Hi Allan

Firstly, hearty mazaltov on opening such a superb store in Milnerton, Cape Town!

It is a magnificent store, so well laid out, parking right outside the door, and the staff are so professional, helpful and friendly.

It is really refreshing to walk into a store and be wowed by service, and this is not a once off.  I have visited your store a number of times already, and have been wowed each time.

Years back I read a book entitled Purple Cow by Seth Godin, the essence being on being remarkable, on standing out from the crowd, (brown cows are boring, but a purple cow in a field with many other brown cows, just so stands out!) you have so done this with your new Cape Town store!

Walking around the waterfront yesterday, my husband and I were looking at acquiring a Nespresso machine.  I decided to pop into your store today, just to continue looking, and was so well looked after by Ian Kleyn, he was so knowledgeable and helpful, that yes, I walked out with a Nespresso machine from your store!

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Special valid only at Strubens Valley and in store only

The Designer Bunny Chow

Hirsch’s recently hosted a Designer Bunny Chow cooking demo at their show room in Umhlanga.

Ramola Makan, who is a chef for Elba Appliances hosted the demo creating the perfect “designer bunny chow”  consisting of, chick peas in a saffron infusion potato with spring onion and hick peas with saffron infused mashed potato, she then went to describe the story behind how the standard Bunny Chow came about.

This is a story: During the Great Depression in 1933 Indians, whites and Chinese in Durban, South Africa, suffered hunger like everyone else. The kids then discovered that the cheapest curry they could buy (for a quarter penny or half a penny) was made by a vegetarian Indian caste known in Durban slang as the Bania. It was made from dried sugarbeans (no meat). The children didn't have plates, and one kid got the bright idea to hollow out a quarter bread, asked the seller to put the bean curry in the hollowed-out bread, and then used the broken bread he's taken out as a sort of eating utensil. Chinese food was called "chow". Somehow the two words came together: Bania Chow. In time it simply became known as Bunny Chow. Bunny Chow was what the Indian sugar plantation workers took as their day's food to the lands: curry in hollowed-out bread halves. Cheap and practical ... Today it does not matter what your skin colour or station in life is: Durbanites and people from the Kwa-Zulu-Natal province love their bunny chow ...

Should you wish to attend one of our cultural cooking Demo’s, kindly contact Warren on 0845130911.

Social Media for B&B's

Hirsch's recently hosted a workshop at their showroom in Umhlanga, bringing together Bed & Breakfast owners in the greater Durban area to listen to Jo-Ann from Android Connections who spoke to them about how to market their business on all the social networks.

Jo Ann said that high school is an excellent example of basic social networking in action. "There are various cliques like the geeks, the socials, the athletes, the band, etc. These cliques are social groups, and a person can be a member of one of them, a member of several, or a member of none. Joining a social network can be much like moving to a new high school.

On your first day, you don't have any friends. But, as you get to know your new classmates, you start finding people of similar interests. Some like to join groups to kickstart their social integration, while others are so shy they barely get to know anyone.

And, even if we didn't much know or care for a particular classmate, they become a fellow group member as we move out into the world. Society as a whole is a social network, and the groups consist of high schools, colleges,

fraternities, work place, work industry, etc." she said.   Most social

networks allow you to join groups to either look for a long-lost friend or family member, or just get to know people. Groups can also cover interests such as video games, sports, books, movies, music, etc."

Groups serve two purposes.

Firstly, they are a good way to meet people who share a similar interest. If you've always been a fan of the Harry Potter books, you might be interested in joining a group dedicated to Harry Potter and meeting others who enjoy the books.

Secondly, they are a good way to find out more about the topic. The Harry Potter group might have discussions about a particular plot line in the books or the location of an upcoming book signing by J. K. Rowling.

There are many different reasons to join a social network from meeting people to learning more about a subject, but the two most popular reasons are to have fun or to do business.

The having fun part is simple, so long as you choose the right social network and become involved in the community. Not all social networks are created equal, of course, so it could take several tries to find the social network right for you, but with new social networking sites popping up all the time, you should be able to find one that meets your expectations.

Social networking also has its business side beyond just social networks dedicated to business like Linkedin or XING. If you look on MySpace, you will find profiles of actors, musicians, comedians, etc. These are people doing business on MySpace by helping to cultivate a fanbase. But it goes beyond just entertainers. Businesses of all types set up profiles on social networking sites both to help advertise their services and to let people know the current news.