Social media lures restaurant patrons

Social media lures restaurant patronsSocial media is proving increasingly important in communicating with restaurant patrons – both potential and existing.

According to a survey by Market Force Information during May and June, almost one in two diners had read an online review, blogged or tweeted about an eatery to get a recommendation and 13 per cent had posted an online review after eating out in the past month.

Facebook is also proving a force to be reckoned with in promoting “digital” word-of-mouth. Facebook pages have been popping up locally, encouraging patrons to discuss their dining experiences. One Facebook page, known as Top Melbourne, is dubbed “the perennial place to discuss Melbourne’s eateries and bars” and has a whopping 35,942 fans. The account is very active, with lots of people participating regularly. There is also a sister page, Top Perth, with 3317 fans.

Social media lures restaurant patrons

Social media is proving increasingly important in communicating with restaurant patrons – both potential and existing.

According to a survey by Market Force Information during May and June, almost one in two diners had read an online review, blogged or tweeted about an eatery to get a recommendation and 13 per cent had posted an online review after eating out in the past month.

Facebook is also proving a force to be reckoned with in promoting “digital” word-of-mouth. Facebook pages have been popping up locally, encouraging patrons to discuss their dining experiences. One Facebook page, known as Top Melbourne, is dubbed “the perennial place to discuss Melbourne’s eateries and bars” and has a whopping 35,942 fans. The account is very active, with lots of people participating regularly. There is also a sister page, Top Perth, with 3317 fans.

Celebrity chef honoured for kitchen garden program

Encouraging the establishment of “kitchen” gardens in schools around the nation has helped a chef earn a prestigious honour.

Stephanie Alexander was named Victorian of the Year in July. The celebrity chef is behind the non-profit Kitchen Garden Foundation – a program that shows primary school students how to grow and prepare their own food. Nine years on, the program is going strong in about 140 schools nationally.

Alexander is no lightweight in the food world. She has owned three restaurants and penned various cookery books.

Victorian food menus must list nutrition info

Nutritional information will be a “must” on the menus of Victorian fast-food and chain food businesses by 2012.

All food businesses with 50 or more Victorian outlets or more than 200 outlets Australia-wide will be required to display kilojoule counts next to their menu items, as well as include a daily intake statement, according to Victorian Premier John Brumby. The initiative follows a meeting between Brumby and representatives of the food industry and health organisations, including the Obesity Policy Coalition. If successful, the initiative may be extended to include smaller food businesses too. It’s modelled on similar initiatives in New York and Scotland, though is a first nationally.

Eating out now the norm

Australians dine out an average of seven times a month, according to new data.

No longer considered just a treat, last year 42 per cent of the family food budget went to “eating out” at restaurants and takeaway outlets.

This is a rise of 350 per cent from 1960, according to research company BIS Shrapnel, when “eating out” only made up 12 per cent of the family food budget.

These days, most spend on average of $30 per sit-down meal and $17 on takeaway meals each.

Top 10 veggies re‌flect consumer tastes

Australians buy carrots, lettuce, potatoes and tomatoes twice as much as any other veggie, according to a report by AUSVEG.

The report, VEGINSIGHTS: The Market Q4 2009, is a first for the industry in analysing consumer and market trends.

Capsicums, mushrooms, broccolis, pumpkin and zucchinis completed the top 10, though these were bought by less than 40 per cent of households, surveyed from October to December 2009. For chefs, the AUSVEG report provides a good marker of current consumer tastes.

Social media lures restaurant patrons

Social media is proving increasingly important in communicating with restaurant patrons – both potential and existing.

According to a survey by Market Force Information during May and June, almost one in two diners had read an online review, blogged or tweeted about an eatery to get a recommendation and 13 per cent had posted an online review after eating out in the past month.

Facebook is also proving a force to be reckoned with in promoting “digital” word-of-mouth. Facebook pages have been popping up locally, encouraging patrons to discuss their dining experiences. One Facebook page, known as Top Melbourne, is dubbed “the perennial place to discuss Melbourne’s eateries and bars” and has a whopping 35,942 fans. The account is very active, with lots of people participating regularly. There is also a sister page, Top Perth, with 3317 fans.

Celebrity chef honoured for kitchen garden program

Encouraging the establishment of “kitchen” gardens in schools around the nation has helped a chef earn a prestigious honour.

Stephanie Alexander was named Victorian of the Year in July. The celebrity chef is behind the non-profit Kitchen Garden Foundation – a program that shows primary school students how to grow and prepare their own food. Nine years on, the program is going strong in about 140 schools nationally.

Alexander is no lightweight in the food world. She has owned three restaurants and penned various cookery books.

Victorian food menus must list nutrition info

Nutritional information will be a “must” on the menus of Victorian fast-food and chain food businesses by 2012.

All food businesses with 50 or more Victorian outlets or more than 200 outlets Australia-wide will be required to display kilojoule counts next to their menu items, as well as include a daily intake statement, according to Victorian Premier John Brumby. The initiative follows a meeting between Brumby and representatives of the food industry and health organisations, including the Obesity Policy Coalition. If successful, the initiative may be extended to include smaller food businesses too. It’s modelled on similar initiatives in New York and Scotland, though is a first nationally.

Eating out now the norm

Australians dine out an average of seven times a month, according to new data.

No longer considered just a treat, last year 42 per cent of the family food budget went to “eating out” at restaurants and takeaway outlets.

This is a rise of 350 per cent from 1960, according to research company BIS Shrapnel, when “eating out” only made up 12 per cent of the family food budget.

These days, most spend on average of $30 per sit-down meal and $17 on takeaway meals each.

Top 10 veggies re‌flect consumer tastes

Australians buy carrots, lettuce, potatoes and tomatoes twice as much as any other veggie, according to a report by AUSVEG.

The report, VEGINSIGHTS: The Market Q4 2009, is a first for the industry in analysing consumer and market trends.

Capsicums, mushrooms, broccolis, pumpkin and zucchinis completed the top 10, though these were bought by less than 40 per cent of households, surveyed from October to December 2009. For chefs, the AUSVEG report provides a good marker of current consumer tastes.

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