If you could rent this for the same price with friendly service….

From the Financial Times this weekend:

“On a trip to Italy last July, I stayed at a hotel in Tuscany called Castello del Nero. Opened in 2006, it has featured in many best hotel lists around the world. I was visiting with my family (as a journalist on a complimentary stay) and was dumbfounded. Slow, forgetful service combined with unsatisfactory food left me wondering how the industry had reached a point whereby it could charge €500 a night for a hotel that was sub-standard – aside from the excellent spa. I was told some of the lapses were because of a departing chef. The trouble is, with the luxury hotel industry entering difficult times, there will be few opportunities for such excuses.

Next year will probably see a tough, consumer-led reappraisal of the market. Interestingly, early signs of this shakedown can be seen in the generally robust market for private villa rentals”

Read the full article here

In June we went on a food safari to Madrid - it was spectacular. Especially our vissit to La terazza del Cassio It is part of the El Bulli Group and that shows. -

We started out with lunch at Va Piano In my opinion one of the most innovative food concept we have seen in a long time.

Followed by tour of the East hotel

And dinner at Elysee

The reason we had dinner the Elysee was that we wanted to test the Block Menu concept live - and that was a real eye opener for all. A 160 seat restaurant handled by 2 chefs in a space no larger than 14 sqm. In the banqueting department 2 chefs handle up to 1000 covers in a night with ease.

So the next day we went to Zarentin outside Hamburg to find out what the sceret begind the low labour cost was: Block Menu

Export manager Rüdiger Brümmer took us through the menus and demonstrated how far sous-vide cooking has come - and we may all have different opinions on taste but we could not fault the quality of the products.

The experience was intense - every one fully concentrated

On the way back to Copenhagen in the bus we had a god chat and reflection on the merits of the various cusines we visited and our hig profile chefs of course stuck to their principles and gave conveniens food a good bashing - but then they got hungry…

Need I say more…

It was good fun and an eye-opener for us all - and like it or not, what IKEA has done to furniture production, Block Menu is determined to do to food production.

” Far more powerful and enduring is to align people with a purpose beyond profit. A hope that their endeavours at work are meaningful in the big scheme of things. It’s not as if we are short of opportunities to make positive changes to our world, is it!”

Read the whole post here

Our article in this months copy of Danish hospitality magazine Visitor hit the streets yesterday and created an unexpected flurry of interest from local Danish media - I was interviewed by Ritzau the news agency and later in the day for Danish Brodcasting who did a 4 min piece on Pizza Kone on the 18 o’clock news.
Business.Dk wrote the story on their business blog: Pizza Nu som Vaffel

If you mised my earlier post here on the blog you will find it here

There is also a video clip of the production process here

Springwise also have an update on this

This is the message that comes through loud and clear in Mavericks at Work - it is the driving force behind a new town guide out in San Fransisco the Green Zebra. Closer to home - for me - it is also the driving force behind by most favourite restaurant La Chassagnette.

The restaurants purpose is to promote the Carmargue region in the south of France - as such the restaurnt is part of a larger project know as Heureuse Camargue - in their own words:
“In this natural and preserved landscape the women and men of “Heureuse Camargue” have consciously chosen to take up a challenge, an undertaking to the practice of organic agriculture, incontestably sustainable and respectful of a major ecological balance. We are committing an act of faith.”

If you are in the South of France this summer I recomend that you pay them a visit.

Enjoy!