I recently had the great honour of being invited to the NSW Australian of the Year Awards at the MCA. As a Frenchman who arrived here little more than two decades ago, with a lot of enthusiasm and not much else, it was a proud moment to find myself in such distinguished company.  I met business owners and entrepreneurs from all sectors. They all have incredible stories, admirable success and a hunger to make a difference. I felt humbled to be amongst them...

I recently had the great honour of being invited to the NSW Australian of the Year Awards at the MCA. As a Frenchman who arrived here little more than two decades ago, with a lot of enthusiasm and not much else, it was a proud moment to find myself in such distinguished company.  I met business owners and entrepreneurs from all sectors. They all have incredible stories, admirable success and a hunger to make a difference. I felt humbled to be amongst them.

On Australia Day in 2015 I will be travelling to Orange for what will be my third year carrying out official duties as an Australia Day Ambassador.  I cannot imagine a better way to kick start the year and we are currently busy planning for the year that will follow.  It’s an exciting time and also a time that forces me to reflect back on the year that has been.

I will be honest – 2014 has been tough, both personally and professionally.   We have seen more competition move into the area and there are continued challenges related to being an established business in a fast moving and trend-orientated industry.  

Despite feeling incredibly proud of 14 successful years, 2015 will mean getting excited about new opportunities and looking at things differently rather than settling in where we feel comfortable. We are already exploring new markets, collaborations and relationships, which will open up endless opportunities.

In the Café and Bistro, our love affair with all things French will continue with our seasonal menus, community nights, special dinners and degustations. We will continue to strive to be the best local café with service usually synonymous to a five star hotel and food that is consistently of the highest quality.  Our capacity to hold all sorts of events will expand by opening up different areas of the café such as ‘Le Jardin’ for styled cocktail parties and events. There will be a new gift box created with local corporations in mind, as well as special occasion gifting. Work will continue on our website to make it more interactive and more of a ‘go to’ with new recipes and serving suggestions. Social media will continue to be a focus moving forward as the need to have a strong digital footprint becomes more relevant.

The year ahead will also see further growth in Bitton Consulting, particularly in the area of product development.  It gives us great joy to be able to use our experience – both in success and oversight, to help others achieve their dreams in this industry. 

Our product range will see the launch of at least one new product and we will continue to work on opening up new distribution channels both nationally and internationally.  We feel very proud to still be such a strong brand in the challenging market that is fine food retail.

Once again we want to thank you, our valued customers for your continued support. Your loyalty and patronage is the backbone of Bitton today and Sohani and I feel blessed that we still run strong in this industry after more than 14 years.  

Bitton is definitely a space to watch in 2015 and we look forward to seeing you, your families and colleagues continuing to enjoy the Bitton experience.