Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/459448
Events 28 maltatoday, Sunday, 8 February 2015 The Maltese Bartenders Guild (MBG) held their Annual General Meeting on the 20 January 2015, at Le Meridien, St Julian's. During the Council Election that was due to fol- low the end of term of Joseph Far- rugia, former MBG President, the following new MBG Committee has been appointed: MBG President: Rodney Pisani, Beverage Manager at the Radisson Blu Resort, St Julian's Secretary: Patrick Briffa, Bartender at Catermax Treasurer: Theo Antonelli, Bar- tender at View Lounge, Rabat Media: Matthew Mallia, Outlet Manager at TexMex, Sliema Assistant Secretary: David McK- eon, Outlet Manager at Charles Grech, Valletta Farrugia has retired following nine years in the role of MBG Treasurer and another six years as MBG Presi- dent. He joined the Guild in 1986 and since then has represented Malta at the International Bartenders Asso- ciation (IBA) Congress as both a bar- tender as well as a delegate. New MBG President Pisani, was not contested and will now be heading the new Committee for the coming three-year term. Pisani has been in- volved in the Committee since 2012, filling the roles of MBG Secretary as well as Vice President since 2014. During the AGM, Carlo Micallef, Director at MTA, presented the Bar- tender of the Year Award to James Aquilina. Pisani thanked the MTA for their continuous support and yearly spon- sorship of the Award as well as Le Meridien, St Julian's for providing the venue for the meeting. The MBG is a non-political, non- union and a non-governmental or- ganisation committed to enhance the bartending skills that make up an integral part of Malta's tourism industry. Anyone interested in join- ing the Maltese Bartenders Guild is kindly invited to send an e-mail to mbg@go.net.mt. The Maltese-Spanish Chamber of Commerce celebrated its fifth anni- versary recently with an event held at the Malta Chamber of Commerce which was addressed by Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business, Chris Cardona, H.José Pons, Ambassador of Spain to Malta, Anton Borg, Deputy President of Malta Chamber of Commerce, En- terprise and Industry and Alfredo Munoz Perez, President of MSCC. Alfredo Munoz welcomed the par- ticipants and outlined the goals of the event. In his speech he explained the role played by the MSCC over the last five years, when business relations between Malta and Spain increased significantly as well as mutual aware- ness, and requested an effort from all players to boost trade and invest- ments, still far behind the figures that potentially can be reached. José Pons, in his address, said that Spain and Malta have a long standing common history dating back at least to the 13th century and that in recent history, Spain has always supported Malta and both are nowadays faithful partners in the EU, working very hard to enhance their bilateral relations. He believes that both countries have many reasons to be optimistic about their future economic relations and he is convinced that, together, both countries can connect much better their people, companies and businesses. Anton Borg praised the close col- laboration between the MSCC and the Malta Chamber of Commerce where both entities have worked to- gether very closely for the evolution of bilateral relations over the last years. Minister Cardona spoke about the strong historical ties between Malta and Spain which have been reinforced during the last decade in view of the mutual membership in the European Union. He said Malta is proud to host sizable Spanish investment in Malta comprising mainly pharmaceutical companies and companies that oper- ate in the services sector which con- tinue to show the Spain interest in the Maltese financial sector. He said it is encouraging that the Spanish government's forecast for this year's economic growth stands at 1.8% which is expected to be largely driven by increased exports, rising domestic demand and an expected record year for tourism. "It is expected that these positive developments in the Spanish economy will also positively impact our commercial relations" concluded Minister Cardona. A discussion panel was moderated by Vanessa McDonald and the panel members were Angel Torres, Head of the Spanish Economic and Commer- cial Office for Malta, Alfredo Munoz Perez, President and CEO of Mid- dlesea Insurance p.l.c, James Muscat Azzopardi, Director of Credence and Mario Camilleri, CEO of Big Bon Group. Malta is set to net its first Ocean Basket restaurant in the coming weeks, with the opening of this pop- ular franchise in the north of the is- land in spring 2015. Ocean Basket, a restaurant chain that boasts 191 restaurants in 12 other territories around the world, is famed for its casual approach to seafood dining. Born in South Africa in 1995, the brand has since been catapulted onto the international stage, and has gained a global following thanks to its delicious menu, generous portions and commitment to good value. Local company OB Operations has acquired the master franchise rights for the Maltese territory. One of the directors, Rebecca Calleja, ex- plained, "The style of Ocean Basket will suit Malta perfectly. It is a great match for our Mediterranean diet, as well as our casual approach to dining out with friends and family. I believe it is going to be a big hit." The 'sharing' side of Ocean Basket is expected to be particularly popu- lar; the menu includes a vast variety of seafood platters, sushi platters, combos and special dishes for chil- dren. Individual dishes, such as the three-way calamari and village salad will also prove to be appealing with the wider audience. Commenting on the appointment of Malta's master franchisee, Ocean Basket's CEO, Grace Harding, said, "We are thrilled with this move to Malta. Our aim is to keep growing our global presence and to achieve our goal of being the most loved family seafood restaurant in the world". "Our focus has always been scrumptious seafood, a welcoming environment and generosity to boot. We boldly offer our consumers a delicious, abundant meal at an af- fordable price, and that will always remain at the core of the Ocean Bas- ket brand. We are sure it will be very well received in Malta, as it has been elsewhere around the globe," Hard- ing says. Ocean Basket Malta is currently recruiting people to join its team ahead of the restaurant's opening later this year. Interested candidates are invited to send their CV and a covering letter to hr@oboperations. com.mt Vodafone would like to inform all mobile users that a scam message is being sent to randomly gener- ated numbers consisting of the fol- lowing message: "Vodafone Malta Call me back please urgent now 0021656002043". Vodafone would like to stress that it is very important that customers ignore this message and do NOT follow these instructions as they will be charged a Premium rate for that call. Vodafone would like to assure the public that it is actively following this issue in order to safe- guard its customers' interests as far as possible. Bartenders Guild holds AGM Maltese-Spanish Chamber of Commerce celebrates its fifth anniversary Popular Ocean Basket franchise to open in Malta Vodafone issues urgent warning on scam message being received by all mobile users Rodney Pisani MSCC president Alfredo Munoz Perez