Hawaiian Poké Bowl opens branch in Antwerp Tower

24-1-2022

Hawaiian Poké Bowl is opening their 20th location in Belgium in the foodstreet of the brand new Antwerp Tower. To celebrate that twentieth poké location in just three years as it should be, this will be the flagship store of the healthy restaurant chain. The imperial location for that milestone is the busy Keyserlei. As one of the fastest growing players within healthy casual food concepts, here for the price of one bowl you not only get a healthy, fresh and nutritious meal, but also a vacation feeling!

The organization behind Hawaiian Poké Bowl has plans for 20 branches in the Netherlands in the next 3 years. And they are developing sustainable packaging for their take-out and delivery. 

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Trends we spotted | Week 50

20-12-2021

At horecatrends.com we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.

With this week links to articles about winter coffees from all over the world, inspiration from Starbucks. And a “snowman pizza” made by Joe’s Rotisseria in New Jersey!

The first 1,600 Neder Bananas from Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands were harvested at the end of November. Many atypical and sustainable products are made of them! Ever heard of ‘National Cookies Day’? We didn’t, but this day is celebrated on December 4th and Subway opened a ‘Cookieway’ pop-up store around this date.

The fast food chain ‘El Pollo Loco’ is launching a ‘Loco Gifts and Gear’ store in which they sell merchandise specially designed for them, such as a bicycle. And the UK’s cheapest champagne bar has opened, Aldi will sell its award-winning Veuve Monsigny champagne for just £2.33 a glass. And so nice: a ‘Santa sushi’, created by Wave Asian Bistro & Sushi out in Mount Dora, Florida.

Airbnb had a special Christmas promotion in the USA: 4 people could be guests for one night in the ‘Home Alone’ house! Including lots of details like the cheese pizza and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese.

In London you can enjoy the patisserie of the French chef Cedric Grolet in The Berkeley Café and when you are in London now you can enjoy a special ‘Borealis’ by the famous artist Dan Acher for 2 more days. Northern lights above London during the Winter Lights season, we would love to see that above Amsterdam as well!

 Uber Eats was the first to deliver meals to space on December 11! And have you heard of PappaRoti? They sell drinks and special coffee buns from Malaysia in more than 400 locations worldwide. Located in Brussels, among others.

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Trends we spotted | Week 48

7-12-2021

At horecatrends.com we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.

With this week links to…. Bacardi who has announced Astrophel “Troy” Arquiza as the new Global Master Blender for BACARDÍ® rum (the “Maestro de Ron”). And high-quality cocktails from Williams Premium such as the Margarita, Daiquiri, Espresso Martini and Old fashioned are now available in cans.

Butcher and steakhouse owner John Stirk, thought the price of the golden Tomahawk steak at Salt Bae’s new restaurant (in London) was way too high. Stirk Italian Steakhouse now has a much more affordable golden ‘Stirk-Bae’ on his menu…

Wagyu beef is known all over the world as a very exclusive piece of meat. But in Japan you simply ‘pull’ the steak from a vending machine these days! New on the market is the food safety device from Asus, which lets you know whether you have washed your fruit and vegetables sufficiently.

Foodspotting.com preceded the introduction of the app known as Foodspotting. The site allowed its users to take pictures of food that they loved. It was bought by OpenTable in 2013 and doesn’t exist anymore. ChefsTemp on about what happened to this app!

Designer water: this year’s limited-edition glass bottle of Evian water has been covered in Snowflakes by designer Not Vital. A collaboration with Moncler. Another great campaign for the Holiday Season in the UK, this time for the Bounty Bar: ‘The Lonely Bounty’.

 Online cooking tutorials called ‘The Secrets of French Cuisine’ at the website of ‘Fine Dining Lovers’. We included the tutorial of the ultimate croque monsieur! And the same website gives you all the details behind the 100 days pop-up in Paris: restaurant ADMO!

Chiqueolatte opened its 8th location in The Hague and The Hoxton hotel group will open four new hotels in Europe in 2022. Tony’s Chocolonely announced that it will not build its own chocolate factory in the near future.

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Thai’s Streetfood restaurant Pitaya opens in Antwerp

21-10-2021

Thai’s Streetfood restaurant Pitaya, the restaurant chain specialized in Thai cuisine, opened its first restaurant in Antwerp, next to Operaplein in the newly renovated Antwerp Tower. After three successful openings in Brussels and Wallonia, it is now Flanders’ turn. And they will open in the Netherlands as well in the coming years.

Inspired by the Thai capital, the first Pitaya restaurant opened in 2010 in Bordeaux, France. The Antwerp restaurant is number 122 on their list! Most of the restaurants are located in France. Alpha Seed, the investment company that manages Pitaya’s license for the Benelux, is planning further openings in Liège and Charleroi this year. Pitaya now manages 5 restaurants in Belgium. The goal is to reach 70 in the Benelux in 7 years: 30 restaurants in Belgium, 35 in the Netherlands and 5 in Luxembourg.

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Ekomenu launches a new, high protein ‘Recovery meal box’

22-7-2021

Disclaimer: this article is more interesting for Dutchies and those living in Belgium

During a health crisis it is of key importance to use the healing properties of food. That is why Ekomenu is launching a ‘Recovery meal box’ on the 22^nd of July: a healthy, high protein and 100% biological meal box which gives the immune system a boost. The recipes are created by culinary chef Frank Fol, otherwise known as ‘de Groentekok®’, one of the driving forces behind Ekomenu. An international scientific study showcased that during the Covid-19 crisis people focused even more on healthy eating and bought a lot more fruits and vegetables.

Interesting development in the area of meal boxes! Can a restaurant also follow this concept of healthy meal boxes to restore the body? It could definitely be an option if you are still delivering boxes.

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Trends we spotted | Week 21

31-5-2021

At horecatrends.com or hospitalitytrends.eu we spot many national and international trends on a daily basis. We pick the most interesting ones to write about, the other trends we use in our weekly column ‘Trends we spotted this week’.

The public voting for the Impact Shakers Awards for sustainable and inclusive startups and scale-ups has opened and you will soon be able to play real life Mario Karts in London and in Utrecht (the Netherlands)!

Burger King will soon open a temporary meatless restaurant in Germany in cooperation with The Vegetarian Butcher and Belgian brewer Grimbergen will be brewing premium beers in its Brussels Abbey Monastery again, after 200 years.

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University may have found a solution for high pasta packaging costs with flat-packed pasta, without compromising on texture and taste! And an interesting article about the origin of Susumu Kakinuma’s ‘Tokyo Pizza’.

Click on the title if you like to read the full article. Enjoy reading!

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What does the hospitality industry do in the context of the COVID-19 virus? | Inspiration May 12

12-5-2020

As noted last week, we here in the Netherlands are still in an ‘Intelligent Lockdown’ which means, we’re all working from home if possible and our high schools,  universities, restaurants, cafés, gyms, leisure centers, museums, etcetera are closed. But we can take a walk outside and shop for food and even shop at hardware stores and garden centers. As from yesterday our primary schools have re-opened as have the day-care centres but also hair and beauty salons and physiotherapist are allowed to re-open.

As from the first of June restaurants will re-open with a maximum of 30 persons inside, and a social distance of 6 feet, terraces are re-opening as well without a maximum of guests. This, of course, if the Covid-19 casualties remain low. Our government created a path in which they think our economy has to restart, with no festivals, concerts or congresses till the first of September and even gyms aren’t allowed till then. In the meantime we keep spotting all kind of inspiration worldwide around the hospitality industry.

With this week links to articles about the fact that the Belgians are asked to eat fries twice a week and in the USA you can order fresh DIY pasta kits at some restaurants, great inspiration for other Italian restaurants worldwide!

San Francisco and Seattle are limiting what delivery services can charge restaurants for processing orders, while New York and Los Angeles consider similar policies. And the North Sydney café shifted to grocery store during the lockdown.

The restaurant group Black Sheep in Hong Kong created a viral blueprint for reopening restaurants after a lockdown, a link to where you can download this blueprint.

International design and innovation office CRA – Carlo Ratti Associati launched Pura-Case, a wardrobe purifier to remove bacteria and viruses from clothes. And Cape Town Tourism sends tourists love letters!

Stay healthy and take care of each other! ^Team Horecatrends

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Restaurants Culina Hortus and Vanilla Black | The world’s Best Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants 2020

4-5-2020

In Brussels the ‘We’re Smart®’ movement, the undisputed reference in the culinary world of vegetables, revealed the new online Green Guide today and the winners of this year’s Best Vegetarian and Best Vegan Restaurants: Culina Hortus (Lyon, France) and Vanilla Black (London, UK).

The announcement was made by the renowned Vegetables Chef®, Frank Fol, during the official release of the We’re Smart® Green Guide 2020, comprising reviews and ratings of nearly 1000 restaurants worldwide ranked from 1 to 5 radishes, according to the amount of vegetables they use in their dishes. read more

nhow Amsterdam RAI | Amsterdam has a new icon

13-1-2020

General Manager Hermann Spatt personally welcomed the first guests of nhow Amsterdam RAI on January 10, 2020. It is the second nhow hotel to be opened in the Netherlands. nhow Amsterdam RAI is located between the RAI Convention Centre and the A10 highway, making it attractive for organizers, exhibitors and visitors to national and international exhibition and conference markets. Schiphol Airport is a ten minute drive by car or train and the tram will take you to Dam Square within six minutes. The building was designed by the architectural firm OMA. nhow is the lifestyle brand of NH Hotel Group and the hotel in Amsterdam has 650 hotel rooms and nine multifunctional event rooms on the 23rd floor.

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New nhow hotel Hamburg will be build on the bunker St. Pauli

22-10-2019

NH Hotel Group’s has plans to open a new nhow hotel built on ex Nazi bunker in the city of Hamburg in 2021 an it’s set to be one of Europe’s most emblematic hotels. nhow Hamburg joins the brand’s pipeline of seven establishments, with three of the planned new hotels – in London, Amsterdam and Brussels – due to open their doors in 2020.

The amazing bunker, right in the heart of the city, will extend over five storeys in the shape of a pyramid, which will house the hotel rooms. One of the project’s most eye-catching features is the landscaping plans: a spectacular roof-top garden, in all likelihood one of a kind in Germany. The hotel will enjoy fantastic panoramic views of Hamburg, in the line of sight of the Elbphilharmonie and a leafy and meandering green walkway that will surround the bunker.

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