September 4, 2012 The Age Boutique grocers flourish as shoppers look past the ”big two”, writes Jane Holroyd. KATIE Falkiner, a North Melbourne resident and lover of good food, is dreaming up her perfect neighbourhood grocery shop. The City Grocer, when and if it is realised, will be stocked full of quality, local produce. Fruit and vegetables will be seasonal – not necessarily organic but as fresh and local as possible. Customers will know where it’s been grown. There will be artisan dairy and bread offerings, and meat from specialist producers such as Warialda beef. The staff will be attentive and knowledgable. The aisles will be generously proportioned and tactics to entice impulse buying will be kept to a minimum. There will be a noticeboard for feedback and the shop will open late into the night. Falkiner and her business partners, three long-time friends, are so confident the City Grocer…

August 28, 2012 The Age Tony Featherstone is a specialist writer on small companies and entrepreneurs Hygiene standards need to be improved at many food outlets. I recently had dinner at a fast food restaurant during a busy day of university lecturing. The mezzanine seating area above the kitchen had a dozen tables and none were cleared of rubbish. Dirty plates, leftover food and old wrappings were an awful look for an emerging food chain. A nearby customer complained about the filth and blew up when a waitress brought her meal, did not clear the rubbish, and left empty-handed. Normally that would be enough for me to leave and never return, but I was in a hurry and it was too cold to eat outside. This terrible experience made me wonder how many other food businesses have appalling hygiene standards, despite state governments naming and shaming offenders. It’s remarkable what…

NACS Daily News August 28 2012 NACS members can help protect against costly and burdensome menu-labeling regulations by asking their representatives in Congress to support the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act. ALEXANDRIA, VA – Foodservice is a significant profit center for many convenience store operators, which is why NACS continues to fight on behalf of the industry against pending regulations that would require convenience stores to label the nutritional content of the foods they sell. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA has proposed a rule, as mandated in the health-care law, that would require labeling if the food sold in a store — including prepackaged products and products already labeled by the manufacturer — comprise more than 50% of the store’s floor space. NACS has been pushing back on the proposal and worked with legislators and other food-related industries to help bring legislation to Congress that would allow the…

Terry McCrann August 29, 2012 Herald Sun By linking Australia’s carbon tax to the struggling European economy, we are paying foreigners for the right to keep our own power stations operating. THE symbolism couldn’t be more deliciously appropriate: we are linking the collective insanity of our carbon tax to the collective insanity of Europe’s. It was made even more deliciously appropriate by the complete and utter unknowingness projected by Climate Change Minister Greg Combet in his press conference yesterday. Europe is the world’s basket case. Spain and Greece have unemployment rates of 25 per cent. Their youth unemployment rates are 50 per cent. To repeat, 50 per cent – one in every two young Spaniard and Greek is out of work and with precious little prospect of finding it. The overall jobless rate for the European Union – our new partner – is more than 10 per cent. Europe has…

Jo Stewart August 29, 2012 The Age WHILE food trucks appear to have stormed into Melbourne after taking cues from cities like Portland and Los Angeles, one enterprising Melburnian has been successfully working at the trade for almost 10 years. Michael Ibrahim, owner of the Soul Kitchen mobile cafe is a pioneer of the Melbourne food truck movement, which has recently seen its popularity explode with the likes of Taco Truck, Gumbo Kitchen and Dhaba joining the convoy of food trucks populating Melbourne’s streets. Starting nearly a decade ago, providing refreshments to Moonlight Cinema crowds on balmy nights in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Ibrahim now owns a small fleet of customised vans and trucks that serve coffee and cafe-quality food at several locations. His passion for coffee is matched by his passion for Melbourne and with his memorable vans adding to the eclectic fabric of the city it’s no wonder…

Oliver Smith August 29, 2012 The Age Accor, one of the world’s largest international hotel groups, is to scrap wifi charges at 500 of its properties. The French company, which owns the Ibis, Mercure, Sofitel and Novotel chains, made the announcement after a survey revealed that the availability of free wi-fi was a key factor when choosing a hotel for the majority of travellers. Despite the growing availability of free wi-fi at pubs, cafes, and even branches of McDonald’s and Starbucks, the hotel industry has appeared reticent to offer the service, but the move may encourage other firms to follow suit. A study carried out by London’s Telegraph earlier this year revealed that around two thirds of hotels around the world still charge guests for wi-fi access, with rates as high as £8.50 ($A13) an hour. Luxury hotels in London were found to be the worst offenders, with several charging…