FT.com: In recent years, some forward-thinking chefs, who believe that personal expression and creativity are more important than slavish devotion to symbolic luxury goods, have abandoned the antiquated approach of haute cuisine, a style of cooking traditionally based on a few select ingredients.
These forward-thinking chefs are seeking out the highest-quality ingredients, usually from their area, without regard to their place in the traditional fine dining canon. Combined with a deeply held belief in the transformative power of the cooking process, they are setting an example that, if it catches on, could change what we grow and eat, both in restaurants and at home.
Revaluing ingredients – starting with the assumption that a potato or a carrot can taste as exciting as foie gras – is difficult in a high end kitchen. It requires more labour, more imagination, and more carefully sourced ingredients – mediocre foie gras will always seem more “worth it” than a mediocre carrot. It’s riskier as well, going against diners’ deeply ingrained expectations. But as many modern restaurants, such as Noma, have shown, the rewards can be considerable, providing more vibrant, compelling food and a closer emotional connection with their customers.
Carrots are the new caviar [FT.com]

FT.com: There is a new movement afoot. Just as the self-build trend is gathering pace, so too is a new wave in do-it-yourself (DIY) projects for the home – embracing everything from plumbing, woodcarving and pottery to robotics, electronics and recycling.
At the spiritual heart of all this is California-based magazine Make, which, since launching in print and online in 2005, has evolved into a virtual community with an archive of instruction videos, an online store and a network of Maker Faires, one of which was recently held in the UK. Its success is based on rising interest in hobbies with tangible results and the connective power of the internet, which lets enthusiasts share skills.
For even more ambitious DIYers, there is Ponoko, a digital production facility with bases in Wellington, New Zealand and San Franciso, which can cut pieces to any design submitted by a customer from a variety of materials, then deliver them by post. Through the website, currently receiving 500,000 page views per month, visitors can buy one another’s designs and assemble them at home with help from online instruction videos.
“At the moment we’ve aimed it at designers, which is the market that can take advantage of the technology available; the number of consumers that want to design and build unique products is very small at the moment,” says co-founder Derek Elley. But “with education and easier use of technology that could change very fast.”
A new wave of DIY [FT.com]

Packaging Digest: Clever spin on packages such as bottles with diffusion closures, multi-dimensional shapes, feel-good visuals.
Winners of the 46th Annual Package Awards competition of the National Association of Container Distributors (NACD, www.nacdnet), evaluated in February in seven categories, demonstrate clever shapes, functionality and decorating options.
Honored during the association’s 2009 annual convention in Las Vegas, in April, the winners include Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards that were presented to the top three containers in Cosmetics/Personal Care; Drug/Pharmaceutical; Food/Beverage; General Industrial; Household Chemical/Automotive; Novelty; and Pet & Vet categories. Other awards presented include one for a creative Use of stock components, the Bernard M. Seid Best of Show award, and the People’s Choice Award.
The NACD People’s Choice Award went to Bath and Body Works’ Halloween promotion, distributed by O. Berk Co. Bath & Body Works produces various bottles for holidays to stimulate product sales and comes up with some interesting shapes: a pumpkin, ghost, bat and snowman. In 2008, the company challenged its packaging suppliers to produce a multi-faced pumpkin bottle for hand soap.
The blow-molded, high-definition bottle has the illusion of three separate pumpkins each enhanced by pad printing that accents features on each pumpkin’s face. Topped with a green lotion pump, the pumpkin bottle was deemed a major success in terms of its striking appearance and sales.
NACD Packages of the Year put the spotlight on innovation [Packaging Digest]

Harvard Business Publishing: The annual Harvard Business Review’s breakthrough business ideas is now out. This year, the list includes trends ranging from Africa to the economy, from Western Union to state capitalism, and from biomimicry to something called the IKEA Effect…
HBR has also gone further to anticipate the context in which we would now read them. Thus some of the articles comment directly on the economic crisis, but most of them address other matters that business leaders must contend with: strategic decision making, tapping new markets, finding and keeping top talent, harnessing network effects, dealing with disruptive technologies and business models.
A hihgly recommended read to gain insights into the latest trends and ideas evolving in the business world.
Breakthrough Ideas for 2009 [Harvard Business Publishing]

Fancy having a complete shopping cart website, and accept credit cards, PayPal, and mobile all at once? Now you can, thanks to the P & G mobile payment plugin for Joomla.
If you are already running the popular open source CMS Joomla / Virtuemart on your e-commerce website, the P & G mobile payment solution will enable you to accept SMS payment from your customers. The plugin works with the Paymo merchant gateway. Registering with Paymo.com as a merchant is free, although you will have to register via P & G affiliate link in order to use their payment module. The affiliate link can be found here. Now you can offer users an alternative to credit card payment!
Take advantage of the mobile payment method today. It is extremely prevalent and popular in Asia, and provides the following benefits:
1. Security – Two-factor authentication and risk management engine prevents fraud.
2. Convenience – No pre-registration and no new mobile software is required.
3. Easy – It’s just another option during a checkout process.
4. Fast – Most transactions are completed in less than 10 seconds.
It’s easy to begin accepting SMS payment on your e-commerce website and achieving greater sales from your customers. The P & G Mobile Payment Solution is an elegant, affordable and simple solution that does away with the need for high monthly costs or developer fees compared to competing products. All that is required is to install Joomla / Virtuemart on your e-commerce website, select a template, install the P & G module and you are all set to start right away. It’s a great way to offer mobile billing to your customers without the need for complicated programming or technical skills
The convenience and freedom that comes with open source software, in addition to the zero setup / monthly cost of Paymo sms billing facility allows you to create any ecommerce website and be able to accept credit and mobile payment easily.
The P & G Mobile Payment plugin comes for just $27.95. You can test the payment module by buying a test product here (use mobile number 98765432100 for testing), or visit their live site here or here for more details on how to offer convenient mobile billing for your customers – they’ll be thankful for it!
*As part of their opening promotion, they’re going to offer free Google Adwords vouchers every week starting from now. Click here to get your free Google credit now!

People Web International (http://www.peoplewebinternational.com) is a global news social networking site with a purpose: to be the world’s biggest and perhaps its only totally independent news provider. CNN, AP, Reuters and the BBC combined have a little over 10,000 reporters between them, with the biggest individually having about 4,000. Now imagine an organization having a network 5 times bigger than all the big news networks combined and with space for many more. That is the potential of People Web International.
The new start-up is having its official launch exclusively on CoolBusinessIdeas.com. People Web International (PWI) aims to sign up and have geographically-based members throughout the world. By providing them with a sophisticated platform on PWI to write about and publish local news and pictures, ordinary people like you or me could become reporters and editors in a global news website. Users can report on assignments near them that could suddenly become of national or international importance. People Web International (PWI) hopes to harness the power of user-generated content to create a truly global network of members serving as local reporters, editors and managers worldwide.

Training and tools will be provided on the People Web International platform. The website is built with social networking and news tools to facilitate sharing of information among members. Members have an opportunity to share local news with the world and earn income at the same time. PWI is committed to give back to its reporters and editors up to 90% of its net profits in advertising andresale of its news items and pictures.
PWI is shaping itself up to become an exciting and valuable resource worldwide, a pioneer user-contributed news website with a strong social networking element for today’s Internet age. Learn more about this unique opportunity to be a part of the world’s first and foremost news supplied by the people, for the people. Send an email to Pressroom@PeopleWebInternational.com with details of your country, region or state and nearest city or town and PWI will email you right back.
From 21st – 28th February, anyone registering as part of a pre-launch and mentioning www.coolbusinessideas.com will get priority assignment on 1st March 2009. This means that members who mention coolbusinessideas.com and pre-register will get the first assignments on the 1st March 2009, before anyone else.
This post is a sponsored blog post for the official global launch of People Web International.

The dreaded electricity bill has just arrived! You can feel the sweat start to roll off your forehead as you begin to open it. This time you are in for a pleasant surprise! Your bill is €30-50 lower than the previous month!
How were you able to get this to happen? With an ERD (Electricity Reduction Device).
Electricity reduction devices are not new. they have been used by businesses for years, and they have been getting great reductions in their electricity bills. Why have these devices not been available to you and me. The answer is, they have, but in the past the retail price for these for a standard home was in excess of €400 to €500 which did not make them cost effective.
Now with the advance in technology and the miniaturization and standardizing you could save up to 20% on your electricity bills without sacrificing normal energy consumption and the comforts it provides for a little as €89.
For more information go to www.energysavingcyprus.com or e-mail info@energysavingcyprus.com
This post is a sponsored blog post

Free vacuum cleaners! CoolBusinessIdeas.com is pleased to give out one KWIK vacuum cleaner from DirtDevil, to our readers everyday during “The 12 Days of Cleaning” promotional period. All you need to do is to follow the instructions here and stand a chance to win a KWIK vacuum cleaner!
What’s KWIK? It’s a small, lightweight vacuum with a USB charging system perfect for cleaning keyboards, small spaces and tiny crevices in the home, car or office.
More details below:
· Sweepstakes drawings will be held every day December 1-12
· Readers can submit one entry form per day to win a KWIK vacuum
· Winners will be randomly selected at 3 p.m. EST the day following the drawing from a database of eligible entry forms
· Prize winners will be notified via the e-mail address provided with entry submission
· The drawing is open to residents of the U.S. only
Click here now for the entry form.

Chalfont St Peter: Mums from across Bucks are set to unite when Chalfont St Peter hosts what could become the first of many baby fayres. The event, which will take place on Saturday, September 13, is designed so that women working in the baby industry can promote their businesses to other parents.
Paula Atkinson, of Lansdown Road, Chalfont St Peter, came up with the idea after she started her own business, Chiltern Baby Massage. She said: “I have met lots of women who are in my position, running their own business but struggling to find the time to promote what they do. This is why I looked at the idea of a local baby fayre, an ideal opportunity for working mums to come together and inform other parents about what they do.”
“Most of the mums who attend my baby massage classes are new mums and are keen to find various classes, activities and products. I think there are plenty of us mums working for ourselves who can provide the relevant services and products that these new and first time mums are looking for. With this in mind, I contacted as many local women whose businesses deal with babies and toddlers and invited them to come and exhibit at the baby fayre.”
The event will include displays from a variety of different organisations including music groups for babies and toddlers, personalised clothing, educational books and wooden toys.
Baby business booms with brand new fayre [Chalfont St Peter]

Please welcome our latest contributor to the CoolBusinessIdeas.com Ideas Hunter Network – Christopher Aceto from Canada!
Chris currently heads Thottfield Inc., a small multimedia and communications consultancy based in Toronto, Canada. Always on the hunt for innovative and exciting ideas, his passion for the creation and production of ground-breaking technologies and services has granted him the opportunity to act as a creative consultant for various companies and industries throughout the world.
Christopher has also played an active role in the music and film industry over the past decade. He has had the pleasure of producing and recording several international artists and most recently co-producing a nationally broadcast documentary, Postcards from the Rez. Learn more about Christopher’s profile here.
Here’s a very warm welcome to Christopher, and we’ll be expecting lots of insights on the newest business ideas and trends in the world today from him. The same goes for our other contributors in the CBI Ideas Hunter Network: Graeme Spicer, Katie Sherman, and TrendInsights. They’ll be working hard to bring you interesting content on this blog, so stay tuned!

Express Hospitality: The supermarket has become more than just a place to buy; it is increasingly becoming the place to hang out or unwind.
Supermarkets are slowly replacing bakeries, becoming hangout zones for youngsters, where the cold drink is colder and the snacks are less cumbersome to manage. For men, supermarkets are taking the place of paanwalahs, where they can come in for a quick break and buy cigarettes and cool drinks. The working community looks to these supermarkets as places to unwind before heading towards work or home. These shoppers typically hangout at the doorstep after their purchase and are prime shoppers for impulse products.
These are some of the trends that have been observed based on intensive work that have been done at modern format food and grocery outlets. Action on these lines will not only result in better revenues but will also enhance shopability for the consumer and ultimately lead to enhanced loyalty for the store.
Chew on this trend [Express Hospitality]