Dyslexic coffee mugs
Designer Henry Franks has translated his dyslexion into a coffee mug. By designing the ‘Muglexia’ mug literally upside down he has given it an extra dimension.
Designer Henry Franks has translated his dyslexion into a coffee mug. By designing the ‘Muglexia’ mug literally upside down he has given it an extra dimension.
A new restaurant concept that focuses on community trust opened in the Albert Cuypstraat in Amsterdam. The ‘Trust’ restaurant brings food, art and pleasure together in an ‘Come as you are, Pay as you feel’ form. The menu is made by Hilary’s Table, the design by Cath Laporte and Alice Spadaro. The concept is inspired by Hugo Leemhuis, Ingrid Helsloot, Joyce Olivier, Maarten Zwemmer, Mariella van Mackelenbergh and Noor Lawant, the restaurant is ‘open unless closed’.
A group of Google employees have applied for a patent that describes a process for splitting bill. This application might indicate the development of an app where (restaurant) bills can be divided easily and mobile payments are tracked automatically.
Is this the solution for ‘Going Dutch’ in restaurants, or just an unnecessary gadget?
The vertical pop-up restaurant ‘Hans heeft Honger’ (translated as Hans is hungry) took place in the ‘Hans Struijk’ bicycle warehouse on 11 and 12 October. Organizer Milou Turpijn (Ourground) convinced Bastiaan Hagenouw (Owner ‘Hans Struijk bicycles) to open up the warehouse for this event and upcoming chef Edwin Sander created the dishes in a temporary kitchen on location and the guests were brought to their tables by fork-lift truck. A fully 5 course dinner was cooked with extraordinary tastes like ‘escabeche’ from lime leaf, Gillardeau oyster and red onion compote with vanilla. The grand dessert was served directly on the tables that were coated with a special canvas for this occasion.
The online dating platform Pepper.nl started a collaboration with Bagels & Beans to help the love a little. By pressing the button JustCoffee, new members of Pepper.nl can go on a mini-date at Bagels & Beans worth € 10,= per person. At one of the 54 Bagels & Beans locations singles can meet each other and see if it really clicks into real life. This collaboration stimulates a first date and it gives a nice interpretation of the JustCoffee button.
‘I do in Choo’. The Boston Harbor Hotel started a partnership with the luxury shoe brand ‘Jimmy Choo’. Brides who book their wedding at the Boston Harbor Hotel may select a statement pair of bridal shoes at the Jimmy Choo boutique in Boston for this special day. This wedding offer is unique and the goal is to make the wedding at the Boston Harbor Hotel elegant, memorable and fun. The promotion is only for brides who book their wedding by December 31, 2013 hosted on a date of January 1, 2014 – March 31, 2014 and on Fridays and Sundays April 1, 2014 – December 28, 2014.
On September 28 KLM, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, LVNL, Hertz and MasterCard organized a 3D drive-in movie theater on the deck of a parking garage, where the control tower was part of the event. 100 winners of the contest ‘Create Your Own Plane’ and friends/family could watch the movie ‘Planes’ from inside their car with 3D glasses. The sound was streamed to the car stereo via a radio frequency that was specially made available of the event. Schiphol is the first airport in the world that is used as a location for a drive-in movie theater. On October 2, KLM gave 300 kids the opportunity to watch the movie ‘Planes’, on board of a real aircraft. Popcorn was present and special effects were used to create a real-live setting.
More than 1 billion people don’t have access to safe drinking water and more than 2.5 billion to adequate sanitation, making billions of people around the world vulnerable to disease. To help these people, Coca Cola started a pilot from the project EKOCENTER™ in South Africa, in collaboration with DEKA R&D and other partners. EKOCENTER™ is a small kiosk made of containers and offers clean and safe drinking water to the local population. The kiosk also offers other services like wireless communications, electricity, vaccination storage and more. The goals is to open around 1,500 to 2,000 EKOCENTERS™ in 2015 in Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America to provide clean and safe drinking water to developing countries. The EKOCENTERS or ‘Downtown in a box’ provided with the Slingshot water purification systems will be managed by local women entrepreneurs.
The innovative ‘Togo Burger’ packaging is developed by the American student Seulbi Kim. In the package, you can put some fries, a burger and a drink, it is a lot smaller than a normal fast food packaging. The ‘Togo Burger’ is more durable and you can wear it in one hand. Unfortunately the Togo Burger is not yet for sale.
During the opening of the Restaurant week Leiden on November 7, top chef René Redzepi will present his new book ‘A work in Progress‘. René Redzepi wrote down all the occurrences of his restaurant NOMA which resulted in the book ‘A work in Progress’: Notes of Food, Cooking and Creativity. The book consists of three parts: a diary, a recipe book and a photo book. The book contains never before seen photos taken by René Redzepi and his team. It will give readers a peek behind the scenes of the restaurant. During the meeting on November 7, various restaurants in Leiden will serve culinary delights and guests will receive a copy of the new book. You can be present for € 100,=, this includes a signed copy of the book. Check the website of Leidslekkers for the program.
Gazosa La Fiorenzana originates from the Swiss Misox valley, in the south of the Alps. Since 1921 the fruity lemonades by Fabbricca are produced from original recipes. The Swiss Stephan Keller tasted the lemonade for the first time in 2002 in a small bar in Zurich and decided to import the drink to the Netherlands. Gazosa La Fiorenzana is available in eight fruity flavors: bitter orange, lemon, alpine blueberries, raspberry, bitter lemon, tangerine, sweet orange and dark orange with alpine herbs. The lemonade is bottles in a swing-top bottle of 0.35L and is reusable and recyclable. Up to now, the fruity lemonade is exclusively available in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany.
The German company Döhler has introduced bubbles based on algae at the Anuga fair in Cologne which can be used in dairy drinks or as a topping for ice cream. The tapioca pearls, we all know are made from starch and a bit hard, the bubbles created from algae are softer in texture and take the flavor of the syrup. These bubbles burst in the mouth causing more syrup to be released. They were developed in the flavors mango, strawberry and raspberry. Döhler Holland is currently looking for distribution partners to deliver the bubbles to the hospitality industry.
Restaurant ‘Romita Comedor’, located in Mexico City, has a vintage and modern look. The building dates back to early 1900s and the interior is inspired by an old train station. The restaurant has massive windows, large glass ceiling, various elements of wood and tile and there are many plants. The culinary hot spot serves traditionally-inspired Mexican dishes, has an extensive cocktail menu and live entertainment in the evenings. A wonderful stylish vintage interior, for a great dining experience in Mexico.
Love to bake, but want some variation? Use the Rollware, a set of laser cut dough rollers with different patterns. By rolling the Rollware over the (bread) dough, you will simply get an original patterns. The dough rollers are designed and developed by students at the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam.
In the spring I spent a few days in Germany, during which we went for drinks with friends and with that we shared a ‘Flammkuchen, originated from the Alsace region (France)’. Actually we thought to get a quiche but the thin crust of the ‘flammkuchen’ tasted much better. In addition, everyone at the table was convinced that this would taste great as lunch or light dinner dish as well. And the crust can be used with al kind of toppings of course.
Alex Klein Casual Dining BV introduces the ‘flammkuchen’ currently in the Netherlands as a new revenue model for catering businesses. Indeed, the margins on this product are very good and the preparation time is one minute and baking takes 3 minutes. A great business model for entrepreneurs and I know from experience that you will do your guests a favor. ^ Marjolein
Griffins Steakhouse in Stockholm, Sweden is not your average steakhouse. The concept of this restaurant was designed by Stylt and is based on travelling, science and glamour. The imaginary host and his wife (the Griffins), give the restaurant something mysterious.
‘Home made’ by Yvette van Boven is crowned cookbook of the year 2010 in the category Dutch cookbooks. The jury unanimously chose Yvette van Boven. One of the other winners was ‘Master Chefs for Home Cooks’, this book won the audience award. Part of the profit of this cookbook goes to the World Food Program.
A new Japanese restaurant in the Indonesian capital Jakarta is almost entirely constructed outof bamboo sticks. The restaurant has an open character and visitors only protects against the sun and rain. The restaurant is made of bamboo because the owner is not sure of the success of the restaurant. If the restaurant turns out to be not as succesfull as needed the restaurant owner is able to let it dissappear easily.
In restaurant Haute Friture in Antwerp guests can enjoy eco-friendly fries and other dishes. The restaurant tries to minimize waste and is therefore uses a minimum of plastic and other packaging. Customers eat with wooden cutlery out of cardboard boxes. In addition, some meals are also served in compostable containers and palm thatch.
The Swiss Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts opens its first five star hotel in Ramallah on the Westbank. With the construction of this hotel, Mövenpick indicates that the former Palestinian conflict area is ready for tourism and business. The hotel is realized for the estimated amount of $ 40,000,000 with a total of 171 rooms, a swimming pool, fitness center, seven conference rooms and a luxurious restaurant and bar.
Urban Green is an initiative of the Dutch interior designer Mark van der Geest and focuses on urban residents. Urban Green offers a wide range of flowers, plants and accessories for balconies. Urban Green is also developing projects as green roofs and vertical gardens to appertment buildings. Currently there are only stores in Amsterdam but Urban Green hopes to open in 15 stores in Dutch cities.
On Saturday, October 30th, the most expensive bottles of wine were auctioned. They are three bottles of Chateau Lafite’s from 1869. The bottles auctioned seperately for the total sum of $230,000.= U.S. dollars. All three bottles were bought by an Asian bidder over the telephone.
With ‘wine flour’ you can make bread, pastas and sweets with a cabernet flavor. According to producer Marché Noir Foods, the gluten-free ‘grape powder’ is also sold in Europe. It is a gluten-free flour based on the peels of Canadian cabernet grapes. Rich in iron, fiber, vitamins and antioxidants. Recipes are available on their website.
Een Iphone concert in de New Yorkse metro. Het filmpje is al weer 3 miljoen keer gezien! Op de Food Inspiration Days in Eindhoven, dansende flashmobs gezien! Wanneer zien we de eerste flashmob bedacht door een restaurant? Wij hebben wel een aantal originele ideeën! Wil je weten welke? Volg ons op twitter, stuur een mail of DM.
The French canning company La Belle Iloise wants preserved fish to have a hip image by lanching several gift boxes. The gift boxes have names like Small Aperitif, Time for Soup and Lobster and Co.
These new egg rolls were elected at the Expo as the most remarkable product of 2010. Traditional mini spring rolls are redesigned and filled with exotic fruit. The taste can be recognized by the color, a red crust means strawberry flavor, yellow is pineapple and green is apple. Fritty the Fruity can be prepared in the oven or fryer.
Bigfish in Rotterdam, The Netherlands will set up his own pop-up restaurant. The location is still a secret. Bigfish organizes events, catering and sets up concepts like pop up restaurants. Reservations can be made online, and guests receive a password.
In a Chinese shopping center in Nanjing, visitors can buy a crab from a vending machine. The temperature inside the machine does not exceed 5 degrees. As a result the crabs continue in some kind of hibernation. When the crabs awaken when removed from the packacing.
Nano wine can be programmed to a wine that suits your food. Except grape juice, nano-wine contains several nanocapsules; tiny flavor capsules. The capsules are opened by putting bottle in the microwave for a few seconds. The number of watts eventually determine the taste of wine. The wine contains, among other things, vanilla for Australian wine and truffles for Italian wine.
Amstel is looking for a new gadget. This gadget may be a general but he still primarily intended for Euro 2012. The compitition is issued by Boomerang Create. The first prize is € 5.000, = and you can submit your idea until November 30th.
Jangneus Design sends you clean and eco-friendly kitchen towels every month. The towels are made in Sweden and upon request they will be designed with color and print.
Terre Exotique introduced these salty pearls from the vicinity of Djibouti, Africa at SIAL 2010 in France. Natural pearls produced by a combination of wind and sea water, which creates the perfect round shape.
The Cadbury Cocoa House re-opens with new branches throughout Great Britain. At each restaurant guests have a choice of different hot and cold chocolate milk. Also, all Cocoa Houses offer a changing menu created by British restaurateur and food critic Simon Wright.
A branch of Domino’s in Dayton, Ohio (USA) recently presented a breakfast pizza. The breakfast pizza is available in three different flavors: ham & bacon, salami, onion & pepper, and onion, green pepper & mushrooms. Besides the pizza, cutsomers can alsoorder a cup of coffee or a cup of orange juice.
Snooth is a community site that compares prices of wine and makes it easier to look up certain wines for people who can’t remember labels and names of wine. The latest gadget is the labels finder. You can simply take a picture of the label on the bottle and upload it to snooth. The website tells you where the wine is for sale and allows you to order it online.
In Cancun, Mexico they are working on an underwatermuseum in the Caribbean Sea. The museum will be bult in the National Marine Park and consists of over 400 images at a depth of 3 to 6 meters. The initiator behind this underwater museum is Jason deCaires Taylor. The artist wants to show how the original Mexican people “the Mayas’, have developed over the years.
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The new campaign by the World Wildlife Fund to save the tiger can be a shocking experience. WWF lets people in Russia think that they are shot while trying on a t-shirt with a tiger print. The shirt features augmented reality technology. Next to paying attention to the tiger, the campaign clearly shows what the current capabilities of technology are.
Vindict.nl introduces Brix Chocolate for Wine in The Netherlands. A chocolate bar you can combine with wine. The cocoa in this chocolate comes from a tree in Ghana and does not contain certain ingredients that would normally clash with wine. Brix has the shape of a gold bar and can not be broken, but must be carved. Brix is available in the flavors mild, medium, dark and extra dark.
The new coffee shop D’Espresso in New York has an unusual interior. A team of designstudio Nemaworkshop printed bookcases on the walls, the ceiling and the floor of the coffee shop. The coffee shop now lookls like a small library.
Agoston Krieger & Organic Champagne introduces the Organic Champagnebag. The bag is made from 100% recycled cardboard can be recycled and reflects the sustainable image of Agoston Champagne & Krieger. The Organic Champagnebag costs €5.95.