Journalist
By Neena Bhandari
Sydney, 07.10.2010 (The Sydney Morning Herald): When it comes to booking flights, hotels, car hire or concerts, increasing numbers of us jump on to the internet. But booking restaurants is another matter, with most people still picking up the phone or emailing, waiting for the restaurant to open and respond.
However an online booking engine developed last year, Dimmi, is helping to change the face of Australian restaurant reservations.
By Neena Bhandari
Sydney, 13.09.2010 (The Sydney Morning Herald): From its modest beginnings on an old farmhouse stove in 1990, the Byron Bay Cookie Company has become an international brand, exporting to 20 countries and employing 100 people in Australia and another 100 indirectly through its distribution partners in the UK.
The home-grown cookies, originally baked by Maggi Miles and Gary Lines on their farmhouse stove for the local market in the coastal town of Byron Bay under the name of Pickles, Pies and Petticoats, soon became a staple at local cafes. As their popularity grew, the cookies made their way on the shelves of prestigious national and international stores such as David Jones, and Selfridges and Harrods in the UK.
By Neena Bhandari
Sydney, 09.08.2010 (The Sydney Morning Herald): Even as political parties waver on setting targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a unique Green Magpies program is helping small and medium enterprises (SME) take the lead by adopting sustainable practices to save costs and expand their enterprise.
Managing director of Fountain Gate and Pakenham Ultimate Tiles, Rick Somers, who joined the program last year, is already reaping the benefits.
“I will save an estimated 50 per cent on energy costs, lower electricity usage by 26,950kWh and reduce 26.1 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in the first year”, Mr Somers says.