Cutting the Red Tape in Small Businesses

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tapeAre you seeing red over the red tape affecting your business or are you frustrated with the amount of paperwork required?  Local businesses have raised many concerns about red tape with our Small Business Advisory Service, so we have organised a Forum to discuss issues and solutions to red tape for small business.  

Parliamentary Secretary for Employment and Economic Development, Jan Jarratt MP, has kindly agreed to attend this workshop.  Come and have your say!  If you aren’t able to attend, could you please still send through your issues and concerns and suggested solutions.

When:     Wednesday 23 September
                  1 – 5 pm: light lunch from midday
Where:   Atherton International Club, Kennedy Highway

Please send us your examples of red tape and your suggested solutions PRIOR to the workshop: send to info@gulf-savannah.com.au by Friday 18th September.

Phone Lines Now Open For Free Small Business Support

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phoneA free service offering small business advice and support over the phone has been officially launched by Small Business Minister Dr Craig Emerson.  The Small Business Support Line and information service is dedicated to assisting small businesses. Advisors will be able to provide information, assistance and referral on small business issues. 

In addition to this service, the Support Line is responsible for the Small Business Credit Complaints Clearing House which provides an avenue for small business to direct their issues about access to and the cost of bank finance. 
 
Click here for sbsl-info-sheet1

Phone the small business support team toll free on 1800 777 275 between 8am and 6pm weekdays. Email inquiries are also welcome at sbsl@innovation.gov.au

Food Safety Conference 2009

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THE FOOD INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION OF QUEENSLAND
wish to announce that their

FOOD SAFETY CONFERENCE 2009

will be held for a FULL DAY on
WEDNESDAY 28 OCTOBER 2009
at
THE FUNCTION CENTRE
SOUTHPORT SHARKS CLUB, SOUTHPORT, GOLD COAST, QLD
Please note this date in your diary, further details will be available in the near future
For enquiries or if you wish to discuss sponsorship opportunities
Contact : Mary Batty on (07) 3842 2228

Industry House, 375 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill, QLD 4000
(07) 3842 2228 | info@foodindustries.com.au

 

 

 

A Time for Restaurant Awards

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This is a good time to dine around Australia.  It’s the time of year when restaurants are being judged under numerous awards. 

The Restaurant & Caterers Queensland Awards held in July for all regions and Brisbane awards in August, came together this week in Brisbane for the state  2009 Restaurant & Catering QLD HOST PLUS Awards For Excellence.

The Australian Gourmet Traveller 2010 Restaurant Guide Awards was held last week and will print their guide to be attached to the October edition.

Then there is the Sydney Morning Herald’s 25th annual Good Food Guide Awards and The Age Good Food Guide Awards for Melbourne. 

The Lifestyle Channel ‘I Love Food’ awards and coming up is Delicious Taste Best Cafe Awards.

For Chef’s it has been the Nestle Golden Hat Award and the Electrolux Appetite for Excellence Young Chef of the Year award.

2009 Restaurant & Catering QLD HOST PLUS Awards For Excellence

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NuNu’s at Palm Cove – Best Breakfast in Queensland


39 winners were announced at the 2009 Restaurant & Catering Queensland HOSTPLUS State Awards for Excellence. Queensland’s largest hospitality and tourism awards highlighted the Industry’s finest within the state at the Awards for Excellence presentation night dinner Hillstone St Lucia.

Five hundred hospitality professionals came together, travelling from Port Douglas in the North to Coolangatta in the South and out to St George in the West. All six regions came together to celebrate the culinary diversity of the state and to see who the top performers were for 2009.

 Early in the night Michel Flores from Townsville was honoured for his contribution to the industry and presented with the 2009 Queensland Lifetime Achiever Award.

Then the credits rolled to announce; Brisbane’s Mons Ban Sabai Thai Garden Restaurant, Queensland’s Best BYO Restaurant and Best Thai Restaurant.

Brisbane proved they are home to the Best Seafood Restaurant with Lure Seafood Restaurant at The Coro (Milton), the Best Pizza Restaurant with Sugo Mi (Bulimba), Best European Restaurant, C’est Bon (Woolloongabba), Best Coffee Shop/ Tea Room, High Societea (Clayfield), Best Café Restaurant, Boroughs Café Wine Bar ( Sandgate), Best Chinese Restaurant, Enjoy Inn (Fortitude Valley) Best Italian Restaurant , Bar Alto (New Farm) and Best Fine Dining Restaurant, Gianni’s Restaurant (CBD).

Brisbane Restaurateur John Kilroy’s new Jellyfish Restaurant (CBD) picked up Best New and Best Specialty Cuisine Restaurant while Cha Cha Char (CBD) regained its title as Queensland’s Best Steak Restaurant.

The Sunshine Coast’s Wasabi Restaurant won Best Asian Restaurant (Noosa Sound), Rocco Noosa (Noosa) Best Entertainment Restaurant, Lindoni’s Ristorante Italiano (Noosa) Best Alfresco Dining Restaurant, Blue Ginger (Noosaville) Best Informal Dining Restaurant and Best Indian Restaurant was India Today Restaurant (Caloundra).

The Gold Coast saw Chill on Tedder (Main Beach) win Best Chef Owner Restaurant, the Watermark Hotel & Spa Gold Coast- Waves Restaurant won Best Casual Dining Buffet Restaurant and the Gold Coast Arts Centre was awarded Best Venue Caterer 2009.

nick-hollowayNu Nu Restaurant (Palm Cove) was awarded Queensland’s Best Breakfast Restaurant, The Beach House (Hamilton Island) was awarded Best Tourism Restaurant whilst Capers at the Beach Bar/Grill (Airlie Beach) won Best Professional Development under 100 Staff.

Best Institutional Caterer was QR Catering Unit, Lifestyle Chef won Best Site Caterer and Best Event Caterer was given to Spotless at Indy.

Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre received top accolades with both Best Function/Convention Centre Caterer and Caterer of the Year 2009.

The supreme Restaurant of the Year title belongs to Philip Johnson’s Brisbane Restaurant E’cco Bistro. E’cco was also named Queensland’s Best Contemporary Australian Restaurant.

The crowned winners from Queensland will now compete in the Restaurant & Catering Savour Australia National Awards for Excellence to be hosted in Canberra. The prestigious national awards evening will be held on the 19th of October and the winners will be announced at a presentation dinner at Parliament House.

Celebrity Inspired Events Menu

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Three celebrity chefs, three new celebrity inspired event menus. Hilton Hotels Australasia has launched the latest concept in event catering “Celebrity Inspired Events Menus”. The menus, which have been created by Hilton’s award winning chefs Luke Mangan, Simon Bryant and Ramon Freixa, will establish a new standard in event catering by offering seasonal produce and seamless delivery, creating consistent event catering standards with celebrity chef designed event menus available at eight Hilton Hotels in Australia and New Zealand.

Hilton Hotels Australasia Celebrity Inspired Event Menus are now available at Hilton throughout Australia and  New Zealand. Contact details for each hotel can be found at www.hilton.com

For more information:  click here 

Australian Gourmet Traveller 2010 Restaurant Guide Awards

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Two outstanding Brisbane Restaurants gave Sydney and Melbourne a nudge in the Australian Gourmet Traveller 2010 Restaurant Guide, when recently awarded Paddington’s Montrachet and Surfers Paradise’s Absynthe two coveted chef hats.

The modern French cuisine at Absynthe in the Q1 Tower came in at 37th place on the Gourmet Traveller’s Top Restaurant 100 list, while Montrachet ranked 47th.

They ranked ahead of E’cco Bistro on Boundary Street and Restaurant Two, overlooking the City Botanical Gardens.

Brisbane newcomer, The Buffalo Club, in Fortitude Valley has been recognised for Best New Talent, awarded to chef Ryan Squires who honed his culinary skills in world-renowned restaurants including The French Laundry in California and Per Se in New York, joined The Buffalo Club when it opened on Wickham Street in February.

Queensland’s 1889 Enoteca, Alchemy and Wasabi scored one-star restaurants.

With the arrival of Alchemy and Aria next year it is going to be very competitive in Brisbane.
 
Melbourne’s Bistro Guillaume, at the Crown Entertainment Complex run by star Sydney chef Guillaume Brahimi, won the New Restaurant of the Year title.

Another Victorian restaurant, the Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld, won the Regional Restaurant of the Year award, and Melbourne’s modern fine-diner Vue de Monde was awarded Gourmet Traveller’s top rating of three stars – the only restaurant outside Sydney to do so.

The national awards’ most coveted gong, Restaurant of the Year, was snared by Sydney’s exclusive harbourside restaurant Quay.

Restaurant of the year 2010: Quay, Sydney
Best new talent 2010: Ryan Squires, The Buffalo Club, Brisbane
New restaurant of the year 2010: Rockpool Bar & Grill, Sydney
Outstanding contribution to the industry 2010: Leo Schofield, restaurant critic
Sommelier of the year 2010: Kjell Ove Almeland, Jackson’s, Perth
Bar of the year 2010: Gerald’s Bar, Melbourne
Maitre d’ of the year 2010: Tom Sykes, Rockpool Bar & Grill, Sydney
Regional restaurant of the year 2010: Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld, Victoria
Wine list of the year 2010: Rockpool Bar & Grill, Sydney

For full details of all Australian restaurants, pick up your copy of the Gourmet Traveller at the newsagent

Quay to Success

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 25th annual Good Food Guide Awards

peter-gilmore-quayPeter Gilmore’s harbourside eatery Quay claimed the Sydney Restaurant of the Year title at the 25th annual Good Food Guide Awards earlier this month.

Quay is on a winning streak with Australia’s major restaurant awards for the second year in a row. Last year, they claimed the Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant of the Year prize, Good Food Guide Sydney Restaurant of the Year and Restaurant and Catering Association’s national award. They have claimed the first two again this year, with the Restaurant and Catering Sydney award to be announced later this month – closely followed by the national announcement in October.  It was Quay’s fourth win in the past seven years.

Six restaurants received three-hat recognition; Bilson’s, est, Marque, Pier, Quay and Tetsuya’s.

Other major winners were Mark Best of Marque, who claimed the title of Chef of the Year, while Neil Perry’s Rockpool Bar & Grill took out the Best New Restaurant category and claimed two hats. Darley’s, located in Katoomba, received recognition as the Best Regional Restaurant.

Luke Mangan at Sea

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tot-chef-images-lukeInternationally renowned celebrity chef, Luke Mangan, will be taking his culinary expertise to sea with the launch of a signature restaurant, Salt Grill by Luke Mangan.
This restaurant will be on P&O Cruises’ latest superliner Pacific Jewel, due to call Sydney her new homeport from December 12 this year. Salt Grill by Luke Mangan will provide an exclusive dining experience on this superliner. The charge for this new alternate dining room will be around $30 per person.

This is the first time an Australian chef has been brought onboard a cruise ship a to exceed the expectations of passengers.

Trained in French cuisine, Luke Mangan said he was excited to take his love for cooking to sea on Pacific Jewel.

Rick Stein to Open Australian Restaurant

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rickstein_niceblokeBritish chef Rick Stein will open his Australia restaurant on October 1 at Bannisters in Mollymook luxury lodge, on the south coast of NSW.

Rick Stein at Bannisters will feature a menu that will draw on local produce and Stein’s signature ingredient, seafood.

“Ever since a memorable weekend eating Pambula oysters and flathead in Merimbula in the 1960s I’ve had the image of the clean blue sea and sweet seafood of the South Coast fixed in my head,” Stein said.

“So when I was introduced to Mollymook about six years ago I knew that one day I would open up a restaurant celebrating local fish and shellfish but keeping it really simple.”

Stein will divide his time between Australia, Cornwall and filming his cooking shows around the globe.

Bannisters was just awarded South Coast Restaurant of the Year 2009 and Winner Restaurant in Resort 2009 – awarded by Restaurant and Catering NSW.