Academy announces 2010 UK Restaurant Manager of the Year finalists

The Academy of Food & Wine, the professional training body for front-of-house service, has announced the names of the six restaurant managers who have made it through to the final of the prestigious UK Restaurant Manager of the Year 2010.

The 2010 finalists are:
• Mark Bevan, restaurant manager, Chester Grosvenor, Cheshire
• Michele Caggianese, restaurant manager, Galvin at Windows, Hilton on Park Lane, London W1
• David Hennigan, general manager, The Crown at Whitebrook, Monmouth
• Peter McAlister, brasserie manager, Malmaison Belfast
• Paul Shanahan, restaurant manager, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Great Milton
• Sean Simpson, restaurant manager, Holiday Inn Glasgow

The UK Restaurant Manager of the Year, supported by the National Skills Academy for Hospitality, the Savoy Educational Trust and sponsored by OpenTable.com, aims to find the person who has all the skills required to be a top class restaurant manager – great business acumen, loads of personality and confidence, the ability to get on with people and a thorough knowledge of the trade. The winner must also be able to recruit, manage and motivate a team and be a willing ambassador for the front-of-house profession.

The six finalists will compete for the ultimate title at the Roof Gardens, Kensington, London, on 17 May 2010. In advance of the final each competitor will prepare a written business plan for a new restaurant launch. At the final they will be grilled on their written submissions by the panel of expert judges, who will be looking for evidence of their knowledge and understanding of the business as well as their business acumen. The finalists will also complete practical tasks testing their wine knowledge and general front-of-house skills.

The name of the 2010 UK Restaurant Manager of the Year will be announced at a gala dinner to be held at the Roof Gardens the same evening.

This year’s winner will receive a fabulous study-tour week in New York, staying at top Manhatten boutique hotel, The MAve, in the trendy Flatiron District to complete a stage at one of Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group properties. The winners’ restaurant will also receive a complimentary 12-month subscription to the OpenTable reservation system.

The runner-up will win a week at the summer business school of the highly-acclaimed Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland, courtesy of the Savoy Educational Trust.

Last year’s Restaurant Manager of the Year was Peter Avis, restaurant manager at London’s Babylon restaurant at the Roof Gardens, part of the Virgin Exclusive Collection. Peter won the competition after the judges agreed he encapsulated the perfect restaurant manager, having a thorough knowledge of the business and the ability to get on with anyone.

The Restaurant Manager of the Year gala dinner will see further industry stalwarts invited to join the Academy of Food & Wine’s Restaurant Manager Hall of Fame alongside such luminaries as: Elena Salvoni of Elena’s L’Etoile; Silvano Giraldin, formerly of Le Gavroche; Jesus Adorno, director and maitre d’ of Le Caprice; Diego Masciaga, restaurant manager, Waterside Inn, Bray; and David Morgan-Hewitt, managing director of The Goring, London.

EDITOR’S NOTES
About the Academy. Founded in 1988, the Academy of Food and Wine is the industry’s professional training body dedicated to the skills of wine and food service. The Academy’s purpose is to identify, promote and maintain the highest professional standards for the education and training of food and wine waiting staff and bar assistants in the UK hotel, restaurant, catering and bar industry.
Its objectives are: for every waiter/waitress, wine waiter and bar assistant in the industry to be a member of the Academy – their professional body; to gain greater recognition for these operatives throughout the industry by accreditation, badging and recognition; to help members develop, maintain and advance their knowledge, skills and ability;to provide an interface between educators, service staff and their employers; and to enhance member’s career prospects. Currently the Academy has over 1,000 members.

About the Restaurant Manager of the Year competition. Following the initial submission of entry the judges selected the best entrants from five regions – The South, London, Wales & The Midlands, The North & Northern Ireland, and Scotland. These entrants were then invited to attend a semi final where they were given three restaurant business scenarios by the judges and asked how they would handle each situation. They also completed a written questionnaire on all aspects of the restaurant business.

The six selected finalists, including the runner-up from last year’s competition, are now to be asked to submit a business plan for a new restaurant opening.
At the final, being held in London on 17 May 2010, they will present and explain their plan to the panel of judges who will quiz each finalist on the efficacy of their submission. The six finalists will also complete a wine wine-related task and a service errors task.

This year’s panel of expert judges
• Peter Avis, restaurant manager, Babylon at The Roof Gardens, London (last year’s Restaurant Manager of the Year winner)
• Paul Breach, vice chairman, Academy of Food & Wine
• Nick Davies, F&B director, Red Carnation Hotels
• Silvano Giraldin, former Le Gavroche maitre d’, now director of Roux Consulting
• Rémy Lysé, managing director, Rex Restaurant Associates
• Stephen Mannock, programme director, National Skills Academy for Hospitality
• David Morgan-Hewitt, managing director, The Goring, London
• Conor O’Leary, F&B director, The Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill, Academy of Food & Wine restaurant services director, chair of judges
• David Pritchard, managing director, Europe and senior vice president, Open Table
• Nick Scade, chairman, Academy of Food & Wine
• Matt Wilkin MS, proprietor, Princess Victoria, London, wine director, Academy of Food & Wine.

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