdoor, focus on astonishing gastronomy or on variations of our favourite snacks. I personally feel that this is a great development, as the average foodie enjoys these more than a dance festival. But much to our dismay, queueing up has become a regular activity at all these “foodie-festivals”.
Every small but delicious bite you want to try is ruined by a spectacular waiting line. At ‘Taste of Paris’ the average waiting time was 30 to 45 minutes for basically every stand. But also last summer, while visiting ‘Rollende Keukens’we had to conclude that the festival has had its best days, the terrain gets way too busy these days and this takes the fun out of it for us and many others. Obviously these huge crowds are great for the organizers and illustrates the large demand for these types of events, but the negative effect of over-crowdedness will clearly affect your event and the future of your event quickly.
So how come this situation arises on these festivals? The fact that there are long lines at amateur festivals is to be expected, their organizers usually aren’t specialized in the logistics of F&B. Besides, true hospitality is usually not their main goal. But these “foodie-festivals” consists mostly of hospitality entrepreneurs am I right? How is then still possible that these festivals create such un-hospitable situations? Hospitality is their core business!
For the future of the “foodie-festival”it seems to be very important that we solve this ‘queueing up-situation’ because if not.. Will they still be as popular as they are or will people get sick of it soon?
You can either solve this or accept the lines and entertain your guests!
In regards to entertaing your queueing customers, festival entrepreneurs could take some inspiration from baker Dominique Ansel. With two lines a day in front of his bakery (early morning for the cronuts and at 4 PM for the milk cookie-shots) this is the man that can tell you a thing or two about lines and people in lines. He excels in entertaining his waiting customers, like last weekend when he personally handed out roses to ‘his line’ for Valentine’s Day at his bakery in New York City. But on any given day, him and his team hand out warm madeleines, hot chocolate milk, appel cider or lemonade if it’s hot out.
At the opening of his bakery in Japan they even went as far as doing social media challenges between the lines in New York and Tokyo. They arranged for breakdancers to entertain the crowd and when it got really sunny and hot, they sprayed their customers with water sprays to keep them cool.
You can check out our article about the opening of the Tokyo bakery on our website hospitalitytrends.eu.
So consider entertaining your guests while they wait and thus make sure your “foodie-festival” visitor keeps coming back for more. We would love to visit festivals without lines but if that’s too much to ask.. at least keep them entertained!
Credits: Yoepz Kip & Kreeft
Credits: Yoepz Kip & Kreeft
Credits: Yoepz Kip & Kreeft
Credits: Yoepz Kip & KreeftLobster and chicken as main ingredient, slightly different as the old fashioned Surf & Turf. Restaurant Yoepz Kip & Kreeft (Chicken & Lobster) from Utrecht (The Netherlands) will soon open a store in Amsterdam. read more
Buitenaanzicht 't Soldaatje VOC
Klaar voor ontvangst
Fotomuur
Aan tafel bij 't Soldaatje VOC
Het team van 't Soldaatje VOCSunday the 21st of February ‘’t Soldaatje VOC’ (The Soldier) in Voorhout (the Netherlands) will be opened, located in the middle of the ‘Bollenstreek’. This restaurant serves dishes that are inspired on countries that the Dutch visited as soldiers in the colonial times, from Suriname to Indonesia. read more
It’s getting more popular nowadays to use a digital menu. This was also noted by Vision Multimedia, the company behind Vision Menu. Through crowdfunding they managed to raise enough money to grow both domestically and abroad. But why would you switch to a digital menu? read more
Every year one out of four festival visitors leaves their tent behind on several festival campsites all over the Netherlands. The amount of waste that this creates is bad for the environment. The solution is simple: from now on you can camp in a cardboard. read more
Hospitality entrepreneurs in Belgium and the Netherlands are challenged by Hellmann’s to make ‘The Ultimate Bite’. The winner gets a commercial campaign for his/her own business, to the value of €5.000,=, at The Ultimate Bite live finale on the 23rd of May in the ‘Kookfabriek’ in Amsterdam. You can sign up till the 20th of March 2016 on UltimateBite.com.
Read more about the conditions in the rest of the article. read more
Friet met kaviaar van Tante Nel
Friet met kaviaar van Tante Nel
Thrill Grill's friet. Credits: HOTSPOTHUNTER.COM
Frietje Nutella van Piet Friet
Frietje Nutella van Piet FrietOne of the unique characteristics of fries is that you can endlessly combine them with different ingredients. Fries with caviar, Parmesan cheese, truffle mayonnaise, chocolate, Nutella and stews. In the Netherlands, fries are very popular. We eat them with mayonnaise or ketchup but also with ‘mayonnaise, curry sauce and chopped onions’, with hot peanut sauce or sometimes even with truffle mayonnaise but the fries noted below aren’t often on the menu! In response to an article in the Dutch AD newspaper about Tante Nel (aunt Nel), the haute friture shop in Rotterdam, we made a list of unique and weird combinations with fries. ^Bram Kosterink read more
Foodhall 88, the first pop-up food hall in the Netherlands will open the 18th of February in Tilburg. At this moment the lobby of building 88 at the Spoorzone (Railway zone) is still under construction but as from next Thursday you’re supposed to smell fish, meat and vegetables here. Foodhall 88 is open until late April.
In November 2015 we wrote about Dorset’s culinary food plaza. A unique collaboration between AVIA and Willem Dankers. The food plaza has opened recently and we received beautiful pictures of it, special thanks to Marieke Dijkhof. The article about the food plaza is stated below. read more
Great news, still some spots left for you! ‘Brouwerij Troost’ in Amsterdam is giving you the opportunity to brew your own beer. The registration for the second quarter in 2016 is now open. read more
The restaurants of François Geurds always create a lot of rumour around their brand. Now this star chef has launched a CD with tasty music, the CD Flavours & Grooves. As the CD is hidden in the dessert at FG Restaurant and FG Food Labs, you have one more reason to eat there.
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Taking your dog on a date this Valentine’s Day, this is possible at MicroChippy, a pop-up restaurant for 2 days in London. Canine charity Dogs Trust is bringing a 1950s style doggy diner to Clerkenwell on 13 and 14 February. read more
Approachable inspiration, trends and highlights from 2025 that can be easily applied to your own business in 2026. A whitepaper to scroll through when you read more
We’ve been enjoying glorious summer weather for a few weeks now, and the popular seasonal drinks are already known. Mocktails, cocktails, spritz variations, rosé, and read more
Stoli scores points for originality with their latest stunt. The vodka brand modified a Boeing 757, hired a world-class mixologist, and flew to the edge of space to host a cocktail party… in zero gravity.
In a pub in Milan, they staged a special broadcast of the UEFA Champions League final match. Two legend of Italian football, Billy Costacurta and José Altafini, give live commentary, but the audience seems to know exactly what’s about to happen… Show your skills with the Star Player app of Heineken.
No spaghetti with meatballs, but meatballs with spaghetti. Check out the recipe here.
The playful artists at Christopher Norman Chocolates creates these chocolate-caramel confections by hand from start to finish, then arrange them domino-style, in a custom gift box. Dark chocolate is molded into sharply defined rectangles, piped with white chocolate dots and filled with rich, silky caramel. Nice to serve at coffee time.
As a follow up on a previous movie of McDonald’s Canada, they answered new questions of consumers. They started with answering a question about the ads of the hamburgers, now they show us how the French fries arrive in the restaurants on your plate. Check out the movie.
The recently launched Belgium coffee-beer ‘Broeder Jacob Double Espresso’ is a perect marriage, according brothers Johan Claes of Brewery Broeder Jacob and business man Wim Claes of coffee-roasting factory Java. This dark brown beer holds an alcohol percentage of 7,7%. The used coffee which will be mixed during the brewing, is made the Turkish way, before adding this to the process. The beer is available in bottles of 75 cl, but from next year it will be available in small bottles of 33 cl and kegs as well.
The Go-Plate is designed for freehanded eating and drinking, and fits over most consumer bottles, cans and cups. Fantastic for walking buffet parties. The plate lifts off easily to access to your drink.
We undergo a revolution in the food industry. Trendwatcher Adjiedj Bakas describes this is his new book The Future of Food which is released mid October. Watch the movie for a short impression of the book.
In September NOglu opened its doors in Paris, a restaurant which serves a fully gluten free menu. Also guests with a lactose intolerance are welcome in the restaurant. It is the second restaurant in Paris which fully focuses on guests with these allergies. The restaurant is opened from 10am and guests can come here for a daily changing menu, but as well for cakes and cookies. On Friday nights, they organize cooking classes as well.
Want to surprise your guests with a special dessert during the Christmas dinner? Haägen-Dazs developed together with the London design firm Doshi Levien, these moon-shaped ice cream scoops. These scoops disguise a cake and are available in the flavors pistachio and macadamia nuts and chocolate with salted caramel.
The Citta del Mare Hotel in Sicily in Italy offers a really special water slide. From the top you slide right into the Mediterranean Sea. Already holiday plans for next summer?
The Magic Kingdom Park in Walt Disney Resort in Florida will open a Beauty & The Beast-themed restaurant, called Be Our Guest, on November 19th. The detail that went into creating a realistic experience that could live up to the beloved animated film is apparent in the splendor of every room. Watch the movie for an explanation of the creation.
Don’t be scared, but there are some animals hidden in your cup. At the bottom of the cup you can find a lobster, octopus or crocodile, designed by Yumi-Yumi. The handmade cups are dishwasher and microwave safe.
Food specialist worked for five years on the development of algae bread, but since this week it is available at the bakery shops in the Netherlands. This break is full of proteins, fibers, antioxidants, good fats and vitamins, but contains 30% less salt than ‘normal’ bread. Check out here where to find a shop (Netherlands).
Serve your canapés or dessert in a different way with the Kkis glassware of YORB DESIGN. Perfect for a walking dinner, but decorates your table in a nice way as well.
Starbucks will open several new stores where the tables and chairs are ditched and offers only a drive-thru and walk-up. The first store opened in Denver, but many stores will follow.
The newest restaurant of Philippe Starck opened in Saint-Ouen (Paris, known of all the flea markets). The interior and exterior are designed by Starck, of which he created a cozy chaos where pastels and white dominate the interior. The floor contains of wood, interspersed with small mosaic tiles, which creates a playful effect.
A vertical wall planter with an integrated chalkboard. Easy for example in your kitchen to grow some herb plants. On the chalkboard you can write the names of the herbs.
Restaurant Edel, located in the west of Amsterdam, re-opens on October 24th with a renewed interior, a new food & drink concept and a new chef. Tim Groenendijk offers on each moment of the day, an appropriate menu, which is all about seasonal vegetables. ‘Home at Eden’ should act as a second living room of the neighbors. In 2007, the three owners Daan Rohde, Onno Eijkelhof and Melvin Kruin opened Restaurant Edel, also known from the monthly Edelwise parties.
The Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital in Michigan launched an organic greenhouse next to the hospital. There are several vegetables and fruits cultivated which are used in the hospital café and in meals of patients. Next to that the hospital offers an education center, cooking demonstrations, tours, yoga classes all in order to let consumers know the healing power of food.
A real eye catcher in your restaurant or café, this LED lightened serving tray. Available in several colors.
This hotel room of The Eden hotel in Taiwan is the kitsch version of the Batcave, totally in style of this superhero. And of course, the Bat-sign needs to be present as well.
This article is only available in Dutch.
To emphasize the fast train connection between Lyon and Brussels, the SNCF invited people in Lyon, on the 21st and 22nd of September 2012, to take a look in Brussels. On a square a giant cube was placed, with only a small hole. Through the hole people took a look in Brussels, where they met the mayor, his band and inhabitants, in style through a video connection.
The new hotel Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht will open her doors officially at the end of October, but the neighbors are already welcoming the hotel. The 122-room design boutique hotel is located in the vicinity of the nine streets, Jordaan and the famous canals. Three neighbors re telling about the neighborhood and why this area is so inspiring.
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