The search begins for 2011 UK Restaurant Manager of the Year

5th January 2011, 10:16am

The Academy of Food and Wine Service (AFWS), the UK's professional body for front-of-house staff, is inviting the nation's top restaurant managers to enter its 2011 UK Restaurant Manager of the Year competition.

The competition, supported by Hospitality Benchmark through the National Skills Academy for Hospitality, the Savoy Educational Trust and sponsored by OpenTable.com, seeks to find a restaurant manager who excels front-of-house, has great people skills, the ability to manage and inspire a team and who can demonstrate a strong business acumen.

Entrants will be asked to complete a paper questionnaire from which the semi finalists will be chosen. On 28 February 2011 the semi finalists will compete at the Westbury Hotel, London, for one of the five places in the final, which takes place in London on 16 May 2011.

Entry forms can be downloaded from www.afws.co.uk. The deadline for entries is 18 February 2011.

The winner will receive a week in New York to complete a stage at one of restaurateur Danny Mayer's Union Square Hospitality Group properties, staying in the top suite at trendy Manhatten boutique hotel The MAve, in the Flatiron District. The winners' restaurant will receive a 12-month subscription to the OpenTable reservation system.

The line-up of judges for the 2011 competition includes the 2009 Hotelier of the Year Jonathan Raggett, managing director of Red Carnation Hotels, former Le Gavroche maitre d' Silvano Giraldin, now director of Roux Consulting, Rémy Lysé, managing director, Rex Restaurant Associates, and Conor O'Leary, director of F&B, Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill.

Academy executive director Sophie Roberts-Brown said: "We had some very strong entries last year and for 2011 we hope restaurant managers from a broad spectrum of establishments will enter.

"Entering is a good way of testing your skills against those of your peers, a great way of networking with others in the industry and a chance to raise your profile and that of your restaurant."

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• 18 May 2010 - UK Restaurant Manager of the Year 2010 revealed

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