UPCOMING FOOD FESTIVALS

24 JAN-09 FEB

Gastrofestival Madrid 2014

Madrid, Spain

This annual culinary event returns to the capital with a comprehensive program of food-related activities and experiences. Gastrofestival 2014 pays tribute to ...

FESTIVAL WEBSITE

27 JAN-29 JAN

Madrid Fusion 2014

Madrid, Spain

For three days, this beautiful and culturally rich city will host the Madrid Fusión-International Gastronomic Summit. From 27 to 29 January 2014, the Campo de ...

FESTIVAL WEBSITE

27 JAN-31 JAN

St. Moritz Gourmet Festival

St. Moritz, Switserland

St. Moritz Gourmet Festival : A paradise for gourmet fans. After all, it is not without reason that our festival has gained cult status throughout the world. ...

FESTIVAL WEBSITE

01 FEB-28 FEB

Copenhagen Cooking Winter edition

Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen Cooking is one of the biggest food festivals in Northern Europe. The food festival’s mission is to spread awareness of Copenhagen as a world-class ...

FESTIVAL WEBSITE

01 FEB-08 FEB

BITE 2014

Cotswolds, UK

BITE is back. Join us for breakfasts, brunches, lunches, teas & dinners; pop-up restaurants; cocktails & fine wines; masterclasses, talks & ...

FESTIVAL WEBSITE

06 FEB-16 FEB

Berlinare – Culinary Cinema

Berlin, Germany

Every year, the Culinary Cinema shows about around twelve current features, documentaries and short films that deal with food and/or the environment. The films ...

FESTIVAL WEBSITE

07 FEB-09 FEB

Salon Du Chocolat Brussels

Brussels, Belgium

Salon Du Chocolat Brussels will take place in Belgium for a period of three days. The main motive of this international expo is to facilitate the chocolate ...

FESTIVAL WEBSITE

08 FEB-10 FEB

Milano FOOD&WINE Festival

Italy

From Saturday 8th till Monday 10th February the event opened the gates for the third time. That’s almost the same period as the ninth edition of Identità ...

FESTIVAL WEBSITE

09 FEB-11 FEB

Identità Milano 2014

Milan, Italy

A Tasty Intelligence! This theme will illuminate edition number 10 of the Identità Golose congress 2014. Taste, style, pleasure, substance, mouth-watering ...

FESTIVAL WEBSITE

22 FEB-02 MAR

Salon International l’Agriculture

Paris, France

With over 1,000 exhibitors, the show is a real window on agriculture in all its diversity. Products from the mainland and overseas French regions are featured ...

FESTIVAL WEBSITE

Non-Alcoholic Red wine controls high blood pressure

Washington: The good news for red wine lovers is that it really can cut your blood pressure, but the bad news is that alcohol has to be removed first. Non-alcoholic red wine increased participants' levels of nitric oxide, which helped decrease both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, according to a new study in the American Heart Association journal Circulation Research.

                                                                 

ARIEL NON-ALCOHOLIC WINES  http://www.arielvineyards.com/wines.html

The study shows for the first time that natural antioxidant compounds in red wine, not the alcohol, are good for heart health. Nitric oxide is a molecule in the body that helps blood vessels relax and allows more blood to reach your heart and organs, the researchers said. Researchers studied 67 men with diabetes or three or more cardiovascular risk factors who ate a common diet plus one of the following drinks: about 10 ounces of red wine, non-alcoholic red wine or about 3 ounces of gin. All the men tried each diet/beverage combination for four weeks. The red wine and nonalcoholic wine contained equal amounts of polyphenols, an antioxidant that decreases blood pressure. During the red wine phase, the men had very little reduction in blood pressure and there was no change while drinking gin. However, after drinking non-alcoholic red wine, blood pressure decreased by about 6mmHg in systolic and 2mmHg in diastolic blood pressure, possibly reducing the risk of heart disease by 14 percent and stroke by as much as 20 percent. Researchers concluded that the alcohol in red wine weakens its ability to lower blood pressure. But polyphenols, still present after alcohol is removed from wine, are likely the beneficial element in wine. 

Reuters

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/red-wine-controls-high-blood-pressure-conditions-apply-447601.html?utm_source=ref_article

Louvre Hotels Group launches “Grab & Go”, a new self-service restaurant concept

I believe this is a very good concept and a very good alternative to the Minibars.  Today people have to leave the hotel in search for a shop or a 7Eleven to buy some drinks, snack or some food that they can enjoy at the hotel room.  This because the Minibars are over prized and have a poor choice of snacks/food.  With this concept you will keep your clients in the hotel and they dont have to "sneak" in with plastic bag from 7Eleven! Roger Blikkberget

In anticipation of a fundamental change in eating habits, Louvre Hotels Group is launching Grab & Go, a new self-service area providing access to a range of food 24 hours a day. This new concept has been developed in response to three observations regarding trends in French eating habits :

• Eating out is growing fast. It now accounts for one in five meals eaten in France, following the trend set in the USA, where half of all meals are now consumed outside the home;
• Meal times are only a third as long as they were thirty years ago, averaging 31 minutes, which means that people often do not have time for a traditional seated meal. Meal times are becoming more flexible, and snacking throughout the day is gradually taking root in French eating habits;
• French clients are showing a growing preference for simple, easy, quick-to-eat food, which can suit to new approaches to eating (snacks, finger food, buffets, etc.).

To meet these developing customer expectations, Louvre Hotels Group is launching a self-service food area alongside its traditional restaurant offering. The area will offer customers a full range of foods, available throughout the day, together with a range of everyday essentials (hygiene, beauty, leisure items, etc…). The concept will be offered in all of the Group's hotel chains from Première Classe to Golden Tulip, but will be adapted to the layout and location of each establishment, its existing food offering and its client mix (international, business, tourism, etc.).

Tests have been running since the beginning of 2013 in two hotels of the Paris region. Results have been positive and have persuaded the Group to roll out the concept from January 2014. The roll-out will initially take place in selected hotels both in Paris and elsewhere in France, before being extended to all hotels which studies have indicated are suitable for this new facility.

Commenting on this announcement, Nathalie Duneau, Corporate Marketing Director at Louvre Hotels Group, said: "As with our other innovative services – such as automatic check-in/check-out and the HotelForYou free smartphone app – which we were the first to launch, we want to remain one step ahead of our customers' expectations, offering new services that reflect changes in consumer behaviour; services which help make life easier and more comfortable. Our Grab & Go area represents the first stage of the changes we are now embarking on, and we will seek to develop other services to complement and enhance our offering."

Welcome to our new blog!

In our new blog you will find information and news from the hospitality business world wide.

Who am I?

I was born and raised in the hospitality business with parents working as chefs in Norway and abroad. When they returned to Norway we moved to Furnes just outside Hamar where my parents (Food&Beverage) together with Ola Gundersen (Hotel Director) and the Olrud family planned and built Olrud Hotel(one of the biggest conference hotels in Norway) now Rica Hamar. So during years I could see the hotel and the service area getting built and finaly opened.  When it opened the doors I was 6 years.  I could experience all different parts of the business and since then I had it in my blood!

After this my parents have opened and managed several establishments and I was involved in many of them. In the early 90´s we started a company Viking Sport Hotels AS,  we worked with Arthur Buchardt and The Carlson Group (Radisson) among others in developing hotels for the winter olympics in Lillehammer 94. 

The last thing I did in Norway before moving to Russia was Millers American Bar & Restaurant in Oslo. It was a realy good time with Janne and Espen!  Here I took care of the guests and made sure that they had a good time. This was the year that they started with import beer and at Millers we had a lot of the release parties.  I was responsable for San Miguel, Red Stripe, Rolling Rock and many more parties!

Next stop was Russia and Rogers Bar in Murmansk, then Ibiza (Mississippi, Rogers Planet and Red&Hot American Bar&Restaurant) Then I moved to the mainland Spain where I in 2003 opened Chupa Libre in El Campello.

After that I have been working more as a Hospitality Consultant using my knowledge in helping others!

I also work as a Hospitality recruiter helping bars and restaurants to get the staff they need.

My last client was Lotus Taste in Bodø where I was helping with staff, HMS and more.

For more details over my life in the industry you can have a look at my profile at Hospitality Leaders.