A haven for extremely busy people

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A few years ago, an airline lounge was a dingy room, in which you’d dump your bags between flights. Possibly chew on a stale sandwich, sip on a watery cappuccino and squeeze in a nap between departures, squashed against an uncomfortable faux-leather armchair.

Thankfully, bleak airport lounges are becoming a thing of the past. As our partnership with Slow Lounges grows and strengthens, we’re seeing a fundamental shift not only in the way people travel, but the way people appreciate what’s in between travel – a little extra comfort they’re provided by their chosen airline, which makes all the difference.

So why the mass move by airlines to better their lounges? As airline offerings become equalised – a flight is a flight and unless you’re travelling business or first class, there’s not a huge amount an airline can do to differentiate from its competitors – airlines have had to constantly improve their service offering outside the aircraft.

Airlines know if they can differentiate themselves, even slightly, with the added benefit of a lounge, a customer is more likely to choose them for their next trip.

As such, airlines have shifted their focus to improving the quality and efficiency of their lounges – starting with the bad coffee and stale sandwiches, and now offering so much more.

Universal flight mode

Another major influence in the expansion and upgrade of airport lounges is accessibility. Flight travel is no longer a once-a-year, exclusive experience – most professional individuals travel at least once a month, while the real business commuters, once a week.

Travel is now affordable and accessible. We’re living our busy lives in transit. We check emails in airport terminals. We eat breakfasts and dinners at airport restaurants. We plan our next adventure at the click of a button. It goes without saying that, as we increase our frequency of flight, we want airports to accommodate our standards of living – not the other way around.

This is the premise of the modern airport lounge: creating a level of comfort in an airport you’d expect from a hotel or a restaurant. Airlines have been forced to understand both business and leisure traveller needs and cater to their tastes, beyond the offer of chicken or beef. They now have to offer a full-service buffet, free Wifi and even facilities in which to shower and freshen up before your next flight (fresh towels included).

International flair

Lufthansa’s Frankfurt Airport Lounge now sports personalised wind-down areas, resplendent with oversized bath tubs, cigar lounge and nap rooms. Singapore Airlines’ Changi Airport Lounge offers guests the option to wander a butterfly garden and rainforest nature trail between flights. Turkish Airlines pulled out all the stops with their lounge in Ataruk Airport, which features a library and movie theatre.

While not completely necessary, these well-appointed lounge offerings showcase the swift move towards a lounge way of life. With the upgrade and revamp of OR Tambo’s lounges, local airports are set to follow suit with their own next-level offerings.

Amazing lounge experiences are going to become expected, not nice-to-have. What used to be seen as an elitist place beyond frosted glass doors will become the norm for airlines willing to go the extra mile to win over customers.

In South Africa, SLOW has changed the game as far as airport lounges go – and they don’t look set to stop anytime soon. Watch this space.

To find out more about OPEN Food’s partnership with SLOW, click here.

Artisanal origin: the craft wine movement

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We’re all familiar with the craft beer movement – and accompanying stereotypes – and the way it’s transformed the market and palette of South African beer drinkers. But the new – more exciting – beverage movement is craft wine, and we’re lining up for a taste.

The craft wine movement began in the USA, and local wineries and wine merchants are quickly catching on to the trend. We’re uncorking craft winemaking, and giving you a sip of what to expect from the craft wine movement.

Craft explained

Wine can be classified as ‘craft’ if the farm producing it is under a certain size – usually 60m2. The craft wine movement gives these smaller, independent wine producers a whole new, enthusiastic tasting audience to which they’d otherwise not have access.

In the past, independent wineries could only sell their wines directly to the public, or through expensive brokers. The craft wine movement has made it available to everyone and anyone, with smaller boutique wine stores popping up across South Africa, dedicated to marketing and selling this wine.

Craft beer – and now, craft wine – was popularised by shared principles and lifestyles, based largely on a rejection of the consumption of mass-produced anything, amplified by social media. It’s led by the desire to buy locally, be more socio-environmentally aware and to know the story behind the brew.

A new brew

What makes the craft wine movement significant is that it represents a culture of experimentation and, as such, encourages risk taking, forcing its followers to embrace new and unexpected flavours. Craft wine makers can push the boundaries with stronger, fuller flavour notes and distinctive blends.

They don’t have to appeal to every palette, because this isn’t the nature of the craft movement. Craft wineries aren’t limited by tradition – they don’t live in the shadow of their respective farms’ heritage because most of them have been established fairly recently.

Taste-tested

The most appealing characteristic of the craft wine movement is that it’s made taste the hero. Wines no longer have to be expensive, aged or imported to taste delicious, and the craft wine movement celebrates this.

It doesn’t matter what a bottle of wine costs: if it tastes delicious to you, enjoy it – and don’t feel you have to justify your wine choice. We don’t have to be wine connoisseurs to relish a fine glass of wine.

Look out for uniquely named craft wines in your favourite restaurants and wine bars in 2016. Be bold. Taste. Fall in love with a new, small winery and look forward to a whole new generation of inspired winemakers.

The juice on smoothies

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This month, we started serving ‘real’ smoothies at seven OPEN Food sites. We’re looking to roll this out to as many of our locations as possible. But if you’re looking to stop by for a frozen yoghurt-filled, creamy fruit drink, you’re barking up the wrong cup.

The truth is, we’ve lost the plot about what smoothies and juicing are all about. Travel overseas and order a smoothie from a reputable health restaurant – you’ll be served a delicious combination of vegetables, with a small amount of fruit (just a few pieces), nuts and some coconut water or almond milk to dilute it.

South African restaurants are set on serving super-sized cups of blended frozen fruit, combined with frozen yoghurt – or worse, ice cream – and fruit juice. Another ‘healthy’ option is an equally gargantuan glass of orange, pineapple and apple juice. We gulp it down, while convincing ourselves we’re doing our bodies a favour.

Not so sweet

What most of us (and too many restaurants) don’t know is the average smoothie or fruit juice contains just about as much sugar as a fizzy drink. It also contains about five times our recommended daily fruit allowance – without the fibre and goodness to keep us full afterwards. Perceived ‘heathy’ smoothies have essentially pulped nature’s own portion control.

In short, we need to abandon what we know about smoothies and juicing and adopt a more philosophical approach to ‘healthy’ fruit and vegetable drinks. Done right, a smoothie is a complete meal – or two – which can sustain the body and keep energy levels up for hours. It’s a meal on the go that fits in with our manically busy lifestyles while also being an excellent way to take in whole foods.

Be smooth

Smoothies and juices can also be a great way to avoid waste – we use loads of fresh vegetables and fruit offcuts from our restaurants in smoothies – always making sure they’re in the right quantities. You can do the same thing at home.

Some of our best combinations are goji berries and beetroot, or fennel, celery and spinach. Always make sure any smoothie you buy is sweetened with nothing but a small amount of fruit – added sugar is a no-no. Any liquids added to your smoothie shouldn’t be sweetened either – stay away from loads of fruit juice. Try smoothies made with wholesome coconut water, coconut milk or almond milk.

Hey brew

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If you’re reading this while sipping on an unsweetened Arabica blend from a pastel demitasse, you’re probably already a conscious coffee drinker. But in case you’re a bit behind on the bean-blend movement, we’re unpacking the beginnings of the conscious coffee movement and where it’s headed.

As proponents of the movement profess, it’s less about seeking out incredible coffee and more about rejecting the bad.

Responsible roasters

The Fair Trade coffee movement was the forerunner for the conscious coffee drinker. As the world became more aware of the marginalisation of smaller coffee bean growers, fair trade became a popular global consumption trend – and consumers became more discerning about the origins of their coffee.

Alternative trading methods suddenly allowed brewers and roasters to change their bean source in favour of smaller, more regional farmers. It also gave consumers peace of mind knowing they were buying and drinking ethically sourced coffee. The trend has grown to such an extent that even major global instant coffee brands are embracing the fair trade movement.

South Africa, like the rest of the world, has caught up with the conscious or ‘third wave’ coffee movement. Where large fast-food chains used to serve stale coffee in polystyrene cups – and we enjoyed it – they’ve been supplanted by artisanal coffee houses and roasters, offering a variety of espressos, Cubanos and macchiatos.

The future of the bean

As the local coffee movement grows and changes, there are a few trends – outside socioeconomic and environmental awareness – that look set to stick.

Milk alternatives are becoming widely available in even the smallest coffee shops – with natural derivatives like almond and coconut milk taking centre stage as the lactose-free stuff of choice.

Another big trend to look out for is coffee sidekicks – dunkable artisanal pastries sold alongside your favourite brew, to enhance and complement the flavours in your cup. Sweet and savoury combinations are huge, with salty-peanut-chocolate and spicy flavours (think cardamom, cinnamon, chilli and honey) having a moment in the spotlight.

New generation conscious coffee drinkers want to see, smell and know their brew, which makes open plan coffee bars the new-style shop of the future – another trend expected to grow this year and next.

As much as you might resent smug sugar-free coffee drinkers, purists agree you should drink your brew unsweetened to taste the subtle flavour notes (health benefits aside). The sugar-free coffee movement continues to grow, with an ever-increasing number of conscious coffee drinkers ‘freeing’ their cappuccinos from the sweet white stuff.

The OPEN Blend

For large-scale caterers, coffee is a major part of what we do. At OPEN Food, we’ve embraced the shift in local coffee culture and sourced a South African roaster to design our very own OPEN brew. Our blend has basic, round, chocolatey notes but can be tweaked for each and every client, offering distinctive flavours and exclusivity.