IF you believe the trend hunters, tea has been on the cusp of being the hot, fashionable beverage for years. But in most cafes and restaurants tea remains the indifferent teabag infused in water heated to a random temperature. In short, you are better dunking a bag in a cup of boiling water at home. But now specialty teas from single-origin farmers are receiving an unexpected boost from baristas who care about coffee and its origins. Nathan Wakeford, managing director […]
Author: Ed
Relative merits of family businesses
THERE are many big issues facing family businesses. For a start, the family members are not only the shareholders and the board of directors, but the management of the company too. But of everything they face, the most thorny issue is how to deal with the kids when they either want to join the business or cash out. According to Terry Rowney, chairman of Family Business Australia, one of the worst things a family business can do is expect the […]
Burger dynamics 101 and the Angry Anus
Hungry Jack’s Angry Angus that arrived with “ANUS” written on it. The gourmet burger is now mainstream. Even Hungry Jacks has its own salt and fat packed version dragging down the reputation of Angus beef. It’s the latest trend in food, knowing the provenance of your ingredients – with Maccas being the first mainstream brand to name Angus beef as a selling point back in August. The recently launched Hungry Jacks version, the Angry Angus, is masked with controversy particularly […]
Proud Mary. Great coffee and tea
I‘m starting to judge cafes by their espresso machines. The more serious the machine, the better the coffee. So when you walk into a cafe and you see a six group Synesso longer than a coffin worth some $40,000 and you know something special is going on. It sorta trumps even St Ali’s $30,000 Slayer which is pretty awesome but only has three groups. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8bkRs77uX4] A Synesso in action. And I can tell you it’s official: Today coffee – and […]
Sydney food festival better than Melbourne?
Yu Bo’s Sichuan banquet at Sydney International food festival Is it possible to talk about Sydney and Melbourne without making a comparison of which is best? I think not. And so is the debate between which was the best food festival this year: the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival or Sydney. I went to both on freebies, although sponsored by NSW Tourism this trip was $$$$$$$$$$. I think Sydney wins for its focus and theming on Asia and perhaps reflecting […]
Where to start on the internet?
The problem for most small and medium businesses is that they are too busy doing what they are good at to have time to become experts on the internet. This leaves them vulnerable to being sucked in to commissioning expensive but potentially useless or annoying websites featuring flash animation, graphics and little information that is useful to a visitor other than brochure copy. Here are some tips on where to start:
Finger-licking good: My short history of sex in cooking television shows
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEbQ5S-LHc8] Only the other night gazing out at the opera house from Quay restaurant in Sydney I had the good fortune to sit at dinner with the new improved much, much larger than life Matt Preston. Not only was I subject to his advice on all things Myf Warhurst, his pony skin R.M. Williams boots and dressing-up box chic but his stagey sexy looks. The look that stuck in my mind is when his sultry eyes gaze towards what should […]
Beans means big business: coffee
IT’S too busy,” complains Mark Dundon the co-owner of Seven Seeds, a Melbourne-based specialty coffee roaster and cafe, which opened earlier this year. Customers are queuing and sitting around waiting for specialty espressos, and lattes and other newfangled brews. He’s not the only specialty coffee operator facing a boom in trade and a shortage of good baristas. People are replacing eating out in restaurants with coffee, and starting to look at the origins and treatments of coffee beans. That’s what […]
Good ideas beat all comers, but keep flexibility
IN a rapidly changing market, success isn’t just about bringing the right product to market at the right time but charting the correct course through the shifting media environment. For Geoff Hunt, who spent four years working on the launch of online print-on-demand photo book service Momento, his advantage in 2004 was that he was among the first in Australia. As such he was able to capitalise on the novelty of the service in promoting it to the media. At […]