Trends we spotted | Week 34

26-8-2021

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’.

WIth this week links to articles about Restaurant Esmé in Chicago, founded by Jenner Tomasko (executive chef at Grand Achatz) who focuses on art and community with even a à la carte menu for ‘walk-ins’. Sounds like Chicago has a new culinary hotspot.

 Starbucks opened their 10th ‘farmer support’ centre in VarginhaBrasil with the purpose to offer valuable resources to local coffee communities. 

 UPSIDE Foods partners with three Michelin star chef Dominique Crenn. Crenn will develop recipes and give culinary advise and if allowed she will use the lab-grown chicken in her restaurant. This is the first collaboration in the cultivated meat industry with a three star Michelin chef. 

 De Koningshoeven brewery is the first in the world to market a completely alcohol-free Trappist beer: La Trappe Nillis (0.0%). And McDonald’s published their Purpose and Impact Report of 2020-2021 with four impact points: Jobs, Inclusion and Empowerment, the Plant, Food Quality & Sourcing and Community Connection. 

 Duke’s Mayonaise started collaborating with Champion Brewing Company to produce the perfect beer that fits with a BLT sandwich: Family Recipe (5,1% ABV, 27 IBU). Kind of ‘Mayo Beer’. The new ‘food shopping’-app, Grownby, connects farmers with buyers. Wouldn’t it be great to have  such an app as a cook? And getting messages like the strawberries are now ‘ready to eat’!

 CandyCan gummy bears are gluten-free, plant-based, low-sugar, low carb and contain vitamins. Is it an idea to lay a bag of Gummy bears on top of a pillow for children visiting your hotel? Or to put a bag in a ‘Happy-Meal’ kind of box?

 Oreo opened their first café in New Jersey. The café consists of a shop offering Oreo cookies and other Oreo treats, and fast-service where you can order Oreo treats. And in New York another sweet hybride is gaining popularity: the Croffle. This is a soft, buttery and layered croissant toasted in a waffle iron and sprinkled with different toppings. 

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

Restaurant Esmé in Chicago | Redefining the tasting menu with a focus on art and community 

Wednesday, August 18 was the opening of restaurant Esmé in Chicago, a new restaurant created by Jenner Tomaska, who was previously executive chef at Grant Achatz’s Next. We always liked the way Grant Achatz and his team created their culinary world by thinking outside of the box and directly placing it back on their guests table. And if you read the article on Robb Report (link in the title), it feels like Chicago is going to enjoy another culinary restaurant, Jenner Tomaska and his wife and business partner, Katrina Bravo, want Esmé to be a restaurant that celebrates its Chicago community, they’re even working on an à la carte bar menu to accommodate walk-ins. Check out the article for images of their dishes and the art behind the dishes. Or check out the feeling they’re showing in the video below. (the text continues below the video)

Starbucks opens their 10th farmer support center globally

It’s the tenth farmers support center globally for Starbucks and it’s located in Varginha, Minas Gerais state. The new Farmer Support Center extends Starbucks presence in a key coffee producing region and aims to provide valuable resources to local coffee communities as part of the company’s commitment to source coffee responsibly, for the betterment of people and the planet. Interesting article about the input from Starbucks to connect all the dots in their product process.

UPSIDE Foods partners with three-Michelin star chef Dominique Crenn

UPSIDE Foods, the leading company in cultivated meat, poultry and seafood (also known as cell-cultured meat) announced last week that it has signed a partnership with Dominique Crenn, the co-owner and chef of the three-Michelin-starred restaurant Atelier Crenn in San Francisco. Under the partnership, Crenn will provide culinary counsel and recipe development. Following regulatory review, Crenn will also serve UPSIDE’s cultivated chicken in her world-renowned restaurant Atelier Crenn. This is the first partnership in the cultivated meat industry with a three Michelin star chef. More in their press release, link in the title.

The McDonald’s 2020-2021 Purpose and Impact Progress Report

The four impact areas you’ll learn more about in their 2020-2021 Purpose and Impact Reporting Suite are:

  • Jobs, Inclusion & Empowerment: they’re serving up bright futures by providing opportunity for education and skills in the communities they serve through even greater focus on equity and inclusion across our business.
  • The planet: They’re working to protect our planet today and in the future by finding innovative ways to keep waste out of nature, conserve forests and ecosystems, and drive climate action.
  • Food Quality & Sourcing: they’re sourcing delicious, quality ingredients in responsible ways, because what they serve, how that food is produced and where it comes from matters to their customers, communities and the environment. This includes supporting farming communities and the people, locally and globally, who produce and raise the food, and offering balanced, wholesome options the entire family can enjoy.
  • Community Connection: they’re supporting communities and fostering togetherness.

Check out the details in their press release, link in the title. Or watch the video below for their overview. The text will continue below the video.

Duke’s Mayonnaise and Champion Brewing Company made the perfect ‘’Mayo’’ Beer 

Duke’s Mayonnaise has partnered with Champion Brewing Company to produce the perfect lager to pair with the south’s favorite sandwich – a mouthwatering, Duke’s-slathered BLT. The Vienna-style lager, aptly named Family Recipe (5.1% ABV, 27 IBU), is available since August 20th at Champion’s breweries, restaurants, and distributed via retailers across Virginia and North Carolina.

The name of the beer, Family Recipe, is a nod to Duke’s Mayo founder Eugiena Duke’s legendary recipe. Every jar of Duke’s Real Mayonnaise is still made with this family recipe. Champion Brewing Company released Family Recipe with a special Duke’s-inspired menu. Champion owner Hunter Smith said, “I am inspired by the legacy and loyalty commanded by the Duke’s brand, plus it’s the only mayo that is used in our restaurants, so it only made sense to collaborate. We think we’ve created a beverage that celebrates the southern heritage of our respective products.” More information in the press release, link in the title. Do we have beer specials to pair with products?

CandyCan gummy bears with functional benefits

Sweet benefits that is Gluten-free, plant-based, low-sugar and low-carb. Candy with a purpose. CandyCan snackifies gummy vitamins in a +- 15 gummy pack without added sugars, no environmentally harmful ingredients and no animal-based products! Essentially, they’ve snackified gummy vitamins in a clean label, low carb formula. Ideal to work with if you have kids staying in your hotel…. For example, maybe you can put a bag of Gummy bears on top of their pillow? Or maybe we will see McDonald’s add a healthy snack inside their Happy Meal?

New food shopping app connects farmers with buyers

A new app, created by farmers – for farmers has emerged. With this new shopping app, farmers are directly connected with potential buyers which eliminates the need for venture capital and allows for a sustainable and profitable food business growth. Within the app farmers can sell their products in numerous ways such as directly to local businesses.

How could this be integrated into the restaurant business? Wouldn’t it be great to have an app in which farmers can showcase and sell their products easier to local restaurants thus relying less on the physical marketplace?

First non-alcoholic Trappist beer worldwide

De Koningshoeven brewery is the first in the world to market a completely alcohol-free Trappist beer: La Trappe Nillis (0.0%). The beer is the result of a unique combination between tradition and innovation. It is brewed according to an authentic recipe, using sustainable raw materials and energy sources. Part of the proceeds go to projects in Uganda, that the brothers of the Abbey of Our Lady of Koningshoeven are developing.

Oreo just opened it’s first café

Oreo has opened what’s it’s calling its ‘first-ever café’ — simply called the Oreo Café — “a new, immersive and personalized way for all fans and cookie lovers to experience Oreo in person!” It is comprised of part merch shop — with plenty of shelves featuring all sorts of Oreo cookie varieties alongside other Oreo gear and goodies — and part quick-service joint serving up made-to-order Oreo treats. The menu is broken down into three sections; Oreo desserts, drinks and ‘twist your Oreo- which allows customers to start with a base of either waffle, ice cream sandwich, cone, or milkshake and then top it off with a long list of Oreo-inspired toppings.’ We think a dedicated ‘stroopwafel’ café would do well in the Netherlands as well!

The croffle | A croissant-waffle hybrid

The croffle — a golden hybrid of the croissant and waffle — is the latest South Korean food fad to arrive in New York City.  The sleek Croffle House in New York City serves this decadent treat: A soft, buttery, and layered croissant toasted to a caramelized, honeycomb crispiness in a waffle iron before it’s dressed a dozen different ways. Sounds delicious! And who knows, it might become as famous as the Cronut! More information in the link in the title to the article at NY Eater.

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