Icing on the Cake

Café owner Margie Agostini, caused a few eyebrows to rise when she allowed the Sydney Morning Herald to publish the actual recipe for her signature dessert—her famous orange cake.

Margie has a popular eatery, Caffe Agostini, in the heart of Sydney ’s suburb for the rich and famous, Woollahra. Customers have often been heard to say that “Margie’s orange cake is to die for”.

Before giving away her intellectual property, Margie said she weighed up the loss of her trade secret against the marketing effect of the Sydney Morning Herald’s food experts telling readers that her orange cake was the best in town.

“Lots of people said I was mad for doing it and with hindsight I have one regret. If I write a book one day, that popular recipe would be a reason for someone to buy my book.”

Margie is tinkering with the idea of getting a website.

“We’re getting a lot more tourists nowadays and my niece is twisting my arm to go on the internet,” she said.

Her internet interest led her to discover the importance of checking out domain names for similar sounding businesses that currently have websites. “I am intent on registering a trade mark, as my very public brush with IP issues has opened my eyes to the importance of IP protection,” she said.

And to lovers of sweet things, being able to buy Margie Agostini’s products on the internet would be icing on the cake.

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