Thursday, May 12, 2011
Andy Marshall Witnesses
Following an incident at a coastal pub last Sunday the 8th of May 2011, The West Australian Police Service sought help from the public to identified two women who interacted with musician Andy Marshall just prior to he was allegedly thrown to his death through a window at Cottesloe pub the OBH. One of the women has now been identified as being a companion of Stefan Pahia Schmidt, the man charged with causing Andy Marshall's death.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
RSA Responsible Service of Alcohol Courses
So who needs to do a RSA compliant training course?
The answer: Anyone who is working in a front line service position in the hospitality industry. If you serve alcohol or manage the service of alcohol you need to have undertaken an appropriate RSA course from an approved training company.
There are so many options now available both in person or online.
You should expect an on site course to take between 4 and 5 hours. If you take the online option the course will be shorter. Think 2-3 hours. Price ranges between $45 and around $75.
I was in a hurry and ended up going with the AHA. Prior to taking the course it is important that you ensure that the course is recognised in the state that you will be working. Whilst the course is now an Australia wide curriculum some states have varying requirements.
The answer: Anyone who is working in a front line service position in the hospitality industry. If you serve alcohol or manage the service of alcohol you need to have undertaken an appropriate RSA course from an approved training company.
There are so many options now available both in person or online.
You should expect an on site course to take between 4 and 5 hours. If you take the online option the course will be shorter. Think 2-3 hours. Price ranges between $45 and around $75.
I was in a hurry and ended up going with the AHA. Prior to taking the course it is important that you ensure that the course is recognised in the state that you will be working. Whilst the course is now an Australia wide curriculum some states have varying requirements.
Too many MasterChefs in the kitchen
watoday.com.au: Jenna Clarke
The increasing expectations of restaurant patrons has been partly blamed on the MasterChef phenomenon.
Restaurateurs claim unrealistic expectations of food, prompted partly by the culinary television phenomenon MasterChef, are why customers are becoming increasingly disgruntled when eating out in Perth.
Alongside the increasingly refined palates of Gen Y and Gen Alpha, the state's mining boom has also copped a serve, with restaurant owners claiming it has left the industry facing a dire shortage of professional staff.
The issue of Perth's service industry's appalling standards was thrust into the spotlight after prominent writer and Fairfax blogger John Birmingham unloaded on our local waitstaff after a recent visit to Perth.
Story continues below Birmingham said he was consistently subjected to rudeness and bad attitudes while eating in cafes and restaurants throughout our city - a sentiment backed up by the dozens of readers who were quick to post their comments.
Claims of poor service have plagued the Perth entertainment scene for years. But now local restaurant and venue owners are urging patrons to appreciate the difficulties caused by critical shortages of qualified and competent servers thanks to the state's booming economy.
They also pleaded with people not to be blinded by the glamourous, Michelin-star quality food and service that TV shows such as MasterChef and celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver plate up.
"The emergence of food on TV is a double-edged sword for our industry," restaurateur Steve Scaffidi admitted.
"It's great to see the likes of Jamie Oliver showing people how to live to eat, not just eat to live, and make food a conscious factor in their lives. But I think a lot of people then fail to comprehend what it actually takes to open, run and cook in a restaurant and sustain a business.
"We get people coming into the restaurants and who make nonsensical requests and unqualified claims and you just know they've watched an episode of MasterChef the night before," said the 30-year hospitality veteran, who owns and runs Bar One and Sentinel Bar and Grill.
Hold onto your linen napkins and melon ballers, things could get even worse. With a generation of children growing up exposed to the "food on TV" cultural phenomenon, culinary and service expectations in Perth are only going to increase.
"Both restaurant owners and customers need to stay humble and well grounded," Mr Scaffidi said.
"There have always been service issues in Perth, however it is exaggerated here in Perth because of the isolation and our lack of alternative venues and quality staff."
He said businesses were hurting on the front line as highly skilled service staff succumbed to the six-figure salaries dished up by mining companies.
"During the last 12 months demand up north for these quality skills has really intensified and, as a restaurateur, I cannot compete with the remuneration packages of the major corporations.
"I've never worked harder than I have lately, I've had to take a more front-of-house role in the new place purely because the pool of highly-trained staff is too shallow.
"We're left with lots of immigrants, transient young Europeans with minimal knowledge of the local produce and lack of understanding of what Perth customers want.
"Seven out of 10 waitstaff applications that come across my desk are from people who hold short-term visas," he added.
When Birmingham railed against poor service around Perth over the weekend, he was expecting to be crucified by Perth patrons. Instead, Twitter and his blog comments lit up with complaint after complaint about Perth's hospitality, or lack thereof.
These complaints are not foreign to industry groups.
"The number one issue facing the WA hospitality industry is the growing lack of available staff and the high turnover of staff being lost to the mining and resources sector," Australian Hotels Association of WA chief executive Bradley Woods said.
"This results in enormous challenges for some of our members' businesses to provide consistent and long term experienced staff."
The Association was working with the state government to implement a long-term staffing fix which will hopefully allow us to enjoy a glass of wine in Perth without having to whine about it.
Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/lifestyle/too-many-masterchefs-in-the-kitchen-20110505-1eafw.html#ixzz1M1j3Mr6S
The increasing expectations of restaurant patrons has been partly blamed on the MasterChef phenomenon.
Restaurateurs claim unrealistic expectations of food, prompted partly by the culinary television phenomenon MasterChef, are why customers are becoming increasingly disgruntled when eating out in Perth.
Alongside the increasingly refined palates of Gen Y and Gen Alpha, the state's mining boom has also copped a serve, with restaurant owners claiming it has left the industry facing a dire shortage of professional staff.
The issue of Perth's service industry's appalling standards was thrust into the spotlight after prominent writer and Fairfax blogger John Birmingham unloaded on our local waitstaff after a recent visit to Perth.
Story continues below Birmingham said he was consistently subjected to rudeness and bad attitudes while eating in cafes and restaurants throughout our city - a sentiment backed up by the dozens of readers who were quick to post their comments.
Claims of poor service have plagued the Perth entertainment scene for years. But now local restaurant and venue owners are urging patrons to appreciate the difficulties caused by critical shortages of qualified and competent servers thanks to the state's booming economy.
They also pleaded with people not to be blinded by the glamourous, Michelin-star quality food and service that TV shows such as MasterChef and celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver plate up.
"The emergence of food on TV is a double-edged sword for our industry," restaurateur Steve Scaffidi admitted.
"It's great to see the likes of Jamie Oliver showing people how to live to eat, not just eat to live, and make food a conscious factor in their lives. But I think a lot of people then fail to comprehend what it actually takes to open, run and cook in a restaurant and sustain a business.
"We get people coming into the restaurants and who make nonsensical requests and unqualified claims and you just know they've watched an episode of MasterChef the night before," said the 30-year hospitality veteran, who owns and runs Bar One and Sentinel Bar and Grill.
Hold onto your linen napkins and melon ballers, things could get even worse. With a generation of children growing up exposed to the "food on TV" cultural phenomenon, culinary and service expectations in Perth are only going to increase.
"Both restaurant owners and customers need to stay humble and well grounded," Mr Scaffidi said.
"There have always been service issues in Perth, however it is exaggerated here in Perth because of the isolation and our lack of alternative venues and quality staff."
He said businesses were hurting on the front line as highly skilled service staff succumbed to the six-figure salaries dished up by mining companies.
"During the last 12 months demand up north for these quality skills has really intensified and, as a restaurateur, I cannot compete with the remuneration packages of the major corporations.
"I've never worked harder than I have lately, I've had to take a more front-of-house role in the new place purely because the pool of highly-trained staff is too shallow.
"We're left with lots of immigrants, transient young Europeans with minimal knowledge of the local produce and lack of understanding of what Perth customers want.
"Seven out of 10 waitstaff applications that come across my desk are from people who hold short-term visas," he added.
When Birmingham railed against poor service around Perth over the weekend, he was expecting to be crucified by Perth patrons. Instead, Twitter and his blog comments lit up with complaint after complaint about Perth's hospitality, or lack thereof.
These complaints are not foreign to industry groups.
"The number one issue facing the WA hospitality industry is the growing lack of available staff and the high turnover of staff being lost to the mining and resources sector," Australian Hotels Association of WA chief executive Bradley Woods said.
"This results in enormous challenges for some of our members' businesses to provide consistent and long term experienced staff."
The Association was working with the state government to implement a long-term staffing fix which will hopefully allow us to enjoy a glass of wine in Perth without having to whine about it.
Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/lifestyle/too-many-masterchefs-in-the-kitchen-20110505-1eafw.html#ixzz1M1j3Mr6S
City of South Perth's plans to revitalise the Old Mill precinct.
The West Australian: BEATRICE THOMAS
The restoration of Millers Pool and a building to house South Perth's first tram are shaping up as the first projects to emerge from the City of South Perth's plans to revitalise the Old Mill precinct and could be built within two years, council leaders say.
Community consultation found 203 of 428 responses were in favour of the plan, 174 against, including 128 pro forma submissions from nearby apartment owners, and 51 unsure.
The plan, which was released for public comment last year, involves restoring the 175-year-old mill and building a new museum, art gallery, cafe and restaurant in a cultural and historical precinct on the eastern side of Narrows Bridge.
On the western side of the bridge, an adventure and recreation precinct would combine water sports businesses with boat pens and a ferry terminal. The roof of a cafe and offices would double as a landing place for a flying fox while a "serpent bridge" would link to Kings Park.
Last week the council agreed to redesign elements of the plan, including shifting the restaurant north near the existing car park, soft edge treatments to the north and south sides of Millers Pool and redesigning the look of the art gallery-museum and marina.
It also backed preparation of detailed financial briefs for Millers Pool and a stand-alone Tram House, which would then be incorporated into a future art gallery and museum.
The council estimates the eastern side of the project would cost more than $14 million, with the western end contingent on State Government approval and funding support.
South Perth mayor James Best said the council was pursuing the "easier things first" while it continued to work on other, more costly elements.
The council has budgeted $500,000 of the $1 million cost of reinstating Millers Pool and $250,000 of the estimated $500,000 cost of building a Tram House.
South Perth chief executive Cliff Frewing said he would pursue Federal funding and said Millers Pool and the Tram House could be built within two years.
The restoration of Millers Pool and a building to house South Perth's first tram are shaping up as the first projects to emerge from the City of South Perth's plans to revitalise the Old Mill precinct and could be built within two years, council leaders say.
Community consultation found 203 of 428 responses were in favour of the plan, 174 against, including 128 pro forma submissions from nearby apartment owners, and 51 unsure.
The plan, which was released for public comment last year, involves restoring the 175-year-old mill and building a new museum, art gallery, cafe and restaurant in a cultural and historical precinct on the eastern side of Narrows Bridge.
On the western side of the bridge, an adventure and recreation precinct would combine water sports businesses with boat pens and a ferry terminal. The roof of a cafe and offices would double as a landing place for a flying fox while a "serpent bridge" would link to Kings Park.
Last week the council agreed to redesign elements of the plan, including shifting the restaurant north near the existing car park, soft edge treatments to the north and south sides of Millers Pool and redesigning the look of the art gallery-museum and marina.
It also backed preparation of detailed financial briefs for Millers Pool and a stand-alone Tram House, which would then be incorporated into a future art gallery and museum.
The council estimates the eastern side of the project would cost more than $14 million, with the western end contingent on State Government approval and funding support.
South Perth mayor James Best said the council was pursuing the "easier things first" while it continued to work on other, more costly elements.
The council has budgeted $500,000 of the $1 million cost of reinstating Millers Pool and $250,000 of the estimated $500,000 cost of building a Tram House.
South Perth chief executive Cliff Frewing said he would pursue Federal funding and said Millers Pool and the Tram House could be built within two years.
Crown's $281m plans for Burswood
PerthNow: Russell Quinn
Burswood Casino Resort's parent company, Crown Limited, will spend hundreds of millions of dollars upgrading the casino and hotel.
CROWN Limited's spending $281 million so the Burswood resort can acquire the neighbouring Holiday Inn hotel and expand the casino's gaming floor and VIP suites.
Crown said it will restructure the existing relationship it has with the Intercontinental Hotel Group, allowing the acquisition of the Holiday Inn hotel building and associated assets and dissolve the partnership under which the Intercontinental and Holiday Inn hotels are operated.
This, Crown said, means Burswood will be entitled to a greater share of hotel profits.
Burswood already owns the land on which the Holiday Inn hotel building is located.
“The total cost of acquiring the Holiday Inn hotel buildings and associated assets plus the costs of dissolving the partnership will be approximately $79 million, subject to usual sale adjustments,” the company said.
The deal, which is subject to a number of regulatory conditions, is expected to be completed early in July 2011.
Crown’s board has also approved a more extensive expansion of the main gaming floor which will accommodate the expansion of Burswood’s food and beverage offerings to include a pub style restaurant, a western style restaurant, a feature bar and a café.
The further expansion will take the expected total cost of the project from $73 million to $112 million.
Design work is already underway and, subject to certain conditions, it’s expected that the project will be complete late in 2012.
Meanwhile, the company has approved $7 million in expenditure for the construction of a new Infinity Suite on the ninth level of the resort which will provide additional support to the new VIP gaming salons currently under construction at Burswood, as well as the Pearl Room and its VIP salons.
Under Burswood’s current capital expenditure program, one Infinity Suite has been constructed on level 10 of the Intercontinental Hotel and two Infinity Suites have been constructed on level eight.
Finally, $35 million will be put towards a series of other small projects have also been approved for the Burswood Entertainment Complex including improvements to the entry, convention centre amenities and theatre areas and additional investment in new retail and food and beverage offerings.
Burswood Casino Resort's parent company, Crown Limited, will spend hundreds of millions of dollars upgrading the casino and hotel.
CROWN Limited's spending $281 million so the Burswood resort can acquire the neighbouring Holiday Inn hotel and expand the casino's gaming floor and VIP suites.
Crown said it will restructure the existing relationship it has with the Intercontinental Hotel Group, allowing the acquisition of the Holiday Inn hotel building and associated assets and dissolve the partnership under which the Intercontinental and Holiday Inn hotels are operated.
This, Crown said, means Burswood will be entitled to a greater share of hotel profits.
Burswood already owns the land on which the Holiday Inn hotel building is located.
“The total cost of acquiring the Holiday Inn hotel buildings and associated assets plus the costs of dissolving the partnership will be approximately $79 million, subject to usual sale adjustments,” the company said.
The deal, which is subject to a number of regulatory conditions, is expected to be completed early in July 2011.
Crown’s board has also approved a more extensive expansion of the main gaming floor which will accommodate the expansion of Burswood’s food and beverage offerings to include a pub style restaurant, a western style restaurant, a feature bar and a café.
The further expansion will take the expected total cost of the project from $73 million to $112 million.
Design work is already underway and, subject to certain conditions, it’s expected that the project will be complete late in 2012.
Meanwhile, the company has approved $7 million in expenditure for the construction of a new Infinity Suite on the ninth level of the resort which will provide additional support to the new VIP gaming salons currently under construction at Burswood, as well as the Pearl Room and its VIP salons.
Under Burswood’s current capital expenditure program, one Infinity Suite has been constructed on level 10 of the Intercontinental Hotel and two Infinity Suites have been constructed on level eight.
Finally, $35 million will be put towards a series of other small projects have also been approved for the Burswood Entertainment Complex including improvements to the entry, convention centre amenities and theatre areas and additional investment in new retail and food and beverage offerings.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The Death of Andy Marshall OBH Cottesloe
Tragety stuck on Sunday the 8th of May 2011 at the Ocean beach Hotel (OBH) in Cottesloe in the form of a vile 'Rock Machine' foot soldier 25 year old Stefan Pahia Schmidt who caused the death of Andy Marshall.
Mr Marshall 29 originally from New Zealand is well liked and has a wide circle of friends. He works both as a musician with a Perth band and roof tiler. He died after plunging through a window of the Ocean Beach Hotel in Cottesloe about 9pm on Sunday night. Mr Marshall is believed to be the innocent victim of a gang attack.
The Rock Machine bikie associate, has been charged with Mr Marshall's murder. He did not apply for bail when he faced court this morning and was remanded in custody to appear in Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court via video link on May 18.
Photo Courtesy of Perthnow.
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/man-pushed-to-death-in-horror-pub-balcony-fall/story-e6frg12c-1226053072866
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Great Little Venue In Perth
I just had a great night out at Canton in Perth City.....Fantastic cocktails awesome staff....Melbourne thanks for showing up!
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