Restaurant Association newsletter, The Thymes (August 2016)

MAY 2015 AUGUST 2016

PHOTOS: VALUT21, DUNEDIN

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03 from the ceo's desk leading the way

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The Restaurant Association has just released the 2016 Foodservice Facts - revealing the industry's latest sales high points, regional performance and the latest trends in employee and outlet growth...

CONFIDENTIAL - MEMBERS ONLY

OVER 48 HOURS WE'LL CHANGE THE WAY YOU DO BUSINESS! Hospitality business owners and their teams will gather in October to hear some of our industry’s superstars delivering the latest insights and trends for hospitality. We’ll be providing 48 hours of inspiration and advice that we guarantee will help improve your business and change the way you do business!

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t Hospitality Summit the sessions are packaged in quick fire talks and panel discussions aimed to give practical tools you can implement into your business immediately.

THIS YEARS TOPICS INCLUDE...

Hire, Train, Reward, Retain panel discussion; Defining Good Service panel discussion; Sound, Smell, Food sensory restaurants; Hospitality - future trends ... +more.

frequently asked

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We've compiled a list of our top queries to the MentorMe advice line and have picked a selection of these to answer for you in this issue - from when it's the best time to sell, to managing your food costs and keeping labour costs under control.

34 hospitality awards results & photos

We are also welcoming international keynote speaker, Chris Lucas, to speak on "The Future". Chris is an Australian restaurateur with an uncanny knack for not only predicting changing trends in dining but for dictating them too. Chris’ vision has always been to provide great food, service and ambiance accessible to all in a fun environment that’s seeking to always innovate. He will be sharing his wisdom for how to bring all of these elements together.

Earlybird tickets are now available! Find out more at www.restaurantnz.co.nz

Whether it’s personal or getting down to business.

It’s time to check out our exclusive banking benefits for Restaurant Association members.

0800 177 677 member.info@westpac.co.nz

FROM THE CEO’S DESK

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MARISA BIDOIS, CEO Restaurant Association of NZ 09 632 1400 marisa@restaurantnz.co.nz www.restaurantnz.co.nz Restaurant-Associationof-New-Zealand restaurantnz

n this latest issue of The Thymes we mark the fact that we have passed the mid point of Winter, a traditionally quieter time of the year for most regions when business owners often focus on some of the areas of the business that perhaps get neglected when we are trying to keep up in those busier months. That’s why in this issue we’ve addressed some of the common questions to our MentorMe helpline from when it's the best time to sell, new marketing ideas, to managing your food costs and keeping labour costs under control. If you need guidance, take advantage of the free advice available through MentorMe, to ensure that your business is running as effectively and efficiently as it can.

We have also just released the 2016 Foodservice Facts which offers some heartening information on the current state of the hospitality industry and we outline some of the key findings in this issue. The industry is showing strong sales gains year on year, reaching almost $9 billion in annual sales in 2016. This is great news and with forecast tourism numbers set to keep on growing we are confident that these sales gains will continue on into 2017.

This issue of The Thymes has lots of information, photos and updates on some of the regional hospitality awards that are still happening across various regions at the moment. The Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, Rotorua and Christchurch Awards have all been held for 2016, and we have had a great time organising (and attending) these events. Manawatu is coming up in

November, with the initial nomination stage of these awards underway. We are also excited to announce that we are bringing back the Wellington Felix Awards. These will be held this year at Labour Weekend, so if you are in this region take notice as we will be in touch again soon. We also look forward to the Bay of Plenty and Taranaki awards later on in the year as well.

We are also focused on the Hospitality Summit, which will be held on 9th & 10th of October in Auckland. We are excited to welcome renowned Australian restaurateur, Chris Lucas, as our keynote speaker at the Summit.

Chris is director of the famous Melbourne restaurant Chin Chin, where a two hour wait for a table is apparently well worth it, and is also behind Kong BBQ and Baby Pizza. In his keynote address he’ll be sharing his insights on future trends for hospitality.

We have recently welcomed Sara Beillard to our team. Sara's role as Professional Development Co-ordinator involves (amongst other things) putting together the professional development programme, so if you have a particular topic you would like to see featured in future give her a call. I would also like to welcome Jacqueline Jones back to our team as she re-joins us from parental leave in the role of Event & Sponsorship Manager. Vanessa Wallace, who was managing the role while Jacqui was on leave stays with us to focus on putting together some of our regional awards events.

MARISA

proudly bought to you by Outdoor Concepts CEO’s update

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PRESIDENT'S VIEWPOINT THE ASSOCIATION RECEIVES A LOT OF REQUESTS FROM MEMBERS FOR ASSISTANCE WITH MARKETING. ...

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MIKE EGAN, National President Restaurant Association of NZ mike@monsoonpoon.co.nz

e all get inundated with proposals from radio sales people, website developers and companies that can "guarantee" that your ranking on Google searches will be improved. It is often overwhelming. How do you measure how effective it is? And does it reflect your brand?

The more side dish choices you have, the more you'll sell. It makes it more likely that the waiter will easily find something to recommend that would suit the tables main course orders. A couple of side dishes shared between a table of 4 can increase the spend by $5 a person.

The consumer is also swamped with so much messaging all day that they may just switch off to another paid advertisement from you.

Teach your staff to make an assumption on who the "leader buyer" is in a group and then have them direct their spiel at them. Point out specific items on that person's copy of the menu. You then get the leader buyers direct attention and ask them to order first - and if for instance they have an entrĂŠe, the rest of the group will more likely purchase one.

Many restaurants, however, are switching their marketing budget to staff training as this can really help you with encouraging excellent word of mouth. This is even more important than ever as the recommendation from a friend or colleague is seen as "genuine" and therefore increases the chance of influencing a consumer.

Spending your advertising budget on training in areas like product knowledge, your sequence of service, or working to increase your team's "emotional intelligence" can have an immediate positive impact on the team and their ability to be consistently amazing. This can create positive reviews online as well as spontaneous word of mouth recommendations.

INCREASING CHECK AVERAGES We all work hard to increase our customers average spend. Here are a few tips that can help:

Don't give free water before you have given the customer a chance to buy a drink. How many times have you been given a glass of water as soon as you sit down and then they come back 10 or 15 minutes later to take your food and drinks order?

You are 36% more likely to sell a predinner drink if the customer doesn't have that water already in front of them.

Get your wait staff to say "Before I bring you some water would you like a delicious cocktail or a round of beers?"

The power of $9. Studies show that a price ending in $9 will outperform the exact same product that is being sold at a lower price - by 24%.

MIKE

proudly bought to you by Starline president's update

THE THYMES AUGUST 2016

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LEADING THE WAY! The Restaurant Association has just released the 2016 Foodservice Facts - revealing the industry's latest sales high points, regional performance and the latest trends in employee and outlet growth...

HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

REACHING TOWARDS

$9 billion & booming Hospitality industry sales continue their upward trajectory according to the latest Restaurant Association Foodservice Facts. Nationwide annual sales for the industry, for the year ended March 2016, grew by 7.2 per cent, following on from the 9.7 per cent sales growth recorded last year. We are part of an industry in which our customers now spend just a touch under $9 billion per annum!

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here is no sign of the boom abating. International tourism expenditure is forecast to grow by 65 per cent to $16 billion in 2022, according to the New Zealand Tourism Forecasts 2016-2022 report released recently by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). Visitor arrivals to New Zealand are also expected to grow 5.4 per cent a year to reach 4.5 million visitors in 2022, up from the 3.1 million we welcomed here in 2015.

Australia is still New Zealand’s largest visitor market and visits from this sector look set to grow by 25 per cent by 2022. These forecasts are more positive news for hospitality, which will benefit from the tourism spend.

Highlights from the 2016 Foodservice Facts...

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Nationwide hospitality industry sales in 2016 (year end March) increased by a significant 7.2 per cent, to reach $8.946 billion.

The strong sales growth in 2016 carried across almost all hospitality sectors, including the dominant café and restaurant group which experienced growth of 5.4 per cent. Annual sales for this sector are now just under $4.5 billion.

The industry sector with the highest percentage sales growth was takeaway foodservice. Sales for this sector grew 12.3 per cent ($223 million) in 2016.

Regionally, revenue growth in the Bay of Plenty region was highest at 17.3 per cent, followed by Waikato, at 11.4 per cent.

The total number of hospitality businesses nationwide increased by 363 to 15,660 in 2015.

The industry currently employs over 113,000 people, with 62,180 employed in restaurants and cafes.

SALES GROWTH The industry is showing strong sales gains year on year.

The 7.2 per cent sales increase posted in 2016 follows two previous years of solid sales increases - 9.7 per cent in 2015 and 6.3 per cent in 2014. In 2016 members are telling us that trading, while still competitive, is better than it has been for some time.

For our report we look at five sectors within the hospitality industry: cafes and restaurants, takeaway foodservices, pubs, taverns and bars, catering services and clubs.

A breakdown of the industry indicates, of note, that four out of the five sectors recorded strong sales growth in 2016. The sector to show a decline in revenue is the clubs sector - the sector which makes up the smallest share of the industry.

In 2016 it was the takeaway sector that was dominant. On the back of sales growth of 11.4 per cent from 2014-2015, takeaway foodservice reported another 12.3 per cent increase this year. In dollar terms this translates to an increase of $223 million over the previous year's sales, meaning that in 2016 sales for the food to go sector surpassed $2 billion.

In 2016, national industry sales grew by 7.2 per cent over the year previous

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Without doubt the industry’s star sector is still the restaurants and cafés. Although they have lost a small amount of their market share to the takeaways sector in 2016, restaurants and cafes still account for 50 per cent of the industry’s sales and they employ half of the industry’s staff.

This sector also recorded solid sales gains in 2016, of 5.4 per cent, after posting growth of 9.4 per cent a year previous. In dollar terms this is the strongest performer (just ahead of takeaway foodservices). Restaurants and cafes increased sales by $229 million in 2016 and now post annual sales of just under $4.5 billion.

The pubs, taverns and bars sector, which has undergone a reinvention of sorts over recent years to overturn a decline in popularity of its traditional model, also reported sales growth of 8.2 per cent in 2016.

Annual sales for the catering sector are $765 million, a 10.5 per cent increase on the year previous. While this is positive news, the industry market share for this sector is just 9 per cent however, so in real monetary terms this increase represents an increase of $56 million.

The clubs sector represents the smallest segment of the industry, with 4 per cent market share. The sector has seen a turn around of sales growth in recent years, however in 2016 it posted a sales decrease of -8.4 per cent - the only sector to record a decrease. In dollar terms, this represents a decrease of $30 million - the total sales revenue in 2016 was $326 million.

OUTLET AND EMPLOYEE GROWTH The number of workers employed in hospitality now exceeds 113,000 - growing by 4 per cent in 2015. This growth exceeds outlet growth, which in 2015 was 2.4 per cent, which may affect productivity levels. However, the increase in sales over the past year will help to balance these productivity levels.

The largest increase in employee numbers was again in the takeaway foodservice sector, which grew by 5.4 per cent in 2015. This sector now employs 21,550 workers 19 per cent of the industry’s workforce.

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Restaurants and cafes employ 55 per cent of our workers and this sector increased by 2,550 in 2015 - now employing 62,180 workers.

In 2015, national employee growth was 4 per cent over the year previous

growth. Of the 363 business that the industry grew by in 2015, 180 of them were located in the Auckland region.

Over five years the number of hospitality businesses in this region has grown by 13 per cent – just under 700 more businesses.

REGIONAL OUTLOOK In 2016, the Bay of Plenty region had the biggest annual sales growth over the year previous - 17.3 per cent.

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Regionally, the Auckland industry is dominant – 38 per cent of the country's businesses are located there, it employs over a third of the industry’s employees and has 37 per cent market share. Sales for this region reached $3,282 million in 2016 - an increase of over $114 million from 2015.

The highest performing region over the past year, however, was the Bay of Plenty region, which had sales growth of 17.3 per cent (to reach $428 million). By comparison outlet growth for the region was just 0.7 per cent and the increase in the number of workers, while greater then outlet growth, was still only 2.7 per cent. The Bay of Plenty region employs 6,120 workers.

Two other regions that performed well over the past year were the Waikato and Wellington regions, which both had sales growth in excess of 11 per cent.

Wellington’s hospitality sales are now $1.1 billion per annum and like the Bay of Plenty region, the increase in sales was met with minimal employee growth (just 0.9 per cent) and outlet growth of only 2.1 per cent.

The Waikato region’s 11.4 per cent sales increase in 2016 saw sales reach $674 million. The region also posted the highest employee growth, increasing the number of workers by 7.1 per cent (around 630 workers). Outlet growth for the Waikato region was 3.2 per cent.

Only three regions post annual sales in excess of $1 billion - Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury. In 2016 Canterbury sales increased by 5 per cent to reach $1.14 billion. This region, perhaps unsurprisingly, also had the largest percentage increase in the number of businesses, growing by 4.5 per cent. There are now 1878 hospitality businesses in the Canterbury region - a figure higher than pre-earthquake measures. And although the region continues to struggle to find workers to meet the demand of the number of new businesses opening, the number of workers increased by 720 in 2015 - with 14,540 now employed in Canterbury hospitality.

Business owners list competition from other businesses as one of the industry’s biggest challenges, so it is perhaps a little surprising that the number of new businesses grew by only 2.4 per cent, or 363 business, in 2015. It could be that while new businesses continued to open, this was being matched to a certain extent by the number of closures.

While consumer confidence is high we know that house prices and household debt remain of concern to many New Zealanders. However, all in all, the outlook for the hospitality industry is very positive.

Our expectations for the upcoming 12 months are that this positive sales trend will continue.

It is also worth noting that while many regions recorded minimal movement in the number of outlets over recent years, the Auckland region showed the largest outlet

Contact the Association if you would like to receive a free copy of the 2016 Restaurant Association Foodservice Facts.

NEED HELP? Call us on 0800 737 827

THE THYMES AUGUST 2016

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FREQUENTLY

ASKED...

We've compiled a list of some of the top queries to our MentorMe advice line and have picked a selection of these to answer for you in this issue. We will answer more of your most frequently asked questions over the next few issues of The Thymes. You can also check out www.restaurantnz.co.nz for answers to more FAQ's, or give our in-house mentor a call.

YOUR TOP 10...

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What are some new marketing techniques I can try? CHECK OUT MIKE EGAN'S TIPS ON PAGE 4 How can I reduce my food costs?

CHECK OUT PAGE 12

How can I reduce my labour costs?

CHECK OUT PAGE 14

When is the best time to sell and what do I need to do to get ready for selling?

CHECK OUT PAGE 11

I need advice on my lease renewal...

I have a dispute with my landlord over repairs who is liable?

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How can I increase my profit?

How can my business get the food out quicker?

What are the different operational structures for a hospitality business?

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How do I find the time to step back from the business to view systems and workflow?

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THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2015

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WHEN IS THE BEST

TIME TO SELL?

As they say, ‘timing is everything’ and this is especially true when it comes to the sale of a business. Selling either too early or too late can lead to a big difference in the sale price. While it is not always easy to predict the future of the economy, or your business, there are certain steps you can take to make sure you give your business the best prospect to maximise the selling price.

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eteran industry expert and broker, Clyth MacLeod, says the best time to sell is when there are keen buyers in the market to purchase a business —and it would appear that with the buoyant hospitality industry at the moment that the buyers are out there. Many of today’s buyers are migrants for whom business ownership offers employment and opportunity, so it is worth considering this as you get your business ready to sell.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO GET YOUR AFFAIRS IN ORDER PRIOR TO LISTING YOUR BUSINESS TO SELL Selling a restaurant is like selling a house—clean it up, make repairs, make it shine and keep it tidy—particularly when showing the premises to a prospective buyer.

Find an expert to help you establish a selling price and sell the business. A broker is dealing with buyers all the time and will usually sell the business more quickly and for a better price than trying to do it privately. Meet with the broker so they can learn the nuts and bolts of your business, the history and further potential of the business.

They will also be able to recommend what you might be required to do in order to achieve the maximum value for your business.

Review your lease as this outlines not only the duration of the lease, but other factors pertaining to the business’ use and the landlord requirements relating to the lease.

Be aware (and make your broker aware) of any important clauses that could impact your sale.

Get your financial statements in order. You’ll need to provide GST returns and/or financial statements relating to the business - the more transparent you are, the more you will keep potential buyers interested. Looking at these will assist in ascertaining the cost of sales, gross profit of the business, wages, rent and other expenses and the likely profit achievable from the business. In the absence of financials your broker will need to sit with you and learn what your usual costs of running the business are and also what your weekly sales are, but this approach does make the selling process more difficult.

List your assets. You don’t need every little detail, but a simple description of each item and its make or model is helpful. If there are any assets which will be excluded from the sale, list these as well. Include details about any leased or hired items of the business that you will require the buyer to take responsibility for from settlement date. www.restaurantnz.co.nz

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Have your staffing records in order. This indicates the level of staffing that is required in the business and how the owners of the business work in the business. This is a very important component of the business to understand when looking to marry prospective buyers of a business into different staffing roles.

Tidy up your written systems/manuals. If you have easy to follow written systems in place it will be easier for a new purchaser to move into the business. Your Operations Manual is an important asset: opening and closing checklists, recipes, repair lists, phone lists, instructions for equipment and costing methods.

Alert your advisors early. Lawyers, accountants and other consultants who may need to be involved in the sale of a business should be integrally involved even before the business is listed for sale. You will need legal advice and tax advice. The best way to get it is not just at the time when an offer is received, but all the way through the process. Last-minute introduction of advisors into the negotiating process all too often tends to slow, constrict or inhibit the entire sales process.

A final note regarding timing. Most business owners will find it hard to consider selling when things are going well, but that could be precisely the best time to get out. The best price comes from selling while “up”. Owners are going to get the best price while the business is operating efficiently and profitably and the owner can give the buyer full training and on-going support. Compelling personal problems (a divorce or death in the family) can impact value. Even successful businesses can experience debt problems or shortage of capital. A “healthy” business with a helpful owner is a major advantage in completing a successful business sale.

One of the surest ways to maximise the value of a business is not waiting too long to sell.

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MY FOOD COSTS ARE TOO HIGH

HOW DO I REDUCE THem? Food costs continue to rate as one of the hospitality industry’s biggest concerns and we frequently gets calls from members looking for advice on ways to reduce them. These costs can play a major role in a business’ success or failure, and with margins in the industry notoriously slim, if you can control some of your food costs you’ll assist your business’ profitability.

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tarting with the basics, when we get calls to the MentorMe helpline for assistance on managing food costs it is surprising how many don't know what their food costs are, or they are not calculating them at all. It isn't possible to manage your food costs if you are not calculating what they are.

Food Cost is the actual cost of all the ingredients used to produce all of the meals in a given period. The Food Cost% is Food Cost expressed as a percentage of the revenue generated by the meals produced. The simple formula for calculating food cost is: net food purchases divided by net food sales (net means after the change in inventory).

HERE ARE SOME TIPS THAT MAY ASSIST YOU TO CONTROL YOUR FOOD COSTS:

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PORTION CONTROL

Food portions may vary for a number of reasons including differences in staff practices and raw ingredient size fluctuations. Minimise portion size variation by training staff on the importance of this in relation to your food costs. Document standard recipes and have all recipes with photos, available for staff reference. If necessary measure out portions prior to service.

Another reason to focus on portion control is that you will ensure more consistency in the dish for your customers.

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MONITOR WASTE

Ensure your chefs understand the value of using every piece of a product, particularly the highly perishable products, and encourage them to be creative in using every piece of a particular product.

You also can’t control what you don’t measure…. so here are a number of ways to monitor waste: • Check the rubbish bins • Implementing a waste log • Waste collection and measurement A balance between reasonable controls and controls that apply excessive overhead is required. It may be useful to

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implement controls as required (for example when food costs are out of control) and/or spot checks. To decrease waste from spoilage you may consider ordering proteins and other short shelf life items daily. It is also important that you ensure that staff reject all sub standard supplies.

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BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH SUPPLIERS

All successful businesses build a strong relationship with their suppliers. Communication is key here; be clear about your business’s needs. Make sure that you have a contact person that you can talk to about problems. Don’t view your suppliers simply as providers of a commodity, instead think of your suppliers as partners in the success of your business. Invite your key suppliers into your business and share with them what you are trying to achieve.

Building a partnership with suppliers can also bring some new ideas to a company as they often have their finger on the pulse of new trends.

It is also healthy to compare prices with competitors to ensure you are getting a good deal. Keep informed of specials and new products, as keeping up to date on market prices by regular price comparisons can reduce food cost.

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And to keep your suppliers on side...pay your bills on time.

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ORDER SEASONAL PRODUCTS

These days you can purchase products that were once seasonal specialties at any time of the year. However, the cost of produce and some other products varies greatly depending on seasons. When produce is “in-season” there is a greater supply, so that demand is easily met, and the price decreases.

we measure it.

Temperature

Measurement Technology

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Needless to say the quality of produce that is in-season is also usually better as it has not been stored for long periods or traveled great distances.

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PLAN CAREFULLY

Effective planning will assist you to order wisely and reduce waste. Sales estimates based on previous periods, same time last year sales, future bookings and special events will assist you to ensure that the proper amount of food is being ordered for the level of business and demand.

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COST OUT YOUR RECIPES

Costing recipes provides a standard by which to compare actual costs. Without a benchmark there is no means to determine if food cost is too high or too low.

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INVENTORY AND STOCK ROTATION

Regular inventory of food items will help you to track your food costs and adjust if necessary.

One example of an effective way to track your inventory is the "first in, first out” system. Everything should be clearly marked with the date of receipt. Those items with the nearest expiration dates should be considered "first in" and used before items with a later date. This will take the guess work out of stock rotation.

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Rotating stock not only improves the quality and consistency of your end product but also reduces waste through spoilage of products. Ensure all staff are aware of the importance of stock rotation and understand how your stock rotation system works.

In the food industry, temperature measurements are part of the daily routine. The quality of the products can only be tested and guaranteed by precise measurements. And this is also the only way to fulll HACCP regulations. The testo range of measuring instruments can carry out spotcheck measurements in seconds.

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Whether in the transport and storage of foods, in restaurants, in large kitchens or in chain restaurants. Wherever temperature needs to be recorded, testo measures up and helps you keep compliant.

INVOLVE YOUR FRONT OF HOUSE STAFF

If you need to move some lower food cost items to assist with reducing your overall food costs, or increase sales of higher cost items, communicate with your front of house staff on what items to push. Make a staff incentive around this to see who can sell the most. Better still, feature those items you want to move as ‘specials,’ or additions to the menu.

You can also use this method to move slow selling stock to reduce food waste.

The most important thing is to maintain a tight control over your food costs. By reducing costs the profit goes directly to your bottom line, however costs can just as easily spiral out of control without vigilance.

AAre YOU prepared for compliance with the new NZ Food Safety regulations?

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NEED HELP? Call us on 0800 737 827 THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2015

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HIGH LABOUR COSTS tips to keep them IN control

As we know, effectively maintaining labour costs is still one of the biggest challenges for hospitality businesses. With the requirement for such a high labour component to running our business it is easy for these costs to rise. And when they begin to climb, as they seem to have in general over the past few years, anxiety levels rise as well. While wage costs are fixed to some extent due to your base level requirements (particularly when you’re running a kitchen), we offer some ideas on keeping them under control.

Two tips to controlling your labour costs are:

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improving employee productivity, and scheduling your employees wisely

Simply paying your employees less will not solve your labour cost issues. In fact, businesses paying less than the going wage rate for their region will find it difficult to hire and retain the more productive employees. And if customer service is compromised, the initial savings of a lower payroll cost can be negated by a decrease in sales.

The 2016 Restaurant Association Remuneration Survey will help you to check how your wages compare.

WAYS TO IMPROVE WORKER PRODUCTIVITY

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TRAIN YOUR STAFF

Don’t skimp on the training - well trained staff will become more efficient in their jobs. The importance of employee training and development in hospitality is paramount; this is because every job aims for the same goal of customer satisfaction. Workers in every part of hospitality, from dishwashers to managers and owners affect the customer experience. Without proper training, the employeecustomer interaction could be less than perfect and this in turn will affect your bottom line. Training can cost, but the benefits can outweigh the expense and should be seen as an investment in your business.

It's important to begin training your new recruits right from the start, instructing them on your standard operating procedures and the specifics of their jobs. Doing so places them on the right path from the beginning of their employment and stops the potential development of bad habits. Ensure there are established and written procedures that your employees can use to make their jobs easier and faster.

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CROSS-TRAIN YOUR STAFF

Cross-training can lead to productivity gains that will help you to stay competitive. It helps employees acquire new skills instead of requiring you to spend money to recruit new candidates.

It will also add interest to an employee’s job by offering

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some variety and help them to see what others do.

Cross training is also a great motivational tool.

Recognition in the form of training and development works wonders for employee motivation because it’s proof the company is investing the necessary time and resources for employees to acquire new skills. A cross-trained employee will have a wider range of skills and be able to help in multiple areas of the restaurant. This will allow you to schedule fewer workers while still being able to achieve the same production and service standards. It will also ensure that the business' performance levels are maintained, even when employee absences (and we are in peak sickness season at the moment) threaten.

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HIRE THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB

It’s easy to say, harder to do – but resist the temptation to panic hire rather than holding out for the right person.

Know what each job entails and what necessary skills are required to perform them. Then hire employees that best match those skill sets.

Hiring the best candidate for each job will both reduce labour costs and increase your production and efficiency.

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Consider also that if productive employees are treated no differently from marginally productive ones, there is no benefit to the employee to do more than average as they will get the same remuneration anyway. So look at ways to reward them.

SENSIBLE SCHEDULING Efficient scheduling reflects the variations in business volume that occurs during the working day. The goal is to accomplish the necessary workload while maintaining a consistent level of service, with a minimum number of labour hours.

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BREAK DOWN YOUR ANNUAL BUDGET

Break the budget into monthly budgets to help divide the money into weekly sections. This will give you a weekly budget, from which you can determine labour costs and make an appropriate roster schedule. To allow for shifts in things like projected sales, or other factors that can affect your business adjust the number of staff scheduled each week to keep compliant with weekly budget constraints.

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MONITOR START AND FINISH TIMES

Have systems in place to accurately record employees’ arrival and departure. If they arrived late then their start time should be adjusted accordingly. Make sure a manager monitors the timesheets or use a system that is tamper-proof, as all those half hours here and there add up.

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MAKE SURE ALL ROSTER CHANGES OR SHIFT SWAPPING IS AUTHORISED Your wise scheduling will go out the door if people start arbitrarily swapping their shifts around with others. Make sure a manager authorises any proposed changes in the schedule.

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AVOID OVER-STAFFING

The fixed-cost portion of payroll is the staff you need to open your doors even when sales revenues fall to their lowest levels. The employees who are added to the fixed schedule are ‘variable-cost’ employees. It is having too many variable-cost employees on the schedule that will put your labour percentages out of skew.

It may be tempting to schedule more people than necessary in order to ensure that the business runs smoothly. However, scheduling too many employees will increase your labour costs and reduce your overall profit.

If you find that you have over-scheduled, you can send staff members home early (although you may have to pay shift cancellation compensation). This comes back to training and having the right people on the job to work quickly and efficiently to your business’ levels of service.

As with your food costs, to keep your labour costs at optimum levels you’ll need to monitor them closely.

Be proactive, rather than reactive – finding out your labour costs were over budget a month ago won’t help your business. You need to stay on top of these figures and adjust week by week as necessary.

MENTORME! When wrestling with a problem, have you ever wished you could seek the advice of an industry expert who has ‘been there and done that’?

That’s where the Restaurant Association can assist you. Tony Adcock has owned and managed hospitality businesses for 40 years and is currently working with us to provide mentoring and business guidance for Restaurant Association members.

AVAILABLE TO HELP WITH EVERYTHING BUSINESS! • • • • • • • •

Food Costing Business Start up Lease Agreements General Hospitality business advice Business Check-up – Tony talks you through his check list, to ensure that your business is running effectively and efficiently Selling your business Sales and Marketing Budgeting advice

Offering expert advice and guidance is one of the many ways the Restaurant Association supports our members. If you haven’t used the helpline (0800 737 827) before please feel free to call up for a business check-up to make sure you are on track and haven’t missed any valuable updates for your business.

NEED HELP? Call us on 0800 737 827 THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2015

21

EMPLOYMENT MATTERS

DON’T GET CAUGHT WITHOUT! To ensure that new employment relationships start off in the right way, employers need to take care that they undertake a thorough recruitment process, which will in turn help both employer and employee to clarify the expectations and obligations around the new employee’s role.

Some of the essential elements of the recruitment process include:

1 2 3

Providing the employee with a written offer of employment; Supplying a detailed job description; and, of course Presenting them with a written employment agreement outlining the terms of their employment.

It can be tempting to let a new employee start working right away if they've shown up for their first shift and they haven't brought their signed employment agreement with them.

One of the biggest problems with doing this is you're automatically unable to use the 90 day trial. Those of you who have had to go through protracted disciplinary or performance management processes, or who have had a personal grievance brought against you, will know exactly how valuable the 90 day trial can be. It means you can terminate employment with a much shorter process and the employee can't bring a personal grievance or other legal proceedings in respect of the dismissal itself.

If you do find yourself in a position, for whatever reason, where you have employees working for you without employment agreements, don’t ignore the problem and hope it will disappear. It is best to rectify the situation as soon as possible - and can we reassure you that we are not here to judge, we can help make it right!

The Restaurant Association has a number of templates that members can use to get you on the right track – including a job offer letter and job description templates.

We also have a suite of hospitality-tailored employment agreement templates ready to use with minimum adjustment (and effort) required.

When presenting a new, or existing, employee with an employment agreement, some of the key elements to remember are: • •

An employee should be invited to seek independent advice (you can’t give the person independent advice) on their agreement.

They should also be given a reasonable amount of time to look over the agreement and return it. A week would be ideal, we recommend at least 4 days at a minimum.

employment matters

•

•

We realise that giving a new employee this amount of time is sometimes difficult when you need them to start immediately, however this really is an essential requirement.

Make sure your employment expectations are clear to your employees and that you have negotiated the terms in the agreement fairly and in good faith.

Be prepared to consider any issues that the person raises and respond to their questions or concerns.

As an employer, you need to keep a copy of the intended employment agreement, even if the employee hasn't signed it yet or agreed to the terms and conditions.

You could be up for some penalties if you don't meet these minimum employment standards.

For new employees, you must also ensure that the agreement is signed and returned to you prior to the employee starting their employment, otherwise, as we have indicated above, you lose some of the protections offered to you under those employment agreements.

Whether you are a new employer or you have been in business for a while, make sure you follow this simple process and use our resources to assist you. If you find yourself in the stressful position where you have existing staff that don't currently have employment agreements, give our Helpline a call so we can help you to rectify the situation. The effort you put into ensuring these processes are followed will save you a mountain of stress in the long run.

THE THYMES AUGUST 2016

17

DISCRIMINATION

IN THE WORKPLACE

HERE WE GO again!

The recent article in the New Zealand Herald about a job applicant who was apparently denied the chance of a job interview due to her wearing a hijab provoked a feeling of déjà vu. It is disappointing that yet again, this issue has arisen.

BY ALISON MAELZER, SPECIAL COUNSEL, HESKETH HENRY

S

urely, surely, employers know by now that discrimination on the basis of religious beliefs or ethnic or national origins is, in almost all circumstances, unlawful, and simply unacceptable?

The employer in question has apologised for the actions of its manager, and been at pains to point out that it does not condone discrimination in any way. However, it is a little disturbing to think that there are some people in positions of responsibility who, apparently, aren’t aware of their obligations.

So, just a quick refresher on discrimination.

It is unlawful to discriminate on the basis of the prohibited grounds in the Human Rights Act 1993, including religious or ethical belief, or ethnic or national origins. This applies in employment when: • • • • •

There are limited exceptions in relation to national security, reasons of authenticity or privacy (for example, providing counselling on highly personal matters), domestic or live-in employment (like a nanny), and religious employment (it is reasonable to expect a Catholic priest to be Catholic).

With regard to an employee wearing items of religious, cultural or ethnic significance (a hijab for example, or a cross, or even tā moko), it is generally unacceptable for an employer to prevent employees wearing or displaying items of genuine significance. But there are exceptions.

Genuine safety considerations (for example, a swinging crucifix may be caught in a machine) may provide a lawful reason for an employer to ask an employee not to wear such an item at work.

Recruiting (including asking interview questions, advertising, and job application forms) Employing (or refusing to do so) Giving less favourable terms and conditions of employment or opportunities; for example, for promotion, training, etc Terminating employment Requiring retirement

employment matters

employment matters

THE THYMES JUNE 2016

13

Where there is a uniform or dress code requirement, the Human Rights Commission’s advice is to use common sense – if the uniform can be adjusted slightly to accommodate both the employer and the employee’s needs, this will obviously be preferable to a hard and fast rule prohibiting employees wearing items of significance.

This fits with the provision in the Human Rights Act 1993 which limits the use of exceptions and provides that employers need to adjust their activities to accommodate the employee’s ability to carry out the duties, so long as this does not unreasonably disrupt the employer’s business. For example, many employers with a uniform will allow employees to wear cultural or religious items (hijab, turban, etc) in the company's colours.

As with so many things (particularly in employment), common sense and communication is key. Employers and employees should discuss the situation, and try to reach a mutually acceptable solution.

HELPME! Legal enquiries

Immigration enquiries Policies and procedures

If you have any questions about your Human Rights obligations, or any other aspect of employment law, please give us a call.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Redundancy and restructuring

Holiday pay questions

Alison Maelzer provides advice in all aspects of employment law (both contentious and non-contentious), with a particular interest in health and safety, disciplinary and performance issues.

Handbooks

Liquor licensing questions

Leasing and contracts queries

E: alison.maelzer@heskethhenry.co.nz T: + 64 9 375 7628

INCREASE FOR

PARENTAL LEAVE Parental leave payments increased on 1 July to reflect the 2.1 per cent rise in the average weekly earnings.

The maximum weekly rate for eligible employees and self-employed parents increased from $516.85 to $527.72 gross per week.

Under the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987, eligible parents are entitled to payments equal to their normal pay up to the current maximum. The maximum rate is adjusted annually to account for any increase in average weekly earnings.

Don’t suck lemons, talk to us!

• • • • • • •

24/7 Helpdesk Legal advice Employment Law Lease Agreements and Contracts Liquor licensing Templates and Guidelines Confidential support and advice

Offering expert business guidance and the tools and resources to help your business are some of the many ways the Restaurant Association supports our members.

If you haven’t used these services before please feel free to call up on 0800 737 827 for a chat.

The minimum parental leave payment rate for self-employed parents will increase this year from $147.50 to $152.50 a week.

NEED HELP? Call us on 0800 737 827 THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2015

21

WINTER WELLNESS At PEAK SICK LEAVE SEASON Winter bugs can hammer a restaurant business’ productivity, so it pays to help your people stay healthy — and to understand sick leave rules. Sick leave absences cost the country more than six million work days throughout 2014 — an average 4.7 days for each employee — at a cost of $1.4 billion, according to the annual Wellness in the Workplace survey, a joint study undertaken by Southern Cross Health Society and BusinessNZ. STAY HOME

ENCOURAGE GOOD HEALTH HABITS

The most effective way to protect your business against winter absence costs is to encourage sick staff to take time off. This may seem contrary, but bugs can be highly contagious — one person taking a day or two off sick leave will help prevent passing it on to other employees, who then need time off to recover.

It may seem like you have no choice about catching bugs, but the healthier people are, the less likely they are to get sick.

Despite knowing that coughs and sneezes spread diseases, more than a third of New Zealanders go to work when under the weather, according to the Wellness in the Workplace survey.

As owners of the business you might be guilty of coming to work while ill, fearing everything will grind to halt if you’re not on deck. It’s time for a rethink — if you don’t feel you can take time off, can you work from home while contagious?

Things you can do include: •

Stay hydrated: Drinking water is essential for good health, especially when the heating’s cranked up. Encourage staff to fill up often.

•

Clean hands: Encourage staff to wash and dry their hands often to stop bugs spreading.

•

Keep fit: Fitter people get sick less often. Think about staff health challenges, eg fun runs and social sports teams.

•

Eat well: Encourage staff to eat healthily at work to give their immune systems a boost.

•

Get outside: Exposure to sun for even short periods every day boosts vitamin D levels, an important nutrient for immunity.

VACCINATE AGAINST THE FLU Flu jabs are another way to reduce working time lost to winter ills. Consider paying for your staff to be vaccinated, either through their medical centre or organise a group vaccination session at your workplace.

Some of your people may be eligible for free flu jabs, eg pregnant women and those with diabetes or chronic asthma — you can see who’s eligible on the Government’s Fightflu website.

Influenza-like illnesses are worse than just bad colds, and account for 45% of illness days for unvaccinated people each winter.

NEED HELP? Call us on 0800 737 827

THE THYMES AUGUST 2016

20

SICK LEAVE RULES Winter is the peak time for being off sick from work, so it’s important you know the rules. Sick leave relies on a good faith relationship — an employer must be confident an employee is sick, while employees need to know they’ll be supported to get well.

The first step is to have a leave policy. The sick leave clause in your employment agreement sets out what your employees are entitled to.

What you need to know Once employees have worked for you for six months, they’re entitled to at least five days paid sick leave a year — or more if you want. These five days are not pro-rated for part-time employees (they are still entitled to five days) You must also: •

carry over unused sick leave to the next year (up to a maximum of 20 days sick leave can be accrued)

•

let employees use sick leave to care for a spouse, partner, child, elderly parent or other person who is dependent on your employee for their care.

•

pay staff their normal pay for days they’re on sick leave.

If an employee isn’t yet eligible for sick leave, or doesn’t have enough left to cover their illness, discuss the alternatives such as taking: • • •

sick leave in advance annual leave unpaid leave.

If you need proof an employee is ill or injured, you can require them to get a doctor’s certificate. They choose which doctor, but who pays depends on how long they’ve been off sick: •

You pay if they’ve been off sick less than three full days in a row.

•

They pay if it’s three or more calendar days in a row.

Think carefully before you ask for proof. It’s better for staff relations if you only do this with reasonable grounds to suspect an employee’s illness isn’t genuine.

employment matters

Are resignations made in the heat of the moment final?

H

ospitality businesses are busy, stressful environments at times; emotions can get overheated and arguments can occur. So when an employee resigns, or says something that could be interpreted as a resignation, in the heat of the moment, it is best to allow a cooling down period to see whether they may feel differently in a calmer state.

We recommend that in these circumstances, an employer should act with caution. No matter how tempting it may be to accept the resignation on the spot, your good faith obligations require you to be a responsive and communicative employer.

1

Say to the employee that you think the resignation was made in the heat of the moment and you would like to allow at least 24 hours for the employee to cool off before you accept any resignation.

2 3

Make it clear that you are available to discuss any issues or concerns that they have.

After 24 hours, contact the employee and confirm whether they do still want to resign.

PROOF OF ILLNESS

SOURCE www.businessnz.govt.nz

"THAT'S IT, I QUIT!"

This will give the employee time to calm down and reflect and either: • • •

withdraw their resignation confirm that they didn’t intend to resign confirm that they did intend to resign.

The employer should also ask the employee to confirm what they want to do in writing so there can be no dispute later on.

An employer is not expected to wait for an excessive amount of time to establish whether the resignation is genuine or not - 24-48 hours is a sufficient cooling off period in most cases.

If an employee doesn’t respond within a reasonable amount of time then it may be reasonable for the employer to act on the basis that they have resigned.

THE THYMES AUGUST 2016

21

BUSINESS INSIGHTS...

... don’t forget to support the businesses that support you & the Restaurant Association STRATEGIC PARTNERS...

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS

for Restaurant Association members

SAVE ME! DO YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW TO MAKE SAVINGS ON YOUR FUEL THROUGH AN EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION AND BIDVEST? All you need to do is register your AA Smartfuel card with Bidvest and you'll qualify for: •

A 5c discount per litre for every $500 excl GST spent in one transaction online at Bidvest Direct e.g. spend $1,000 excl GST and get 10c discount per litre, spend $1,500 get 15c discount per litre PLUS

•

Exclusively for Restaurant Association members you can also get 20c discount per litre for every $200 excl GST spent on red meat in one transaction online at Bidvest Direct e.g. spend $200 excl GST and get 20c discount per litre, spend $400 excl GST and get 40c discount per litre, spend $600 excl GST and get 60c discount per litre

KEY PARTNERS...

How can you get signed up on this offer?

1 2

First make sure you are signed up to AA Smartfuel (if you haven't already got a card, go to www.aa.co.nz/aasmartfuel) Next go to www.bidvest.co.nz and register for your card with the Bidvest AA Smartfuel programme: ~ Click on the Promotions tab on the Bidvest home page. ~ Click on AA Smartfuel from the menu on the left ~ Scroll to the bottom of the AA Smartfuel page ~ Click on “…registering here”

ASSOCIATE+ PARTNERS...

~ Complete and submit the online form Make sure that you type “Restaurant Association” into the notes field so that you receive both the 5c discount and the 20c red meat discount when purchasing online at Bidvest Direct.

IF YOU NEED HELP JUST GIVE US A CALL ON 0800 737 827!

GOOGLE VIRTUAL TOURS OFFER A POWERFUL TOOL FOR RESTAURANTS Pictures tell the story, especially for potential customers eyeing your restaurant online.

BY JOHN MOORE, SocialMediaRestaurant.com

W

e all know that social media and digital marketing are critically important to any effective restaurant promotional plan. Yet it remains incredibly difficult to quantify results—especially when trying to determine the resources devoted to them.

While it can be hard to keep up with Google's SEO polices and listing practices, one online service you can—and definitely should—take advantage of is creating a Google Business View Virtual Tour. The one thing you can be sure to count on in the ever-shifting landscape of online customer engagement and social media marketing is that most of your potential customers are going to "Google" you. And that's where you get to engage with them first and make the best initial impression.

Google's Virtual tours allow businesses to "show off" their locations, and they're particularly effective for restaurants.

The Virtual Tours are viewable from any device (desktop, tablet, mobile, etc.) and are housed on Google's servers (Search, Maps, Google My Business) for free. The tours are a one-time photography service, and you own all the rights to the images. You can also embed the tours into all your digital marketing media, including your website and Facebook page. They show up directly in Google Search and Maps, so that a potential customer can actually take a virtual walk around your dining room or bar, while getting hours, directions, phone numbers and checking out the menu. The "See Inside" link to your tour is prominently displayed in your search results and invites potential diners to dive right in and take a look around.

NYC & Company, New York City's convention and visitors bureau, found that the tours work. To drive a higher level of engagement with participating restaurants, NYC & Company embedded Google Maps Street View and Business View on its website. The organisation also offered tours as a marketing tool to New York City restaurants participating in their very popular Restaurant Week promotion.

Just over half of all participating restaurants had Business View and results showed that diners were more likely to reserve a table at those restaurants.

•

On average, restaurant listings that included Business View had a 30 per cent higher click through to reservations.

business insights

•

• •

Visitors who viewed Business View for a given business clicked through to make a reservation 50 per cent of the time (20 per cent more than visitors who didn’t view Business View).

84 per cent of 1,300 surveyed customers said Business View played a factor in their restaurant choice.

The magical 18-34 age group picked the restaurant that had a virtual tour available over a competitor that did not by over 3 to 1.

Interested? You can find a list of Google Trusted Photographers from the Google Business View website.

Contact each one for a quote. Google Virtual Tours are produced by independent contractors, and while they are carefully screened and approved by Google, there are certainly differences in the quality of work being produced. Be sure to see samples of other restaurants that the Google Trusted Photographer has shot. They should also be able to assist you in embedding the tour on your website and Facebook page.

It's a challenge for restaurant owners to decide how and where to expend time and money on digital marketing.

The only way to accurately judge ROI on these efforts is to pay for social metric services that are themselves way too expensive to employ. Here is one solution that provides a clear path to customer conversion and only involves a one-time investment of time and money.

SOURCE, SocialMediaRestaurant.com.

THE THYMES AUGUST 2016

24

WHO WILL BUY

YOUR BUSINESS? We are all going to exit our businesses sooner or later.

When we do we will be hoping for the best price with the least hassles.

Listing with an experienced and specialist business broker will help us achieve this.

O

n today’s market there is a high probability that the buyer will be an immigrant to New Zealand if you have a café, restaurant, or fast food outlet.

These businesses are essentially cash-and-carry, offering independence, employment, and, possibly, requiring limited English language skills.

To tap into this market the broker needs salespeople

who talk their language and to use marketing media that targets their particular ethnic group, e.g. ethnic newspapers and websites.

An analysis of our business sales over the last 3 months shows that 74% were to Chinese, Indian, and other Asian buyers!

This reflects the very diverse sales team we have, and who are great fun to work with!

CLYTH MACLEOD

“74% of our sales in the last 3 months were to Chinese, Indian and other Asian buyers. When selling your business there is a high probability that the buyer will be an immigrant to New Zealand.”

So when the time is right to sell your business talk to Clyth MacLeod Business Sales.

We have a diverse team of many nationalities. This will ensure you are reaching all prospective buyers.

“Clyth MacLeod Business Sales - A Multi-Cultrural Team who work together to achieve the best results for all” business insights

THE THYMES JUNE 2016

24

EVENTS

PROGRAMME

WHAT’S ON 12

www.visawoap.com

www.beervana.co.nz

Restaurant Association professional development SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS,presented by Wendy Thompson

Bidvest Food Show Timaru -17 Bidvest Food Show, Christchurch

Restaurant Association professional development GROW YOUR ONLINE VISIBILITY, presented by Richard Conway

Restaurant Association Taranaki branch MeetMe

www.restaurantnz.co.nz

www.bidvest.co.nz

www.restaurantnz.co.nz

www.restaurantnz.co.nz

Asparagus season opens (main supplies now until December)

-04 The Chocolate & Coffee Show, Auckland

-10 Food and Hotel Thailand, Bangkok

Whitianga Scallop Fesitval, Whitianga

www.chocolatecoffeeshow.co.nz

www.foodhotelthailand.com

www.scallopfestival.co.nz

Daylight Savings starts

Canterbury (South) Anniversary Day (regional public holiday)

Kaikoura Seafest, Westend Kaikoura

16

01

23

03 25

End of Term 3

22 07

Whitebait season opens (except West Coast, opens 1 September)

30

26

09

Feast by Famous Chefs, Auckland Museum, Auckland

-10 Restaurant Association Hospitality Summit, Auckland Museum

21

www.restaurantnz.co.nz

Hawke's Bay Anniversary Day (regional public holiday)

-11 Anuga trade show, Cologne, Germany

10

Start of Term 4

10

www.seafest.co.nz

07

Artichoke season opens (main supplies now until December)

09

SEPTEMBER

30

01

OCTOBER

International Day of the Chef

15

-13 Beervana, craft beer festival, Westpac Stadium, Wellington

15

20

12

-20 Visa Wellington on a Plate

AUGUST

www.restaurantnz.co.nz

AUGUSTOCTOBER

www.anuga.com

15

Strawberry season opens (main supplies now until February)

22

National Nut Day

14

World Egg Day

16

-20 SIAL 2016, Paris, France www.sialparis.com

22

-23 Gisborne Wine & Food Festival, Gisborne www.gisbornewineandfood.co.nz

events ~ international and national

THE THYMES AUGUST 2016

27

Awards to celebrATE

EXCELLENCE COMMUNITY SPIRIT

&

The Restaurant Association will be honouring our industry’s biggest stars at the annual Feast by Famous Chefs dinner on 09 October, as we acknowledge those who have had an exceptional influence on hospitality. Three awards will be presented on the night, which recognise outstanding contributions in three different areas of the industry...

The highest recognition is reserved for Hall of Fame recipients, an award which recognises individuals who have made a significant contribution and given exceptional service to the hospitality industry in the past and continue to do so. Last year's winner, Mike Egan joins past recipients of this prestigious award who include icons of the industry like, Otto Groen, Tony Astle, Judith Tabron, Simon Gault and Tony Adcock.

As well as the national recognition the Award bestows upon the recipient, he or she receives a unique greenstone sculpture as a permanent reminder of the industry’s gratitude.

In addition, the BIDVEST Innovator Award is awarded to an individual or company who has shown outstanding innovation in the hospitality industry. This award, sponsored by Bidvest, is selected by a panel of industry personnel from a short-list provided by industry nominations.

Contenders for this award need to be the best in their field, they must be on the cutting edge and have changed the way our industry looks at things. They must be innovative and be achieving to the highest level. The award may be awarded to an individual, or a company.

In 2016 the Restaurant Association, together with sponsor American Express, will again recognise a Restaurant Association member who is involved in doing outstanding things in community service.

The Good Neighbour Award honours those ‘paying it forward’ in their communities; those who are actively involved in projects or activities that are making a real difference to their neighbourhood. Each year, one hospitality business or individual will be awarded the Good Neighbour Award and will receive $3,000 to support a charity or community project they are involved in.

Hospitality businesses demonstrate an unwavering commitment to their communities in good times and bad.

Perhaps no other industry has deeper community roots.

2015 Hall of Fame Aw

ard recipient, Mike Ega

n

People turn to our businesses each day for sustenance, support and socialization – and our businesses give back to their communities, improving the quality of life for those they serve.

These awards promote hospitality business’ roles as cornerstones of their communities, and highlights their efforts. We want to celebrate the great things our members are doing!

If you would like to nominate a person or business for any of these three awards, contact the Restaurant Association today for more information (p. 09 638 8403 or e. info@restaurantnz.co.nz).

Nominations close 1st september.

NEED HELP? Call us on 0800 737 827

THE THYMES AUGUST 2016

28

THE RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION OF NZ INVITES YOU TO THE 2016

HOSPITALITY SUMMIT AUCKLAND MUSEUM

09 & 10 | Oct | 2016

Join us for two days packed full of inspiration and advice from some of our finest hospitality leaders.

INTRODUCING INTERNATIONAL

KEYNOTE SPEAKER CHRIS LUCAS Restaurateur & Founder of

The Lucas Group, Melbourne Chin Chin & Gogo, Baby, Kong BBQ, Hawker Hall

Chris Lucas is an Australian restaurateur with an uncanny knack for not only predicting changing trends in dining but for dictating them too. The skill, which he describes as more of an “instinct” has earned him countless accolades including “Hottest Restaurant in Australia” and a “Hall of Fame” induction.

Despite the lofty heights his restaurants invariably reach, Lucas is driven by a philosophy of bringing high end food back down to a grassroots level where it can be enjoyed by not only the fine dining set for whom money, status and a Saturday night reservation is no object, but everyone.

EARLYBIRD TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW! Contact the Restaurant Association on 0800 737 827 or go to www.restaurantnz.co.nz

CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS

PRINCIPAL SPONSOR

ASSOCIATE SPONSORS

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AUGUST 2016

e: bookings@restaurantnz.co.nz p: 0800 737 827

BOOK NOW!

MONDAY 15 AUGUST, 10.00am – 12.00pm

AUGUST

Social Media Success Wendy Thompson, Socialites Join social media expert Wendy Thompson for a hospitality-specific workshop that will take you through efficient ways of using social media to connect with customers and grow your social media presence and following. This two hour workshop will cover relevant topics such as; Facebook optimisation, how to deal with negativity, social media advertising, Instagram posting and more.

Wendy is the founder and CEO of Socialites, New Zealand’s largest specialist social media agency. She has been a digital and social marketing leader for over 15 years. She is Lead Marketing Judge for the Westpac Business Awards, was awarded the Ernst & Young Winning Women Scholarship in 2015 as well as picking up a place for Socialites on the Deloitte Fast 50 and Asia Pacific Tech 500.

VENUE: taste, 45 Normanby Road, Mt Eden, Auckland PRICE: $40 + gst - Restaurant Association members $65 + gst - General industry rate

MONDAY 22 AUGUST, 10.00am – 12.00pm

AUGUST

Grow Your Online Visibility Richard Conway, Pure SEO Although social media is a great tool for generating traffic to your website, search engines such as Google are still the primary method of searching and navigating for users. This is where the importance of Search Engine Optimisation comes into play.

Join Richard Conway in this two hour seminar, where he shares his extensive knowledge on SEO, to increase site visibility and reach target customers efficiently. The higher a website ranks in search results, the more traffic the site will get, which will lead to more business and a competitive advantage.

Learn from the best! Pure SEO are the most awarded search agency in New Zealand and are the only agency to have received the Google All Star status in New Zealand.

VENUE: taste, 45 Normanby Road, Mt Eden, Auckland PRICE: $40 + gst - Restaurant Association members $65 + gst - General industry rate

BAY OF PLENTY BRANCH PRESIDENT: Andrew Targett

AUCKLAND BRANCH PRESIDENT: Krishna Botica

UPCOMING MEETING Branch MeetMe ~ 08 August

WAIKATO BRANCH

HAWKES BAY BRANCH

ROTORUA BRANCH

PRESIDENT: Sean Burns

PRESIDENT: Sharon Wallace

TARANAKI BRANCH

UPCOMING EVENT Branch MeetMe ~ 05 September

PRESIDENT: Barbara Olsen-Henderson

MANAWATU BRANCH PRESIDENT: Sean Kereama

UPCOMING MEETING Branch MeetMe ~ 30 August

REGIONAL UPDATES UPCOMING MEETING Branch MeetMe ~ 13 September UPCOMING MEETING Branch MeetMe ~ 14 September

NELSON BRANCH PRESIDENT: Harry Morris

MARLBOROUGH BRANCH

WELLINGTON BRANCH NATIONAL PRESIDENT: Mike Egan NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT: Steve Logan

PRESIDENT: Liz Buttimore

CANTERBURY BRANCH PRESIDENT: Sam Crofskey

DUNEDIN BRANCH UPCOMING MEETING Branch MeetMe ~ 13 September

UPCOMING MEETING Branch MeetMe ~ 22 August

PRESIDENT: Olive Tabor VICE-PRESIDENT: Helen Wright

SOUTHERN LAKES BRANCH PRESIDENT: Grant Hattaway VICE-PRESIDENT: Cam Mitchell

NEED A VISIT? We have staff on the road, so give us a call on 0800 737 827 if you'd like to schedule some one on one time.

GABRIELLE TURNER Auckland & upper North Island TRACEY LINES Wellington & lower North Island SABRA MOORE South Island

WELCOME

We would like to welcome the following new members of the Restaurant Association who have recently joined us.

congratulations...

You have joined the only organisation that exclusively assists you to safeguard the viability of your café, restaurant, or hospitality business. We will help guide you through the regulatory minefield that exists in today’s business environment.

You have joined 1850 of New Zealand’s most dynamic and profitable hospitality businesses.

S GREY GARDEN

TASSE CAFE

TRENTHA

PASTA AND CUORE

1981 Bar & Restaurant, Auckland Blind Swine Ltd, Auckland Blue Carrot Catering, Lower Hutt Boy & Bird, Auckland Bungalo Café, Auckland Cafe Bonjour, Auckland Cafe on Kerrs, Auckland Copper, Dunedin CourtYard Café, Tauranga Dantes Pizzeria Napoletana, Auckland De'Niro Restaurant, Auckland Donut King, Lower Hutt Dova Ltd, Auckland, Eftpos Specialists (Auckland) Branch, Auckland Everyday Gourmet, Dunedin Food International, Auckland Fratelli, Wellington Golden Garden Restaurant, Auckland Gourmet Kitchens, Auckland GrainCorp Foods, Auckland Grey Gardens, Hamilton Habitual Fix Beaumont, Auckland Habitual Fix Highbrook, Auckland KED Investments Ltd, Christchurch Lone Star, Rotorua Massey Catering, Auckland Matakana Cinemas Café, Matakana

M MESS HALL

Moxie Restaurant, Auckland Munchen, Wellington Olive Restaurant, Wellington PAK Napier, Napier Pasta & Cuore, Auckland Pita Pit Auckland Airport, Auckland Pita Pit, Rotorua Pita Pit, Wanganui Robert Harris Cafe, Christchurch Rosebank, Auckland Royal Sweets & Café, Auckland Spice Guru, Whanganui St. Germain, Hastings Star of India Hastings, Hastings Success Cafe and Bar, Coromandel Tasse Café, Dunedin The Black Dog Café, Dunedin The Charcoal Pit, Napier The Cheesecake Shop Mt Wellington, Auckland The Coffee Club Constellation Drive, Auckland The Deli, Auckland The PepperTree Restaurant, Coromandel The River Kitchen, Hamilton Trentham Mess Hall, Upper Hutt We Don't Have Elephants, Auckland WilliamsWarn, Hastings Wobbly Heads/ Bocado, Auckland

new members

THE THYMES AUGUST 2016

33

Kia Ora from

R

otorua Hospitality is booming and thriving, with the best of the best celebrating in style on 17th July at the 5th Annual Rotorua Hospitality Awards held at the Energy Events Centre. 400 guests attended the black tie Masquerade (with a Matariki Twist) event that saw businesses and individuals celebrated with honours and tributes for their successes and superior service to the industry.

Businesses ranging from rustic to fine dining, seasoned individuals and more importantly the successful start of new up and coming people to the industry were included as finalists. The Rotorua Hospitality Awards committee are ecstatic to see so many old and new faces coming through the awards and providing a platform for these people to be celebrated with their industry peers, friends and family.

All finalists have put their best foot forward in a bid to stand out from their peers, competing to be the best within their categories for 2016. All finalists have undergone a judging process to determine the winners, the results that came in were extremely close, showing Rotorua has something special to offer within the New Zealand hospitality industry.

Tributes, fond memories and raised glasses for industry icons were celebrated including a special tribute dedicated to John Knight, Triple One 5/CBK, as one of the original drivers and committee members of the event.

Pipiana Whiston, General Manager of Millennium Hotel was recognised for her expansive career in hospitality as the recipient of the Spark Business Icon of Hospitality Award.

SHARON WALLACE { Rotorua Branch President }

ROTORUA HOSPITALITY AWARDS WINNERS:

2016

rotorua

Robert Harris Airport Outstanding Barista ASHLEIGH HEARD – PICNIC CAFÉ

Independent Liquor Emerging Business ATTICUS FINCH

Bidvest Outstanding Café LIME CAFFETERIA

Tohu Wines Front of House Star AROHA BUTLER MCLEOD – LEONARDOS PURE ITALIAN

Simply Pure Outstanding Bartender ALEX CIUCCARIELLO – REGENT OF ROTORUA Simply Pure Outstanding Bartender Matariki Cocktail Punch ~ HERBERT MITCHELL - PIG N’ WHISTLE Jasco Distributing Outstanding Bar PONSONBY RD LOUNGE BAR Rotorua Daily Post Outstanding Ethnic Restaurant INDIAN STAR TANDOORI RESTAURANT Restaurant Association of NZ Outstanding Sales Rep WILLIAM NICHOLLS – BIDVEST Skyline Rotorua Outstanding Caterer THE CATERING COMPANY

regional update

Inghams Outstanding Hotel Restaurant ATLAS RESTAURANT (NOVOTEL LAKESIDE RESORT) The Hits 97.5 Outstanding Takeout BURGER FUEL Service IQ Emerging Chef KEEGAN WATSON-HOPGOOD – RYDGES ROTORUA

Menumate POS Outstanding Chef DEAN LINDEBAUM – LEONARDOS PURE ITALIAN OneMusic Outstanding Restaurant URBANO BISTRO

THE THYMES AUGUST 2016

34

FROM THE CAPITAL

hot plate coming through CHANGES

Five and Dime has opened on Cuba Street. This is a 36 seat restaurant from the team behind 5 Boroughs Restaurant.

Best Ugly Bagels has opened on Swan Lane just off Cuba Street, behind Floriditas.

Jamie's Italian is not going ahead due to the Australian license holder going into liquidation.

Tomboy Cakes has opened on Majoribanks Street.

Hanging Ditch, on Leeds Street, is a new cocktail bar which has the bottles hanging from bungee cords above the bar.

Eva Beva, a new bar, has opened on Dixon Street.

Famous Bar on Courtenay Place has lost its license after the police objected and had a list of 26 alleged breaches of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act. One breach was when the owner used the DJ p.a system to tell the crowd that the police support unit, who were on the premises for an inspection, were really strippers and would take their clothes off for $20.

MIKE EGAN { Restaurant Association National President } mike@monsoonpoon.co.nz

Eva Beva

regional update

FELIX HOSPITALITY AWARDS TO RETURN The Restaurant Association is proud to announce that we are bringing back the Wellington 'Felix Hospitality Awards' for 2016...

The awards will be held on Sunday 23rd October, 2016 at the St James Theatre, Wellington HERE'S WHEN IT WILL ALL BE HAPPENING...

Tickets on Sale: Monday 15th August Nominations Open: Monday 10am, 29th August Nominations Close: Sunday 5pm, 18th September Finalists Announced and Voting Commences: Wednesday 10am, 21st September Finalist Voting Closes: Wednesday 5pm, 12th October Event of the Year!

23rd October 2016 WHAT CATEGORIES ARE UP FOR GRABS? Outstanding CafĂŠ Outstanding Barista Outstanding Bar Experience Outstanding Bartender Outstanding Waitperson Outstanding Maitre d'/FOH Manager Outstanding Chef Emerging Talent - FOH Up & Coming Talent - Kitchen Outstanding Sales Representative Outstanding Supplier Outstanding Value Meal Outstanding Suburban/Regional Experience Outstanding Restaurant Outstanding Hospitality Professional We'll be back in touch with more details soon.

THE THYMES AUGUST 2016

36

NEWS FROM THE BAY

T

he Hawke's Bay Hospitality Awards were held a few weeks ago and were hugely successful, with a sell out awards and party.

There were a great variety of winners from across the region, plus new names and businesses winning awards.

2016

hawke’s bay

HAWKE'S BAY HOSPITALITY AWARDS WINNERS:

The SWTMXKDS were a massive hit, as was the food put on by Shed 2 at the after party. The party was supposed to finish at midnight but Shed 2 owner Dennis Buckley was so happy with the night he let the party continue until 1.30am. Thanks Dennis.

Celia Hay's NZ Sommeliers and Wine Professional Roadshow came to Napier at the end of July. Around 30 young hospitality professionals came to hear from Mike Bancks and Matt Judd about their Master Sommelier experiences and where it has led them.

Winter FAWC Over 50 events were held across the 4 weekends of June. Most events sold out and there was a great mixture of locals and visitors from Auckland. The Summer FAWC programme is just about to be released.

Mid winter Art Deco Another successful Winter Deco weekend brought lots of visitors for 15 events across the weekend in the middle of July. Events ranged from Vintage Railcar rides, to a Royal Flush Casino night, to Speakeasy Burlesque…and everything in between.

Hotel Porters in Havelock North The owners of the new Hotel Porters in Havelock North have decided to open and run the restaurant themselves.

Whilst originally looking for an operator to take on the lease, they are now keen to take control themselves. They are aiming to open at the end of this year. regional update

Westpac Outstanding Winery Experience ELEPHANT HILL

OneMusic Outstanding Restaurant BISTRONOMY

Bidvest Outstanding Café MAINA CAFE

Clearview Estate Best Ambience and Style PIPI CAFE

Steinlager Pure Outstanding Bar COMMON ROOM

Sacred Hill Outstanding Chef JEREMY RAMEKA - PACIFICA RESTAURANT

Hawke’s Bay Today Outstanding Ethnic Restaurant MEXI MAMA Restaurant Association Outstanding Winery Restaurant MISSION ESTATE Negociants Outstanding Wine & Beverage List DELICIOSA EIT Outstanding Front of House Team BISTRONOMY

Your Solutions Outstanding Coffee Establishment HAWTHORNE COFFEE Simply Squeezed Outstanding Local COMMON ROOM Spark Business Outstanding Sales Rep/Supplier OLIVER KETTLE - ROD MCDONALD WINES SEAN BURNS

{ Hawke's Bay Branch President } sean@milkandhoney.co.nz

THE THYMES AUGUST 2016

37

Liz buttimore

I

Don't miss our upcoming Dunedin MeetMe on 22nd August

LIZ & PARTNER BRADLEY, OWNERS OF ARBOUR

TALES FROM the

south

M

embership manager, Sabra Moore, has returned early (in a part-time capacity) from her parental leave to take on the role of our South Island Membership Co-ordinator. Here is her take on what is happening in the Southern part of the country...

DUNEDIN Olive Tabor, our Dunedin Branch President, and I have been busy visiting members and non-members over the past two months and helping to get a number of new establishments on board. Welcome to Copper, Black Dog, Everyday Gourmet, Vogel Street Kitchen and Tasse.

The general feeling from members is that business is steady but they are conscious of increasing running costs and staffing issues remain a big concern. A big thank you to Olive for being such a proactive branch president and supporting our local members in Dunedin.

Vogel Street Kitchen is set to open a second site early next year, near their popular Vogel St café, inside the new Galloway Cook Allan offices.

VOGEL ST KITCHEN

Emerson’s opened its doors in Dunedin in early June with the usual teething problems reported. www.emersons.co.nz.

New chocolate company Ocho has opened in Vogel Street making chocolate from bean to bar. They also make delicious hot chocolate and mocha’s using their unique, handmade products. www.ocho.co.nz.

Angus Steak House has been closed for a rebrand and will re-open early August as a Smokehouse Restaurant.

We have a MeetMe coming up on 22nd August at Vault 21 to update our members on the Health and Safety laws.

MARLBOROUGH The Marlborough Branch has recently had a rejuvenation with the election of a new branch president, Liz Buttimore, from Arbour Restaurant. We've also formed a Branch Committee to help support Liz - Jetti Walker, owner of MIA, Guy Hernandez, Pernod Ricard national heritage manager and Kylie Cornelius from Allan Scott Wines.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LIZ HERE

Liz is very well connected and an industry leader with big plans for the local Branch. Common concerns for members in this region seem to be staffing and seasonality of business. We look forward to working with Liz and her committee to find ways we can assist with these pinch points. I look forward to growing the membership and building a much larger presence in this region.

Marlborough is set to get its own slice of Mexico when a new restaurant opens later this year. Cartel Mexican Bar and Grill, is being developed in Blenheim by Yard Bar co-owners Joe Johnstone and Craig Macgregor. The new site is located on Scott Street.

regional update CONTINUED...

love to waitress. It was a motivating factor in buying a small restaurant.

I love carrying plates and making people happy. I come across as relaxed and casual but in truth I am a meticulous forward planner. Planning means that during service or any big event I can fully enjoy the moment.

That moment is the reason why I am in hospitality.

I grew up on a farm in Taranaki and have worked in the food industry since my first year at high school (if you count milking cows and goats then you could say I have been in the ‘production’ area of food since I could reach the milking cups). I studied at AUT and at that time I imagined myself heading down the large scale General Manager path.

Connie Clarkson used the very pointy toe of her boot to set me off on a path better suited to me. She also inspired the way I operate ‘Just tell them you can do it, then go away and figure it out’. Over the years I have landed us into some very challenging situations, but we have had such amazing adventures because of these words.

It makes me so happy to burst into the kitchen and announce ‘I have a plan’.

Bradley Hornby and I have had a few award winning projects together over the last decade; Knee Deep Wines, Wills Domain Wines and just prior to Marlborough we were the chef and manager at Annandale on Banks Peninsula. This last year at Arbour however has been the best year of our lives. We are surrounded by incredibly nice people. We have found a place where the wine and food producers are constantly striving to improve their product, whilst working together to promote the ‘Marlborough’ brand.

This is how we hope to run our local Restaurant Association branch. We want to be positive ambassadors for Marlborough and support our tourism bodies in promoting our region as a food tourism destination.

We consider ourselves very lucky to be in a place that both challenges us to better ourselves and offers us a small town lifestyle. Marlborough really is #BrilliantEveryDay!

MY STRENGTHS: Planning, finance,

plate carrying, creating a new bubble as soon as mine is burst, fundraising, making good on outrageous promises.

MY WEAKNESSES: Saying no, Marlborough Pinot Noir, dumplings of almost any kind.

TALES FROM the south continued A new cafe is the latest addition to a multi-million dollar redevelopment of a Blenheim shopping centre. Kotare Cafe, at the Springlands Shopping Centre, opened its doors in early July, owned by Rebecca Hill. Hill, who also owns Figaro's Cafe on Scott Street, worked closely with architectural firm Art House Architecture to create a modern but comfortable space.

NELSON Nelson has been busy over the Winter months, with events, new openings and good news from the local council on outdoor seating...

Around 55,000 people attended Nelson's third Light Nelson festival over its four-night run. Many central city cafes, restaurants and bars were exceptionally busy and it generated some great energy for the town.

Nelson Airport has experienced its busiest year ever with further growth predicted. A record 865,023 passengers flew in and out of the terminal in the year to June, up 16 per cent from the 750,000 passengers last year.

In a rather positive move, Nelson City Council has revoked restrictions to allow eateries to apply for licences to use public car parking spaces for outdoor dining in the central business district. Councillor Matt Lawrey said he wanted to see more businesses utilising the street-scape in order to add "vibrancy" to the CBD. Mint Dining Room closed at the end of June after their lease ran out.

Nelson's Indian Cafe is famous for its food and now Richmond has its own branch of the popular restaurant.

COALFIRE

The Indian Cafe owner Paul Lokhande said high demand from Richmond customers in the Nelson cafe sparked the decision to open at the new location. www.theindiancafe.com.

CANTERBURY In Christchurch there is a positive buzz around the 2016 Chevron Awards, which as you receive this copy of the newsletter will have just been announced. Congratulations to all of the winners.

The Restaurant Association's professional development Road Show also recently hit Christchurch. Both of the sessions, on Food Costing (with Tony Adcock) and Emerging Managers (with Krishna Botica) were well received and we look forward to more of the road show events coming to the South.

Our Canterbury Branch President, Sam Crofskey, also needs special mention.

He has been an enormous help to the association and has been assisting me recently with building up the local membership base in Christchurch.

SOUTHERN LAKES The Queenstown Lakes District is facing unprecedented growth in the tourism and hospitality industry, coupled with increased flight capacity, with the launch of evening flights (predictions show an estimated increased flight capacity of 20% from last winter). There is also strong growth in the residential and commercial property market and solid accommodation occupancy levels for this winter are again predicted. The start of the ski season was a bit average but all in all Queenstown is busy!

High business rental costs and living costs continue to cause problems for sustainable business and staffing solutions for this region.

regional update

Immigration New Zealand has announced that the Queenstown office will be closing at the end of August.

There are a couple of developments happening at present...a large upmarket restaurant and bar will be opening in September/October in the new Eichardts development, Rodd & Gunn are planning on offering a hospitality component to their Rees Street store, with Matt Lambert (Musket Room New York) designing the menu and Cameron Douglas designing the wine list.

Long-established hospitality group, Wai Dining Group, have spent six weeks renovating the historic Eureka House in the Mall and have opened Coalfire Barbeque Bar. They've developed a unique menu that’s ‘flavored by fire’, with over sixty items on the all-day menu, inspired by pit masters and kitchens from around the globe. The dishes will carry a distinctive smoky flavour that comes from being cooked ‘low and slow’ over hot coals.

Skyline has announced an estimated $60 million redevelopment of its Queenstown facility.

Brook Serene Management Group, who also have properties such as the George Hotel and the Regent of Rotorua, have restored and opened a boutique luxury accommodation in Queenstown called Hulbert House. www.hulberthouse.co.nz.

I think that updates you on some of the goings on down South. If any South Island members would like a visit, I am on the road, so please do make contact.

SABRA MOORE

{ South Island Membership Co-ordinator} sabra@restaurantnz.co.nz

CALL US ON 0800 737 827

NOW IN

WHAT DO THEY GET?

An introduction to: • • Hospitality • • Customer service • • Food safety training • • Barista training • • Food preparation • • Beverage service

AUCKLAND, BAY OF PLENTY & WAIKATO REGIONS!

WHAT WILL WE PROVIDE? Targeted services: A recruitment service Matched candidates Work ready graduates Ongoing support Frequent contact Mentoring

• • • • • •

Let us help you find the right staff!

Do you need work-ready staff who are keen to learn?

Do you struggle finding them?

A ProStart recruit could be for you!

The ProStart programme has introduced our students to the basics of hospitality.

They graduate with a great attitude, basic skills and a desire for a career in hospitality.

CALL US TODAY ON 0800 737 827 or email bookings@restaurantnz.co.nz

GYPSY CARAVAN

mainly of interest to

AUCKLAND

LONGSHOT

Ponsonby’s Street Food Collective is taking a break from its revolving Food Truck concept for the Winter and has been transformed into Gypsy Caravan.

The pop up is owned by Miss Moonshines owners, Annalise and Ryan Clarke, who have temporarily transformed the space into Gypsy Caravan style and have introduced table service for customers. The menu offerings are an interpretation of the cuisines of North Africa, Greece and Turkey cuisine, produced by head chef Reginaldo Richard and sous chef Ryan Clapham, who plan to change the menu often, and also have some collaborations with other restaurants. Street Food Collective will be back in the Summer.

A new all-day eatery called Longshot has opened its doors next to (and is also the sibling of) the Longroom, in the space that had been Santos for a number of years.

AZABU

Down the K-Road end of Ponsonby Road, Azabu has opened behind an unassuming facade. Azabu also boasts a saké and cocktail bar by the name of Roji. Executive Chef and Co-owner Yukio Ozeki (ex Ebisu and Lucky Lucky Dumplings) is a big fan of Nikkei, the fresh Peruvian Japanese crossover flavours that have grown out of Peru’s huge Japanese community. Yukio’s menu combines Nikkei-influenced dishes and modern Japanese. The menu consists of large and small plates that are made to be shared.

Lebanese restaurant Gemmayze St, has opened in the newly refurbished St Kevins Arcade’s by New Zealand born, with Lebanese heritage, Samir Allen.

The site shares the park-side atrium of the building with recently opened cafe Bestie. Named after Beirut’s vibrant dining street, guests at Gemmayze St are encouraged to order the Lebanese way - a set price of $50 per person entails a selection of small and larger plates and dessert, each dish a reflection of Allen’s Kiwi/Lebanese upbringing. Allen’s mother, Liane Farry, heads the front of house team and he is supported in the kitchen by Claudia Long and Ryan Pearce.

GEMMAYZE ST

A couple of doors down from Nick Honeyman’s new venture, Paris Butter, is new opening, Jervois Road Wine Bar & Kitchen (the space used to be Piccoli Piatti). Jervois Road is a casual wine bar and kitchen with a short menu on offer and an extensive wine list and selection of tea-inspired cocktails.

Daytime eatery, Buoy, has opened in the prime corner Westhaven Marina spot that was most recently known as Sitting Duck Café. Owner, Ginnette Auld, has more than 30 years experience in hospo, and has for the last 14 years helmed Ponsonby icon Salta. The eatery takes advantage of its position with large sliding glass doors that allow for indoor/outdoor flow, with additional seating on the water’s edge. While currently open daytime only, evening service will become available in the coming months too.

BUOY

auckland members

WHAT'S ON AKL. mainly of interest to

AUCKLAND

Nic and Kelly Watt’s new wellness centre and allday restaurant, True Food & Yoga, has opened on the iconic site that was Hammerheads Restaurant for some 20-odd years. The wellness centre consists of a shop with on-the-go cabinet food and cold-pressed juices, a chiropractor and a beauty treatment room, two seafront yoga studios with floor to ceiling mirrors and a covered outdoor “break out room” for private functions.

On the other side of the building is True Food, a seaside restaurant with terraced seating and a menu of organic, locally-sourced food designed by the husband and wife team.

Previously Malt Bar, Malt Public House is the new revamped and refurnished operation in Grey Lynn. The extensive renovation took six months to complete and included a relocation of the bar and kitchen, an extension of the interior space, as well as an upgrade to the courtyard.

The menu is classic pub fare and includes a rotating “pie of the week”.

Al’s Deli have just opened their third eatery in Kingsland. Al is Aleks Lazic, a Montreal native who moved to New Zealand in 2007. The deli has become famed for its take on the extreme doughnut and other indulgent treats, where everything is made from scratch, down to their soon-to-be Al’s craft beers; a pale ale, lager, pilsner, and apple and plum cider on rotation.

AUGUST

01

-31 Auckland Restaurant Month, various CBD venues

15

www.heartofthecity.co.nz

22

Restaurant Association professional development SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS, presented by Wendy Thompson

Restaurant Association professional development GROW YOUR ONLINE VISIBILITY, presented by Richard Conway

www.restaurantnz.co.nz

www.restaurantnz.co.nz

22

-28 New Zealand Fashion Week, ANZ Viaduct Events Centre www.nzfashionweek.com

SEPTEMBER

03

-04 The Chocolate & Coffee Show, Auckland

www.chocolatecoffeeshow.co.nz

OCTOBER

09

-10 Restaurant Association Hospitality Summit, Auckland Museum

- 09 Feast by Famous Chefs

15

-16 Auckland Diwali Festival, various venues

www.aucklandnz.com

www.restaurantnz.co.nz

17

Restaurant Association professional development FOOD COSTING & MENU ENGINEERING, presented by Stephen Thompson www.restaurantnz.co.nz

The Restaurant Association was formed in 1975 with the aim of serving and representing owners and managers of foodservice operations. It represents 1,850 members throughout New Zealand who employ 13,000 full and part-time employees. This is an industry that has an annual turnover of almost $9 billion, that employs over 113,000 workers, that is each week visited by more than a million hospitality customers. This makes it a cornerstone of New Zealand’s economy.

STARLINE... for whatever you’re washing

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Marisa Bidois NATIONAL PRESIDENT: Mike Egan (Monsoon Poon, Auckland & Wellington; Boulcott St Bistro, Osteria Del Toro, Burger Liquor, Wellington) VICE PRESIDENT: Steve Logan (Logan Brown, Grill Meats Beer, Wellington) BRANCH PRESIDENTS: Auckland: Krishna Botica (Café Hanoi, XuXu, Saan, Auckland) Bay of Plenty: Andrew Targett (Elizabeth Café & Larder, Tauranga) Canterbury: Sam Crofskey (C1Espresso, Christchurch) Dunedin: Olive Tabor (Nova, Dunedin) Hawkes Bay: Sean Burns (Milk and Honey, Napier) Manawatu/Wanganui: Sean Kereama (Wharerata Function Centre, Palmerston North) Marlborough: Liz Buttimore (Arbour, Blenheim) Nelson: Howard Morris (Harry’s Bar, Nelson) Rotorua: Sharon Wallace Southern Lakes: Grant Hattaway (Pier 19, Blue Kanu, Queenstown) Taranaki: Barbara Olsen-Henderson (Bach on Breakwater, New Plymouth) Waikato: Watch this space!

Wellington: Mike Egan (Monsoon Poon, Auckland and Wellington; Boulcott St Bistro, Osteria Del Toro, Burger Liquor, Wellington) RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION OF NEW ZEALAND KEY OBJECTIVES

1 2 3 4

Protect, promote and advance the interests and rights of its members

Promote industry quality, reputation and excellence

Provide relevant value added services to members

As an organisation achieve best practice stewardship within the business Association sector

info@washtech.co.nz 0800 STARLINE www.starline.co.nz