opinionated alchemist

Here a video of the latest gadget, which is in the latest process of development: Google Glass. I have published an article about the use of it. Following a excerpt of it… you can read the whole piece on my website dominikschachtsiek.wordpress.com : The last big thing should have been interactive menus. And really – slowly some of the most innovative venues are implementing those. Unfortunately there are not a lot of restauranteurs, which completely understood this technology. Instead of simplify the experience, they implement an electronic menu to become geeky; at an expense of the customer. The investment into iPad [or other tablet] menus, doesn’t only include the devises themselves. One massive part of the investment goes towards the human-machine interface. It doesn’t make any sense to use the tablet as e-reader. It just makes sense to use it to give the guest a rich experience and always show the customer, what he/she wants. I have pointed this already out be

Vodka is and was always very based on marketing. The sensual differences between different brands are so subtle, that they have to be amplified by advertisement. When I have seen on Facebook, that my old sport Ulric works on the launch of Tigre blanc , I directly needed to check, what it is all about. And I must say - Tigre blanc surprised me… It seems, that they don't even try to explain, what the vodka is all about. All what they do, is giving a prosaic [but very  diffuse] story about "dual passions about great wines]. See the video: Here are their marketing prose: Henri Belleville… A Frenchman raised in the hills of Champagne, was inspired to create Tigre Blanc vodka by his dual passions for great wines and spirits and the ‘Art of Love’. He wrote: “There is a spirit...  PREVIOUS NEXT  There is a spirit of love wonderful and perfect; it might have existed before Heaven and Earth. How powerful it is! How spiritual it is! All desire comes from i

I've just seen, that "Speakeasy" won the award as best new bar at the Time Out awards. I wasn't there yet - and even haven't heard yet from it - good job of them, you might think [as speakeasy's supposed to be clandestine]. The strange thing though was, that it was a Facebook post of DJ Lance, which brought me on that. I searched the web - and directly found their very own website. Which. Puts. Their. Name. To. Shame. So Wednesday they have a ladies night. How in the name of hell, they would do a ladies night in a speakeasy? But it is not only that. I see bright colorful [hello artificial] drinks on there, and a dart board and a rowdish crowd with beers cheering; or "impressing" girls. How is Dubai to screw up the character of a speakeasy bar? Now, it is important to understand - what exactly a speakeasy is and why is it called like that [maybe the guys of the Ramada should have researched this as well and might just used a different na

There are a lot of talking and myths about new products and new appliances, which happened to be appearing in the bar. Myths, because often they are overestimated. Here just a short review, what kind of new tech is available for the bar and how effective it is… Espuma maker [iSi creamer]: This is one of the first "molecular" cuisine appliances. And even now, it is one of the more sustained trends. Basically a liquid with a stabilizer is filled into the container and is then pressurized with nitrogen or carbon dioxide. The result is a rather dense foam. Due to the much bigger surface of foam compared to liquids, the taste is amplified. And the texture is also modified, which makes the play with foam interesting. As long as you keep it simple, drinks with foams are quite successful. Though: use egg white and a good share of guests will  reject the drink, due to a wet dog smell. Also be carefully if you are applying espumas to carbonated drinks, as the foam is expand

The original post is posted on my "more personal" blog: dominikschachtsiek@blogspot.com What is a more efficient system – a bar with several designated cocktail stations or a bar with one improved mixing station assisted by bar stations with rather basic functions? The answer should be a no-brainer! 80% off all people would say, that designated bar-stations is the way to go. But not so fast… Please take one step back now and compare it with two automobile factories [both smaller scale]. One has complete workstations in which a full car is built from scratch – the other would have designated stations, where only parts of the car would be completed. Reality proofs, that the second model works better. Why – because there are very few true 100% experts, who know everything. In a bar, it is not as obvious – but lets be honest: how many bartenders are really top notch in your team? In my experience, it takes a long time and a lot of dedication and training, until you dev

After long search I've finally found Meyer lemons in one Spinneys supermarket in Abu Dhabi. Who doesn't know: Meyer lemons enjoy a reputations in epic dimensions; hence I was more than just excited, to hunt these babies down. I also found a net of sweet limes on the same spot - obviously I also had to buy those. Today I tasted. The sweet limes first. And? They are horrible. They have a faint lime taste - with hints of mandarin - however with the lack of acidity. What makes citrus fruit stand out? Got it? I was more optimistic about the Meyer lemons. I have read so much praise about them - they cannot be bad?! And well - they aren't. They are quite sweet, with less acidity than normal lemons. The aromas are obviously lemony, but with a strong tangerine character and some blood orange bitterness. I tried it in a gin sour - and was slightly underwhelmed. The drink was smooth and balanced; however I prefer gin drinks to be edgy; wake ups. Next try - a Meyer lemo