Maureen Williams has worked for the AGA Rangemaster Group for almost twenty-three years. She is head of Cookware for the Group and Managing Director for Divertimenti, its London-based cook shop and cookery school. As her early career was in IT, the web is very close to her heart.

Maureen was closely involved in the acquisition of Divertimenti for the AGA Rangemaster Group and has overseen the growth of the website from a cottage industry to a major part of the business. She is keenly aware of the need to constantly evolve and update websites, particularly in light of changing shopping patterns as customers use the web as a research tool before buying in-store or online.

MAUREEN'S FAVOURITE SITES

Divertimenti - The kitchen and cookware shop has its roots firmly in London. But our website has allowed us to take the Divertimenti shopping experience global. People love trawling through the site and finding what they need – and often simply what they desperately want. I’m on the site everyday but it never ceases to amaze me how you can find just about anything for the kitchen and table whether you’re a professional chef or an aspiring novice.

British Eventing - My other love than Divertimenti, is horses, in particular Connemara ponies. I regularly look at the British Evening website to check out events, enter my friend in competitions, and track the success of my heroine, Mary King MBE. It is a really good site with lots of information plus it’s very easy to navigate.

Molton Brown - Like Divertimenti, Molton Brown is a part of the fabric of London. Started in 1973 (ten years after Divertimenti opened), it remains a quintessentially London brand. I love the soaps and bath products and that they’re never tested on animals and still blended in London as they have been for the past forty years.

Hotel Chocolat - I have to admit I have a bit of a sweet tooth and Hotel Chocolat is a temptation I can’t resist. It’s another great British brand and is one of the few chocolatiers that actually grows its own cocoa. I like too that the business started on the web and then expanded to retail operations in 2004. Its web experience shows as the site is a pleasure to navigate. For example, you can search by type (‘sweet little things’, bars, etc.), chocolate type (boozy, fruity, ginger, etc.), price or dietary type. And they’ve done some amazing initiatives like creating the first chocolate bond where interest was paid in chocolate each month. Delicious!

Web CHeck - Companies House runs a brilliant service called Web CHeck that lets you search for company information. It’s a great way to gain intelligence about prospective new vendors or the competition. It also has a premium subscription service called Companies House Direct that houses around 240 million company documents including company accounts, invaluable information and very easy to use.

This is GREAT Britain - This has been an incredible time to be in Britain with last year’s Olympics, the Jubilee and now the birth of the future king. It’s great to see how people are coming together and celebrating the joys of visiting and living in Britain. I’m a keen supporter of the This is GREAT Britain campaign and I check out its Facebook page frequently. It’s a wonderful chronicle of what makes Britain so fantastic.

Divertimenti is hosting a Culinary Salon in conjunction with Daunt Books from 24th September to 3rd October in celebration of Divertimenti's 50th Anniversary. Sixteen different food writers and chefs including Florence Knight, Diana Henry, Nicholas Lander and Martin Morales will be in conversation with Tim Hayward over five evenings. To book tickets, visit www.divertimenti.co.uk/culinarysalon.

28 August 2013