NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2014 P H O T O S : PITCH ES STO R E, O PHIR
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Consumers are choosing to use technology more... but service is still key
from from the CEO’s desk cornering christmas
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For employers planning their rosters, or their closedowns, over the Christmas/New Year period, or those wanting clarity on paying staff over the public holidays, we outline the key information to help you get through these busy weeks...
More than one-third of consumers say they are more likely to use technology-related options in restaurants now, compared to two years ago. In addition, a significant number use their smartphones to interact with restaurants on a regular basis, such as ordering delivery, redeeming rewards and paying.
tech bites
SALE ST, AUCKLAND
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are your employees entitled to work here?
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More and more, hospitality businesses are finding they need to embrace new technology trends as a means to market their brand. We look at some of the ways technology can help...
tea break bill becomes law
International research recently released by the National Restaurant Association in the United States shows that technology use in hospitality businesses is on the increase over there, and we can expect that this is a development reflected locally as well.
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And this is not just a trend for the younger diners (although the Millennial generation are the biggest users), as the age gap generally levels out when it comes to frequent users. As NRA spokesperson, Hudson Riehle, says, "As restaurants integrate more customerfacing technology, usage among consumers is growing. When done right, it can help a restaurant's productivity and the customer experience." It is pleasing to note, however, that a substantial number of consumers said they still prefer to deal with restaurant staff. In hospitality, CONTINUED ON FOLLOWING PAGE let’s face it, the human factor will still always be paramount.
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Overall, 70 percent of consumers say they own or regularly use a smartphone or tablet computer. Usage and ownership is common among younger consumers at 90 percent of 18-34-year-olds and 89 percent of 35-44-year-olds. Among those consumers, one-third (32 percent) said they would use a smartphone app to pay their bill instead of using cash or debit/credit card if offered. Half of consumers said they are not using tech options more because they prefer dealing with people. Even the younger consumers agreed – 61 percent of 18 to 34 year olds gave this as a reason for not using technology options more. Fifteen percent of respondents said they don't use more technology because they don't know how, while 5 percent said they don't trust technology options to work correctly.
THE USE OF SMARTPHONES SMARTPHONES RELATIVE TO RESTAURANTS Reinforcing that your business’s website must be optimised for smartphone and tablet use, a majority of smartphone owners say they use their devices for several restaurant-related tasks at least a few times per year.
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THE THYMES SEPTEMBER 2014
This is for tasks like looking up basic information about a restaurant (location and hours of operation, for example), viewing menus, reading online reviews, using rewards and special deals, and ordering takeout or delivery on restaurant-branded apps. Half also say they look up nutrition information on their devices several times per year, and one-quarter use their phones to pay for meals at that frequency.
CHECK OUT SOME OF THE PHOTOS FROM FEAST OVER THE PAGE
ceo update
November 2011
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FROM THE CEO’s DESK THIS IS OUR LAST ISSUE ISSUE FOR THE YEAR AND WHAT A YEAR IT HAS BEEN! SOME VERY PROMISING ECONOMIC REPORTS FOR OUR INDUSTRY HAVE COME OUT THIS YEAR AND ANECDOTALLY OUR INDUSTRY SEEMS TO BE SLOWLY BUT SURELY EXPERIENCING EXPERIENCING SOME RECOVERY – HOPEFULLY THIS TREND CONTINUES CONTINUES INTO THE NEW YEAR WITH YOU ALL HAVING A VERY PROFITABLE SUMMER SEASON.
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n this final issue for the year we shine a spotlight on technology in the hospitality industry. Recent research shows that many consumers want to see the new technology they use in their daily lives integrated into their dining experience, especially if it will speed up the process of getting their meal or paying their bill. There are many ways businesses can embrace technology to assist them in their businesses to provide a seamless experience for their guests, from digital menu boards, to social media, mobile ordering and so much more. Another area we focus on for this issue is employment relations; we have covered this extensively in our final issue for the year. We find that this time of year can at times be problematic with staff so we want you to be fully prepared for any issues that may arise. Of course we are always here through our helpline but want to make sure you have a good understanding of the common issues that tend to arise at this time of the year – absenteeism, public holidays, closedown periods and calculating leave. At the Association we have had a strong year, with the apprentice programme going strong. Membership growth has also been excellent and we predict that this will continue into the new year. We have some exciting changes coming up for 2015 and will continue to ensure that we are providing you with the very best solutions and support for your businesses. Kirstin Lethbridge our very much loved, Employment Relations Advisor, has sadly decided to take a break from her role and further her education. I will be managing the help desk for the next couple of months until the New Year with the help of a few experts, including Kirstin, periodically coming in to assist. A big thank you to Kirstin for her six years of service at the Association.
I would also like to announce that our Auckland Branch President Bart Littlejohn has stepped down from his role. I would like to personally acknowledge and thank Bart for all of the hard work and dedication he has generously given to the Association over his nearly nine years as our Auckland Branch President. I am pleased to announce that he will stay on as our co vice president with Steve Logan, so fortunately for the Association we still retain his skill in our management committee and executive team. Thanks Bart! Krishna Botica has been nominated and accepted as our new Auckland Branch President. Krishna has extensive experience in running successful hospitality businesses, having owned and run the very popular Prego Restaurant for 23 years. Krishna now owns Café Hanoi and Xu Xu in central Auckland and is a regular at our Restaurant Association events. Krishna has worked closely with the Association over many years, sitting on the Auckland branch committee as well as making huge contributions of time and effort with our professional development seminars, running the ever popular First Time Managers training sessions which are always a sellout. We are looking forward to working with Krishna more closely over the coming year. Thank you again to all of you for your continued support of the Restaurant Association and we look forward to working with you in the New Year. I wish you all a safe and profitable holiday season. Marisa Bidois marisa@restaurantnz.co.nz
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THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
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WE’VE SEARCHED AND FOUND OUR FINALISTS! Think you can easily spot a mystery shopper? Well spare a thought for the 18 finalists of the 2014 NZ Café of the Year Awards which have been announced.
PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY
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or the next few weeks, the lucky café owners will be carefully studying every customer trying to spot the judges who have the enviable task of sampling the fare of each of the finalists.
The competition is now in its third year and the top finalists, as voted by the public, have been selected by more than 39,000 café lovers, who placed their vote for the 1,123 eateries entered across six regions. Head judge Kerry Tyack says judging of New Zealand Café of the Year involves a rigorous assessment of each café, with the process comprising three tiers of judging, a hallmark of the competition. “The competition has two goals. The first is to alert Kiwi consumers to the range of fantastic café fare that’s available right around the country. The second is to identify and recognise the best of the best and to reward their efforts. “Judges are looking for a combination of ambience, a warm welcome, attentive service as well as appetising and satisfying food and drink. Overlaying all this is a celebration of the entrant’s region, its produce and any features that make it special,” Tyack says. “There also needs to be clear evidence of the wow factor that keeps happy customers coming back to the café.” The finals judges include representatives from the Restaurant Association of New Zealand as well as independent food writers and hospitality industry professionals. They have begun their deliberations, visiting each café incognito until 24 November. The winners in each region and the overall NZ Café of the Year winner for 2014 are announced on December 3. The award is organised by the Restaurant Association of New Zealand and supported by Heinz Wattie’s, Goodman Fielder and Renault.
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THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
CONGRATULATIONS to the following cafés, who received the most votes in their respective regions: Auckland Charlie & George Café, Mount Wellington Local Café, Whangaparaoa Grand Espresso Café, Orewa Upper North Island Capers Epicurean, Rotorua Nourish, Tauranga Columbus Coffee, Whangarei Lower North Island Springvale Café, Whanganui Lush Café & Gelato, New Plymouth Ten O’clock Cookie Bakery Café, Masterton Wellington Sweet Vanilla Kitchen, Lower Hutt Elements, Lyall Bay Karori Park Café, Karori Christchurch Purple Weka Café & Bar, Riccarton Terra Viva Café & Deli, Burnside Savoire Café & Wine Bar, Merivale South Island Rhubarb, Dunedin Ironic Café, Dunedin Jester House Café, Tasman
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PRESIDENT’SVIEWPOINT THE FUTURE IS NOW...BY MIKE EGAN The breakneck speed of the digital revolution is changing the way all business works. We now look at our machines at least 50,000 times in a year. Our personal devices know all about us and they nudge us as we try to navigate through the digital world. Our attention is flowing to the screen and this is where the money is going.
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t is ‘Big Brother’ companies like Apple, Google, FB, Microsoft and Amazon who like to think of themselves as ‘Big Mother’, but they are remaking the world in their image. "Do No Evil" is Google's mantra, but who knows really in the future how they will use all the data aggregation they have on you. By 2030 it has been predicted that 50 per cent of all known jobs will disappear and there will be a radical redefinition in the workplace with new jobs. These are real jobs in real companies: Vice President of Cool Chief Imagination Officer Manager of Diversity Supply Chain Inefficiency Detector Taste Maker Support Digital Identity Planner Talent Aggregation Manager Deconsultancy Advisor Corporate Visualiser
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Whilst the fundamental way we operate our restaurants and cafes will not be impacted by the digital world, we still need to be mindful of what will influence our customers in the future. Some major behavioural changes are already happening to our customers. They have lower tolerance for complexity and this is coupled with a short attention span. They are time poor as they are often in more than one place at the same time. Paradoxically they also have a higher bar for stimulation and a growing institutional distrust. Our customers are also becoming more impatient and want instant gratification.
We also have to be aware of polarizations that impact our customers. These are... Globalization Digital Science Urbanization Security Economy Welfare State Investor interest
vs vs vs vs vs vs vs vs
Regionalisation Non Digital Romance Rural Freedom Politics Immigration state Employee interest
These contradictions are just part of the business landscape. So what's cool? Local , small, transparent, connected, sharing, friendly and meaningful. These are the buzz words that seem to be influencing purchasing behavior and already resonate quite well with the hospitality environment. There is now more creative consumption as people become less owner and buyer but more swapping, sharing, renting and leasing. For example a significant percentage of urban millennials have no intention of ever buying a car. The shared retail space is here with innovative solutions to expensive rents with businesses that are High Street retail store by day and pop up restaurant at night. CONTINUED ON FOLLOWING PAGE
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THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
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FROM PREVIOUS PAGE, The Future Is Now
The perception of quality and experience will triumph price. This is seen with the upscale evolution of categories like hamburgers, coffee and beer into craft beer, barista coffee and gourmet burgers. We need to get our share of wallet and we are with exciting new food and beverage concepts as well as the established players staying relevant and innovative. Restaurants and cafes will be even more important in the future urban framework as eating together is innate, it is how we connect as a tribe and what and where we eat is major part of how we see ourselves. Marie Salzman, a future trend guru, recently put it like this:
“As we increasingly live wired digital lives we crave compensatory human contact and intimate experiences� Our restaurants and cafes are perfectly placed to satisfy this need of analogue experiences in our digital world! All the best for the Christmas season and to a great 2015. On behalf of all of us members I would like to say a big thank you to Marisa and the hard working team at the national office. Mike Egan mike@monsoonpoon.co.nz
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THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
DRINK DRIVING LIMITS
SET TO CHANGE All hospitality operators need to be alert to new drinking driving limits which come into force on 1st December.
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he breath alcohol limits for adults over the age of 20 will reduce from 400 micrograms (mcg) of alcohol per litre of breath, to 250mcg. The blood alcohol limits will reduce from 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, to 50mg. While a number of factors affect the amount of alcohol that can be consumed while still being able to legally drive (including body type, gender, weight and food intake), the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) advise that most people will be able to drink two standard drinks over two hours and remain under the new drink-driving limits for adults.
...don’t forget to support the people who support your Restaurant Association strategic partners...
MEMBERINITIATIVES HELP AVAILABLE AT THE CLICK OF A MOUSE The Restaurant Association produce a large range of products, guidelines and resources available exclusively to Association members, which offer you expert tools to help grow your business. We also collaborate with key partners, accessing their particular fields of expertise for the benefit of our members.
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key partners...
hrough our partnership with Westpac we are pleased to introduce the Westpac online business resource centre. This online resource offers a range of free articles, how to guides and advice to fit the needs of any business. The information is grouped in four core categories fitting each stage of your business’s growth – from a business start up, to boosting an existing business. Check it out by going to: www.westpac.co.nz/business/businesswww.westpac.co.nz/business/business-resourceresource-centre/ STARTING YOUR BUSINESS BUSINESS O O
SKILLS TO START
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CREATING A BUSINESS PLAN
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BUY OR LEASE EQUIPMENT
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WHERE TO FIND HELP
CHECKING ON YOUR POTENTIAL COMPETITORS
EXPORTING YOUR BUSINESS BUSINESS O O
BUILDING AN EXPORT PLAN REDUCE THE IMPACT OF EXCHANGE RATES
CHECKING THE VIABILITY OF YOUR IDEA BOOTSTRAPPING TO START YOUR BUSINESS
GROWING YOUR BUSINESS
FUNDING YOUR BUSINESS BUSINESS
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BUYING AND INVESTING IN OTHER BUSINESSES
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WAYS TO APPLY FOR A BUSINESS LOAN
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IMPROVING CASHFLOW
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GROWING YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE
HOW TO RAISE CAPITOL FROM ANGEL INVESTORS
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BUDGET FOR EXPANSION
FINDING THE PERFECT PRICING STRATEGY
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MAKE SURE YOU GET PAID
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INNOVATE AND EVALUATE NEW PRODUCT IDEAS
associate+ partners...
CREATING VALUE IN YOUR BUSINESS
BALANCING DEBT AND EQUITY
We know that owning and running a hospitality business can be challenging— make sure you take advantage of all of the help available to you. Call the Restaurant Association on 0800 737 827 for more information.
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THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
member initiatives
CORNERING CHRISTMAS For employers planning their rosters, or their closedowns, over the Christmas/New Year period, or those wanting clarity on paying staff over the public holidays. We outline some of the key information to help you get through these busy weeks...
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ith the busy season upon us many employers are considering their rosters over the Christmas and New Year period and with this comes the usual confusion over payment for workers on the public holidays. Thankfully this year these days fall during the week, making the process a little simpler than some years... The public holidays over the Christmas/New Year period in 2014/2015 are Christmas Day ~ Thursday 25 December 2014 Boxing Day ~ Friday 26 December 2014 New Year's Day ~ Thursday 01 January 2015 Day after New Year’s Day ~ Friday 02 January 2015
Payment for working on a public holiday Anyone who works on a public holiday is entitled to be paid at a rate of time and a half. If the public holiday is a day that they would normally work, and they do work it, then they are also entitled to one days full paid leave – an alternative holiday - to take sometime in the future. If the public holiday falls on a day that is not a normal day of work for the employee, and they do work it, then they are entitled to be paid at time and a half but they do not earn an alternative holiday.
Payment if not working on a public holiday The Restaurant Association individual employment agreement sets out that employees will be required to work on public holidays if requested by the employer. However, if an employee would normally be working on the day that the public holiday falls, but it has been agreed that they have the day off, they are entitled to be paid the amount of pay that they would have received had they worked on that day (their
planning for christmas
relevant daily pay). If the employee does not work on a public holiday because it is their normal rostered day off, there is no obligation to pay the employee for that day.
Closedowns During a closedown an employer may require employees to take all or some of their annual leave during the period of the closedown, even where this requires employees to take leave for which they are not fully reimbursed. As an example, for employees in their first year of employment, the level of annual holiday pay for the period of the closedown can be established by: the employer paying the employee 8% of gross earnings to date, or the employer and employee agreeing to the employee taking annual holidays in advance and being paid even though there is not yet an entitlement to take the accrued leave. If you are planning a closedown you need to give your staff 14 days notice of a closedown period (so now is the time to notify your employees). And don’t forget that a public holiday that occurs during an employee's annual holidays must be treated as a public holiday and not as part of the employee's annual holidays. The employee is still entitled to be paid for a public holiday if the holiday would have otherwise been a working day for the employee. If you have queries about paying your staff for public holidays or closedown periods, call our HELP DESK on 0800 737 827.
SHOULD YOU PAY?
As the upcoming Christmas and New Year public holidays approach it is often challenging when staff work different shifts and hours week by week to determine whether a public holiday falls on an ‘ordinary working day’ for an employee.
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his is particularly important when determining whether an employee is entitled to be paid for a public holiday if the business is closed on that day. Or, if you are open, and the employee works, whether they would be entitled to an alternative holiday or not. So, what are the rules for determining an ‘ordinary working day’? Where it is less straight forward to ascertain, or the employer and the employee cannot agree whether a day would otherwise be a working day, you should consider the following: O O O O
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What the employment agreement says The employee’s usual work patterns The employer’s rosters or other similar systems The reasonable expectations of the employer and employee as to whether the employee would work on the day concerned Whether the employee works for the employer only when work is available Whether, but for the day being a public holiday, an alternative holiday, or a day on which the employee was on sick leave or bereavement leave, the employee would have worked on the day concerned Whether it is during a customary closedown period Any other relevant factors.
If the employer and employee are unable to reach agreement, a Labour Inspector has the power to determine the matter, taking into consideration the same issues. THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
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DEALING WITH ABSENCE Your business may be at its busiest over the coming weeks and both you and your staff will be working longer hours and more days. It’s also a time when those unplanned absences can start to appear, which is frustrating at a time when you need all hands on deck. What can you do if you have a member of staff who simply doesn’t turn up for a day?
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irstly, a one day absence doesn’t constitute abandonment of employment – this is more likely when they have gone AWOL for a number of days and you’ve been unable to make contact with them. But those ‘one day’s off’ here and there are hugely disruptive, particularly when you need to call in others to accommodate their absence.
Communication, as always is key. Have a meeting with staff and reiterate that it is their obligation to check the roster and know when they are rostered to work. Be clear that that old chestnut “I didn’t realise I was rostered on today” won’t be acceptable. Tell your staff to let you know if they have a special occasion coming up - they’ll want to celebrate the silly season too. You won’t be able to do it for all of your staff, but with enough notice you may be able to
accommodate things so the next day co-incides with a rostered day off (or a later start). It’s a good way of acknowledging you appreciate an employee’s hard work. Reiterate your policy on calling in sick. Ideally they should be required to call (not text) their absence directly to you, or the manager, at the earliest possible time. Make it clear that 5 minutes before their shift begins is not adequate advance notice. Although you may be busy, if there are any unexplained absences, perhaps someone just doesn’t turn up for a day then returns the next without adequate explanation, address the issue straight away. Keep an open mind until you’ve heard their version of events, but at the very least, unexplained absenteeism is worthy of disciplinary action and quite possibly a warning.
SUN, SAND
&ANNUAL LEAVE
The warmer weather is here, bringing with it the desire to take time away from work to enjoy the sunshine. But what are employees entitled to? How much annual leave does an employee have and when is an employee entitled to take time off? HOW MUCH ANNUAL LEAVE? After 12 months of continuous employment, employees are entitled to a minimum of 4 weeks’ paid annual leave (termed ‘annual holidays’ under the Holidays Act 2003). A generous employment agreement may provide for more, but as 4 weeks’ is a statutory minimum, it cannot lawfully be less. WHEN CAN YOU TAKE ANNUAL LEAVE? Employers must allow their employees to take annual leave within 12 months after the date on which each employee’s entitlement to the leave arose. Nonetheless, when in that period the annual leave is actually taken is to be agreed between the employer and employee. An employer is not entitled to unreasonably withhold their consent to an annual leave request. But, if the parties reach an impasse, the employer may require the employee, on not less than 14 days’ notice, to take their annual leave at a particular time nominated by the employer. Note that employers may have a period in each year – termed a “closedown” – during which they customarily close either all or part of their operations, discontinuing the work of one or more of their employees and requiring those employees to take some or all of their annual leave. A typical closedown is over Christmas. An employer may, on not less than 14 days’ notice, require its employees to take annual leave during the closedown period, regardless of whether the employees want to do so.
If an employee has insufficient annual leave, with the employer’s agreement, the employee may take some of the closedown period as annual leave in advance. However, the default position is that the employee only gets paid for the leave that is due. WHEN AN EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE FALL OUT –
DEARSLY V ENCORE DESIGNER SECONDS LTD This recent case illustrates when it is reasonable for an employer to decline an annual leave request, despite the (former) employee’s views to the contrary. Ms Dearsly worked for Encore. In September 2013, Encore emailed all staff indicating annual leave was going to be harder to approve than it had been previously because it needed to carefully manage cash flow. It also advised that annual leave would not be granted over the period 27 December 2013 to 3 January 2014 (because the owner was taking her first holiday in ten years). Despite this, Ms Dearsly then asked for annual leave on 31 December 2013 to allow her to supervise her son over New Year’s Eve. Encore reluctantly made an exception and granted her leave request. Ms Dearsly then later asked for annual leave on 27 and 30 December 2013 as well. Encore, surprised given its previous advice to staff, turned her request down. Ms Dearsly threatened to resign if Encore did not change its mind. Encore refused, again explaining it did not suit the business to have staff away during the 27 December to 3 January period. CONTINUED ON FOLLOWING PAGE
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employment matters
FROM PREVIOUS PAGE, Sun, Sand & Annual Leave... employment matters
So Ms Dearsly resigned and claimed constructive dismissal on the basis that Encore fundamentally breached her employment agreement by unreasonably refusing to grant her request for annual leave. The Authority rejected the former employee’s claim; there was no unreasonable withholding of consent. It found there was genuine commercial justification behind Encore’s decision, and Encore’s owner had compelling personal reasons for not cancelling her own longstanding leave arrangements to cover for Ms Dearsly. Encore had offered Ms Dearsly alternatives and explained the reasons for declining her request to her. Encore was simply managing its business in accordance with its needs and with what had been consistently communicated to staff over many months. IN OUR VIEW We recommend that employers clearly set out annual leave entitlements and requirements in each employee’s employment agreement or in a policy. Employees cannot and should not expect that any and all annual leave requests will inevitably be granted. Employers are entitled to take into account their operational and financial needs in responding to such requests. If declining annual leave, the best and safest practice for employers from a ‘good faith’ perspective is to provide a summary of the reasons and those needs - if not already clearly indicated. It’s always important for employers and employees to understand their obligations with respect to annual leave, particularly as the holiday season approaches. The Restaurant Association is your first point of contact for any employment queries you have. The Hesketh Henry Employment Team can help if your problem escalates, and with any queries relating to annual leave, as well as leave policies. ABOUT THE AUTHOR For more information contact Sarah Holderness, Solicitor at Hesketh Henry on 09 3758778 or email sarah.holderness@heskethhenry.co.nz
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THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
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 O O O O O
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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. employment matters
LEAVE PAYMENTS
ARE YOU GETTING IT RIGHT?
Are you often stumped on how to calculate holiday pay? Here’s a guideline to help you out. BY KIRSTIN LETHBRIDGE HOW TO CALCULATE ANNUAL LEAVE PAYMENTS Payment for annual holidays is at the greater of either the ordinary weekly pay at the time the holiday is taken, or the employee’s average weekly earnings over the 12-month period before the annual holiday is taken. Ordinary weekly pay is everything an employee is normally paid on a weekly basis, which includes: regular allowances, incentive based payments, board or lodging payments, regular overtime. Intermittent or one-off payments, as well as discretionary payments, are not included in ordinary weekly pay. Where ordinary weekly pay is unclear for any reason, the Act provides a formula for working it out. In that scenario, ordinary weekly pay is established by: O O
O O
going to the end of the last pay period from that date going back by four weeks or if the pay period is longer than four weeks, the length of the pay period, and taking the gross earnings for that period deducting from the gross earnings any irregular payments dividing the answer by four
Average weekly earnings are determined by calculating gross earnings over the 12 months prior to the end of the last payroll period before the annual holiday is taken, and dividing that figure by 52. Remember when calculating both “ordinary weekly pay” and “average weekly earnings”, the greater figure is used for the employee’s annual holiday pay. Unless the employment agreement says otherwise, reimbursement payments and discretionary payments (for example, genuinely discretionary bonuses) are not included in these calculations; nor are payments made by ACC, or when an employee is on voluntary military service, or, payments for cashed-up holidays. Where, during this period, the employee has been unable to work because of sickness or injury, or is absent while on protected voluntary service or training (under the
employment matters
Volunteers Employment Protection Act 1973), the divisor of 52 is reduced by the number of complete weeks during which the employee was unable to work, and the gross earnings are reduced by any payment which may have been made for those complete weeks. HOW IS PAYMENT CALCULATED WHEN EMPLOYMENT IS TERMINATED AND EMPLOYMENT HAS BEEN FOR LESS THAN ONE YEAR, OR BETWEEN ANNIVERSARY DATES? On resignation, the employee becomes entitled to accrued payments that can both affect, and be affected by, public holidays, accrued alternative holidays, sick leave and bereavement leave. When employment is terminated before 12 months of employment, payment of annual leave is to be calculated at the rate of 8% of gross earnings, less any holidays taken in advance. When employment is terminated before another entitlement to annual leave has arisen, any holidays remaining untaken must be paid out at the greater of ordinary pay or gross earnings for the 12 months immediately preceding termination. For the period from the last anniversary to termination the payment is 8% of gross earnings. The Restaurant Association is here to answer all of your annual leave and other employment queries. Contact us on 0800 737 827 from Monday— Monday—Friday 8.00am— 8.00am—6.00pm, or on 027 559 7777 outside these hours. THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
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international update
D I S P L AY I T W I T H P R I D E
YOUR SYMBOL OF COMMITMENT TO THE INDUSTRY P
lease show your pride in the Restaurant Association and your industry by displaying your 2014/2015 membership window decal (left) on the window or other prominent place of your operation.
2014 / 2015
By displaying your decal you are identifying to potential customers that you are a member of the Restaurant Association and that you are committed to the standards that it represents. The Restaurant Association is continually promoting our members and encouraging the public to “look for this window sticker”, so it is essential that the current year‘s emblem is displayed.
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the restaurant association logo is a symbol of your commitment to the quality and unity
that makes our industry as strong as it is today
WHAT ARE YOUR TOP STRESS-BUSTER
TIPS? SHARON WALLACE | WAIARIKI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY— Rotorua
“I think the best coping strategy for getting through Christmas is ensuring that you have the right staff in the right place and you are geared up for challenges that may come your way. BARBARA OLSENOLSEN-HENDERSON | BACH ON BREAKWATER—New Plymouth
“Here’s my tip for a stress-free Xmas trading (which we all know is an oxymoron): Take up yoga! Spend a bit of time each morning in a ‘legs up the wall’ or ‘shoulder stand’ position until the calming vibes reach your brain. Tell yourself “things must get better” when the queue is out the door and a key staff member hasn’t turned up, then write on your blackboard that there’s going to be a bit of a wait this morning! People will forgive a lot when you tell them what’s happening. GRANT HATTAWAY | PIER 19 & BLUE KANU—Queenstown
If you have not received your sticker this year, please contact the Restaurant Association today on 0800 737 827 or email info@restaurantnz.co.nz. We’d also like to remind you to remember to display the emblem letting customers know that you accept Restaurant Association gift vouchers. We’ve just reprinted a batch, so if you need another copy, contact us and we’ll send a new one out to you.
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THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
“My top stress busting tip for the busy season is to get organised as early as possible!!
TECHBITES TECH More and more, hospitality businesses are finding they need to embrace new technology trends as a means to market and build awareness of their brand. We look at some of the ways technology can help...
managing your business
November 2011
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EXTENDING YOUR SOCIAL
INSTAGRAM 101
While Facebook and Twitter are often seen as the starting point when a business is launching new social media promotions, in recent years the photo sharing programme, Instagram, has really taken centre stage. Instagram helps people share their lives, their adventures, and, increasingly, their meals...
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his social media platform is also a great way for restaurant and café operations to showcase their business – tantalising images of food are a powerful method of triggering someone’s interest in food. But where do you start?
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THE FIRST STEP (AFTER (AFTER DOWNLOADING THE APP) IS TO SET UP YOUR USERNAME AND PROFILE. The username will display publicly and will be what people see when they find you on Instagram, so make sure it is recognisable and as close as possible to the name of your business. When creating your profile, Instagram lets you fill out a 150 character bio about your business. Because of the limitations in the amount of text you can use, make sure you are clear and concise about the business and what you offer. Use relevant business keywords. You can also add your business’s website, which users will be able to click to visit right from their mobile device. It is worth taking a bit of extra time at this first point to make sure you get it right, from the start.
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WHO SHOULD MANAGE YOUR YOUR INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT? Depending on the size of your business, you may use a couple of key (trusted) staff, who manage your Instagram content along with you. Whoever you choose to do it, make sure they understand Instagram and are users themselves. There is more to it than just posting a photo, you need to write a captivating caption, use #hashtags that increase exposure and actively follow and engage other users.
3
WHAT PHOTOS SHOULD YOU YOU POST? Here are some suggestions: Have a look at your sales, what are the hottest menu items currently? Post images of these. You can also use Instagram to promote a new menu item, cocktail, or a special. But be mindful of how you present any dish, people will come in and expect to get the dish that they saw on Instagram.
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THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
And needless to say make sure the photo is actually visually appealing. Food is only part of the equation however, you are inviting people into your world, so post photos of your staff, the different parts of your business interior and exterior and your customers enjoying your hospitality. There’s no better advertisement for your restaurant than happy customers willing to help spread the word.
4
HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU POST? Be consistent with your posts as there is nothing worse than minimal, outdated, photos. But, be careful not to over post – people will unfollow you if you clog their feed. As a suggestion, start off with two posts per day at most and monitor it. You can adjust this over time. Play around with time of day you post as well, to get a feel for what works best for your followers.
5
USE #HASHTAGS Similar to #hashtags on Twitter, #hashtags on Instagram are keywords added to user photos that associate them to a specific topic or idea. Try to ‘own’ 23 hashtags for your business and be consistent in your usage of them. CONTINUED ON FOLLOWING PAGE
www.dinefind.co.nz ~ the Association’s online dining guide
FROM PREVIOUS PAGE, Instagram 101 employment matters
Then encourage other Instagram users to add them to photos they take at your business. In addition, pay attention to the #hashtags used by other local restaurants and businesses. There may be a hashtag popular in your community which you can utilise to promote your business.
6
SHARE INSTAGRAM WITH YOUR OTHER SOCIAL ACCOUNTS You can integrate your Instagram account with your other social channels, like Facebook (who also own Instagram). Once you integrate with Facebook, you’ll have the option to share Instagram photos on your personal Timeline, or on a page that you manage. Although you can’t directly integrate Instagram with Twitter, you can still share links to your Instagram photos directly through the service.
7
HOW DO YOU GET FOLLOWERS? FOLLOWERS? If you have an existing database of customers, you can send out an announcement and ask them to follow you. However, you can’t expect to suddenly have a whole lot of followers as soon as you start your Instagram account, as it often takes time to build a presence. So first off take some time to follow others yourself - similar restaurants as well as other food lovers in your area. If a new user follows you, be sure to follow them back. Following other people and businesses is not only a great way to make new connections but can also provide inspiration for your own Instagram account.
8
ENCOURAGE AND REWARD YOUR CUSTOMERS FOR SHARING PHOTOS USING YOUR #HASHTAG. Be sure to remind your customers that you’re on Instagram – perhaps promote it on all of your menus or as a small line on the bottom of your receipts - and encourage them to share photos. You can ‘incentivise’ them to do this as a great way for them to join your community. Make sure you also have links to your Instagram account on your website. If you’re also active on Facebook, select one customer photo each week and feature it on your page. A key component of building an audience on Instagram is engaging with the people who follow you. When someone likes or comments on your photo, you will receive a notification. You can respond within the comments of a photo by including the “@” symbol, followed by their username.
9
MEASURE YOUR SUCCESS Like any good marketing tool, you need to develop a strategy for what type of content you plan to post and be consistent in this approach. Measure what posts work best for you, and when (time-wise) the posts work best, and tweak the formula. With a little practice, you’ll find Instagram is a great way to enhance your brand and connect with your customers!
business insights ~ helping your business to succeed
managing your business
November 2011
14
STILL LOOKING FOR STAFF?
USE TECHNOLOGY IN YOUR RECRUITING
With skill shortages continuing to wreak havoc in most regions it is worth considering how you can use simple, free, tools like Skype to interview, and even trial, out of town candidates. By utilising Skype interviewing you don’t have to be hasty in rejecting a good candidate because they live too far away from your business – if they are prepared to move, then you can seriously look at giving them a shot! BY SABRA MOORE
F
1
QUIET:
Skype interviews are becoming very popular within the staff recruitment game. Andrew Baker, People and Performance Manager for the Hip Group is using it already. “With the market so competitive for the best candidates, we find using Skype for interviews very valuable for our business,” he says. “We are able to see how a candidate presents themselves, how they communicate, and get a good sense of who they are and what makes them tick. From here we often invite them to do a walk around one of our venues and get to know our brand, but certainly for out of town candidates, Skype is a valuable tool and one we would highly recommend. We also use Skype for reference checking too”.
2
GOOD LIGHTING:
3
STRONG WIFI / INTERNET INTERNET CONNECTION:
And as Skype gains popularity as an interview platform, here’s an idea for how chefs and managers may be able to use it to review someone's skills. Why not set the potential staff member in a pre-employment trial situation, where the manager, or owner, can evaluate the candidate (and how they work under pressure) before bringing them into your business as an employee. Again, this would work really well for out of town candidates, and particularly for chefs.
4
LOOK AT THE CAMERA
What are some of our top tips for Skype interviewing?
NEED MORE HELP? The Restaurant Association has a ‘pre-employment pack’ which includes essential guides— from writing a good job ad, through to interview questions and getting the 90 day trial period right!
or those who are not familiar with Skype; it is a telecommunications application that provides video chat and voice calls from computers, tablets and mobile devices via the internet to other devices or telephones/ smartphones.
In my past role in recruitment I saw more and more people use Skype as a “free” interviewing tool. It can also shorten the entire recruitment process as so often there is some juggling finding a suitable time for the interview, however by using Skype you can often arrange to virtually meet up with a candidate much faster.
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THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
Think about where you will conduct your interview. It should be a nice, quiet spot where you both won't be interrupted or bothered during the interview. If a candidate has to constantly speak to their children or yell at pets or others, it is not a good indication of someone who is focused and manages their time well. Your candidate should be able to expect the same undivided attention from you.
Take a few minutes to make sure the room has good lighting and lacks visual distraction. You don't want the person on the other end of the Skype call to struggle to see your face if it is shrouded in darkness. Similarly, you don't want them to have to see your dirty laundry or other oddities piled up around you.
There is nothing worse than when you are in the middle of an important conversation on Skype and it cuts out. Make sure that you have a strong connection in the room you choose to do the interviews in.
Act in the same way that you would if you were face to face with the candidate. The person at the other end of the Skype meeting wants an engaged, organised interview, so go in prepared.
BITE SIZE COURSES FOR SWITCHEDSWITCHED-ON STAFF Satisfied diners trust your dishes and come back for more. It’s the same for you and your staff – with a skilled team, you trust that they’ll do the right thing and help give your customers a great experience every time.
I
f you base your business success on impressing your guests, ServiceIQ Skills Online (www.serviceiqskillsonline.org.nz) has a range of great short courses to upskill or refresh your team in important customer essentials. In a nutshell, you get the benefit of trained staff who understand the importance of their role in retaining and attracting customers, and who know what to do front of house. The courses are perfect for both part time and permanent staff, and they are quick, readily available and competitively priced at just $25 each. You purchase the courses online and your team can access them by smartphone, tablet or computer, and can print out a personal certificate upon successful completion. ServiceIQ is your go-to Industry Training Organisation. You can get a full range of on-job staff training courses designed by industry for industry, to help you build a successful business with customer service at its core.
COURSE MENU Choose from these online courses to help your team deliver a top service. Introduction to Customer Service Skills Your team will learn the skills and personal characteristics they need to adopt and use to be successful in offering a world-class service to your customers. Their skills and knowledge will help ensure customers return, recommend your business to others, and help you build a successful business with an outstanding reputation. Resolving Customer Complaints Successfully Customers deserve and expect good service. Sometimes things don’t work out though, and a customer complains. How effectively your people handle that complaint will have a big impact on how that customer views your business – and what they tell others about it. Staff who have completed this course will understand the value of complaints and the techniques for dealing with them, and be able to resolve most complaints quickly and effectively. Introduction to Preventing Theft and Fraud Working in the hospitality sector, you have a
need help? call us on 0800 737 827
responsibility to prevent customers, staff, suppliers and delivery people from stealing from, or committing fraud against your business. This course introduces the skills your staff need to help your business reduce losses through theft and fraud. Introduction to Consumer Legislation It’s important your staff understand what the law says about consumer guarantees, fair trading and privacy. This course helps you reduce the risks that come with giving product or service information or taking personal details. Your people will understand the rules and regulations they need to follow, protecting your business and themselves, and doing the right thing by your customers. Being a Responsible Host People working in a business covered by the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 need to know the legal responsibilities of your business and customers, and themselves. This course offers some simple guidelines about what is required to reduce or prevent intoxication, as well as advice on how to stay inside the law for staff serving alcohol. ServiceIQ can assist you to build a great business with the benefit of trained staff you can rely on to deliver excellent service to your customers. If you’d like to sample some great training courses for your team, contact them on 0800 863 693 or email intel@ServiceIQ.org.nz.
THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
21
managing your business
November 2011
BUYING AND SELLING CAFES, RESTAURANTS & FAST FOOD BY CLYTH MACLEOD WHAT’S THE BUSINESS WORTH? Sales? Profits? Hours? Menu? Lease? Location?
BUYERS WANT?
Proof of Sales Proof of Profits Secure Lease Reasonable Rent Full Training Non Compete Potential
BASIC ECONOMICS
Sales 100% Cost 30-35% Rent 5-10% Staff 25-30% General Expenses 10% Profits + 15%
Experienced business brokers protect parties, avoid the pitfalls, and solve the problems.
14
EVENTS PROGRAMME
November—December
31 - 9 November F.A.W.C. Summer Series, Hawke’s Bay
NOVEMBER
01
03
05
- end of December Dineaid
Marlborough Anniversary Day (regional public holiday)
Restaurant Association Auckland Visiting Hour
www.dineaid.org.nz
www.restaurantnz.co.nz
05
08
09
Melbourne Cup
-15 New Zealand Cup and Show Week, Christchurch
Manawatu Hospitality Awards, Mayfair Hotel, New Plymouth
www.nzcupandshow.co.nz
www.manawatuhospitality
www.fawc.co.nz
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12
13
13
Strategies For Success, Café panel workshop— workshop
-14 FHC China, Shanghai China
-16 Taste of Auckland, Western Springs, Auckland
- 16 Taste of Melbourne, Albert Park, Melbourne
www.fhcchina.com
www.tasteofauckland.co.nz
www.tasteofmelbourne.com.au
presented by Allana Owen, Queenies, Donna Hutchins, Atomic Coffee, Scott Brown & Jackie Grant, The Hip Group www.restaurantnz.co.nz
14
14
16
30
Restaurant Association National AGM @ taste, 45 Normanby Road, Mt Eden
Canterbury Anniversary Day (regional public holiday)
Toast Martinborough
Whitebait season closes
DECEMBER
03
15
16
Winner of NZ Café of the Year announced
Cherry and raspberry season begins!
School finishes (secondary schools)
www.toastmartinborough.co.nz
www.restaurantnz.co.nz
01 Westland Anniversary Day (regional public holiday)
www.nzcafeoftheyear.co.nz
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25
26
School finishes (primary and intermediate schools)
Christmas Day (public holiday)
Boxing Day (public holiday)
28 - 3 Jan Tasmania Taste Festival, Hobart
31 2015!
New Years Eve
www.tasteoftasmania.com.au
events ~ national & international
THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
25
EMPLOYMENT
M AT T E R S
Along with our Cornering Christmas section, in this part of the newsletter we examine some more of the latest employment news, including new employment legislation and cashed up employees...
‘TEA BREAK’BILL BECOMES LAW
Despite a little last minute debate, and the distaste of Union representatives, Labour, the Greens and NZ First, the Employment Relations Amendment Bill passed its third reading in Parliament recently and was passed into law. It will come into force four months after royal assent.
D
ue to the recent media coverage, the new law is best known for its removal of guaranteed rest and meal breaks, where employers and employees can negotiate compensation in a situation where the business cannot reasonably provide breaks. The change is aimed at providing more flexibility, not taking away rights and in the hospitality industry we envision many situations where the law change will be welcomed.
There are other proposed changes, in particular around collective bargaining, strikes and lockouts and vulnerable employees, which are detailed below. REST AND MEAL BREAKS In 2008, minimum paid rest breaks and unpaid meal breaks were established in law and this now makes those rules more flexible—balancing the importance of rest and meal breaks with business continuity needs. The new law allows reasonable limits to be agreed or imposed as to when rest breaks and meal breaks can be taken (giving employers the ability to say when breaks will be taken). It also gives employees the right to be reasonably compensated where the employer cannot reasonably give the employee rest and meal breaks. FLEXIBLE WORK HOURS Current employment law allows employees with caring responsibilities to request flexible work arrangements. The new law extends the right to any employee. There will be no limit on the number of requests an employee can make, but the employer must respond within a month. PART 6A—CONTINUITY OF EMPLOYMENT 6A At present, certain groups of vulnerable employees, including those in food catering services, are protected when their work is about to be taken over due to restructuring. They have the right to transfer to the new entity taking over their work and to bargain for redundancy or have it set by the Employment Relations Authority. Under the new law, any company with less than 20 employees will be exempt from 6A.
employment matters
At present the classes of employees with the 6A protections can be changed by regulation but the new law removes such flexibility and any alteration must be made by Parliament with a change to the Act. GOOD FAITH This change amends the good faith provisions that require an employer to give an employee relevant information where they are proposing to make a decision that will, or is likely to, have an adverse effect on the continuation of that employee’s employment. It aims to clarify what information employees are entitled to during restructures or other situations where their continued employment is at risk. An employer must give the affected employee relevant confidential information about themselves. An employer does not have to give the affected employee confidential information about another employee if doing so would involve an unwarranted disclosure of the affairs of that person. An employer does not have to give confidential information that legally must stay confidential, or where there is a good reason to keep the information confidential. CONTINUED ON FOLLOWING PAGE
THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
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member benefits FROM PREVIOUS PAGE, Tea break bill becomes law
Employees should still know the identity of their accuser or the nature of allegations made against them unless there is good reason to keep this information confidential. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BARGAINING The changes to collective bargaining aim to increase choice and flexibility in the collective bargaining framework, reduce ineffective bargaining, and improve fairness and balance in bargaining requirements. The current requirement, which has a duty of good faith on unions and employers to conclude a collective agreement unless there is a genuine reason not to, will be removed. Although they will still have to act in good faith, it will allow a party to the bargaining to get a declaration from the Employment Relations Authority that the bargaining has concluded. The new law also removes the requirement to offer new (non-Union) employees the same terms and conditions of a collective agreement for 30 days. In addition, at present if a workforce votes to be covered under a multiemployer collective agreement, the employer must join the negotiations. The new law allows employers to opt out of a multi-employer bargaining from the start. Opponents say this will undermine the sort of bargaining that has set industry standards. STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS The new law will require advanced written notice of any proposed strikes and lockouts in all sectors and also gives employers the power to proportionally deduct from an employee's pay for partial strike action. While these changes will not come into force until early in 2015, if you have any questions about how this may impact your business please give the Restaurant Association Help Line a call to discuss (0800 737 827).
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THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
employment employment matters matters
WHEN YOUR EMPLOYEE
WANTS THE CASH What happens when an employee comes to you with a request to have their annual leave entitlement paid out to them? Can you simply pay annual leave out, rather than having them physically take the time off?
T
he Act doesn’t provide for employee’s to have their holiday pay paid out, unless their employment is terminated, or they request to cash up a week of their leave entitlements. From 1 April 2011, employees have been able to ask their employer to pay out up to one week of their minimum entitlement to annual holidays per year. Employees cannot cash up annual holiday entitlements that arose before 1 April 2011. Cashing up annual holidays must not be at the direction of the employer—it can only be at the employee’s request and the request must be made in writing. Likewise, cashing up can’t be raised in wage or salary negotiations or be a condition of employment. Employees may also request to cash up less than a week at a time. More than one request may be made until a maximum of one week of the employee’s annual holidays is paid out in each entitlement year (the period of 12 months’ continuous employment from the anniversary of the employee’s starting date).
An employer may have a policy in their business that does not allow cashing up. But if not, any request must be considered within a reasonable time and may be declined. The employee must be advised of the decision in writing although the employer is not required to provide a reason for their decision. Tips to remember: O
Cashed-up annual leave should be treated as an extra pay or unexpected bonus. Because it’s taxable income, PAYE should be calculated using the rates for lump sum payments.
O
If your employee usually has student loan or KiwiSaver deductions made from their pay, deduct these from the cashed-up annual leave as well.
O
Your employee’s child support liabilities and Working for Families Tax Credit entitlement may also need to be adjusted if their family income has changed.
international update member benefits
employment matters
CLEVER DO YOU WANT COOKS FRIES WITH THAT? CHAMPIONED The outstanding culinary talents of two young New Zealand cooks were recognised by ServiceIQ at two important awards events recently.
N
ickolas Han won the highly sought-after accolade ServiceIQ Cookery Apprentice of the Year 2014, at the NZ Culinary Fare in Auckland at the end of August. As part of his prize, he’ll attend the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival next year.
Jacklin Pillay won the gold medal in Cooking, a category sponsored by ServiceIQ, at the WorldSkillsNZ Awards, an exciting contest recognising the terrific talents of young people from all over New Zealand.
ServiceIQ is committed to helping create a world-class service industry in New Zealand through qualified people and it is great to see the emerging talent, skill and passion from contestants who by training on the job, learn from experts.
It’s an often quoted line attributed to McDonald’s counter staff, but what relevance does it have to the fine dining or café experience? Upselling may be considered a dirty word, but when it is aimed at meeting a customer’s needs then it is a winwin-winwin-win for the restaurant, the staff member and the customer. BY SERENA IRVING
C
hallenge your wait staff to increase average customer spend by $2 per head and ask them to brainstorm ways of boosting sales while improving the customer experience. Give them a chance to practice on each other, so the delivery is smooth. It might be as simple as offering bread for the table, refreshing the drinks and giving the customer the dessert menu. It could be suggesting the chef’s special, additional side orders or a suitable wine match for each course.
THE RESTAURANT WINS Increasing average customer spend by $2 per person may not sound a lot, but if you have 1,000 customers a week, that’s an extra $104,000 turnover a year. Yes, extra turnover without having to increase wages, table capacity or overhead costs. Gross margin % also improves.
THE STAFF MEMBER WINS WINS
TEST AND MEASURE
They use their powers of observation, diplomacy and persuasion to encourage the customer to buy more. In New Zealand we don’t have service charges or a culture of tipping to encourage wait staff. Offering a small reward to the team or individual who meets your target is one way to motivate them. Remember to praise their efforts.
You need an accurate system in place to measure average customer spend on a daily and week basis. Once the system is in place, you can test different strategies to see what works for you.
THE CUSTOMER WINS
Serena Irving is an associate at chartered accounting firm William Buck Christmas Gouwland Limited and an associate member of the Restaurant Association. Her passion for food service was developed at an early age, learning to bake scones and scoop ice-creams at St Thomas’s Dairy when she was six. Contact Serena on 09-366-5077 or 021-463-086 or email serena.irving@wbcg.co.nz or find her on LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/pub/serenairving/27/2ab/304
The customer gets a better dining experience, with attentive staff waiting on them. They try foods and wines that they might otherwise have missed out on. A happy customer is more likely to return more often, so the restaurant wins by increasing customer visits.
Everybody wins when the focus is on the customer experience. Do you want fries with that?
THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
29
AN ENDURING COMMITMENT TO HOSPITALITY TRAINING Peter Le Grice manages the Restaurant Association’s apprenticeship team. He’s one of the support workers for the young, talented staff entering the workforce through our apprenticeship scheme. Here he tells us of his background in hospitality, his passion for the industry and commitment to training (and in particular apprenticeships)...
I
began my culinary journey when I was just 15 years old, working for free at the Oxford Hotel. I asked the chef at the time if he had any (paid) part time work available, but was told that there was none. However, I was so interested in all things culinary, that I persuaded
him to let me work for the ‘experience’. I ended up working every night after school for nine months (without pay) and the experience and skills that I gained were invaluable to my cheffing ambitions. All my mates thought I was nuts working for free, but when I did eventually move to Auckland I applied for an Apprenticeship at the Inter-continental Hotel, now the Pullman Hotel. Executive Chef John Mathias was so impressed with my work experience at the Oxford Hotel, that he offered me an Apprenticeship in his kitchens straight away. I found out later that over one hundred people had applied for two Apprenticeship positions.
30
the world renowned Anton Mosimann at London’s Dorchester Hotel. Anton took a liking to me and I was employed as a 2nd commie chef, banquets. I can only describe my time at the Dorchester as jaw dropping and inspiring. While I was there the Dorchester was ranked as Europe’s number one Hotel, with a total of four Michelin Stars (the Terrace with three and the Grill room with one star). I can remember peeling buckets full of black Truffles, serving Beluga caviar to guests at 2.00am in the morning, foie gras terrines and Angus barons of beef, cooked perfectly rare. It was a time of decadence and excess, but also Anton had developed his own style called ‘Cuisine Naturelle’ a style that we see has become very relevant in today’s health-obsessed world. I have been fortunate to work all over the world. From London and Germany, to Japan and Australia, back to New Zealand. I have never had a problem in gaining work in any of these countries, even when I could not speak the language. Cooking is an international language and if you can cook, you can speak that language! One thing that became apparent to me from a very early stage was that my chef qualifications were taken seriously and they opened many doors for me. Nothing has changed in my view and qualifications are still as important today as they were 30 or 40 years ago.
That was my first lucky break and I soon started my training and studies at ATI (now called AUT). I worked there for three and a half years. It was a very strict kitchen (just what a teenage boy needs!), but my training was thorough and intense and I was also very lucky to train under Mike Nelson in the Patisserie shop. Back in the late 70’s and 80’s everything was made by hand—Puff pastry, Danish pastries and Croissants and of course tortes, gateaux’s and sugar work displays for the lunch buffets at the Top of the Town restaurant. We even cooked for the Queen on her state visit in 1981.
I am now very fortunate to be involved with training and apprenticeships. It is obvious to me that our young workers value training and qualifications just as much as our generation did, but they are also aware that they need hands-on experience just as much. As an industry, we must actively endorse training and encourage personal growth to have any chance of retaining a skilled workforce for the future. The industry is experiencing critical staff shortages in almost all areas. If we cannot significantly increase the number of opportunities for new Apprentices right now, we will see standards fall with an ultimate flow on to your bottom line.
With my City and Guilds qualification and my new found technical skills I was off on my OE. London was beckoning and I had managed to get an interview with
Please feel free to contact myself (or Tracey Lines and Israel Evers) to discuss your training options ~ m: 027 220 1842 email peter@restaurantnz.co.nz.
THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
business insights ~ helping your business succeed
A QUICK WORD PITCHES STORE Colleen and David Hurd bought Pitches Store in 2006. Located in Ophir, between Alexandra and Ranfurly (and on the Otago Rail Trail) in the South Island, the site housed a general store and butchery more than 140 years ago. Before the Hurd’s bought Pitches, they had a little renovation experience, but only in houses; certainly not a building with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust Category 2 status that Pitches boasts. Restoration took 6 years, and has now been operating since 2012 as a bed and breakfast with 6 rooms and a restaurant onsite. Colleen shares some of the challenges and rewards of operating a business in a remote part of the country. You moved from Auckland to set up Pitches. Why did you choose Ophir? We were looking for a change of lifestyle. I guess being in the cafe business is in your blood, and when we saw this building for sale... We felt at home straight away. Ophir is a real gem. People who come and stay here think it's magic, and so do we. Who is your customer demographic? Mostly leisure guests; probably 20% international and 80% domestic. What is the most rewarding part of your job? Providing a great experience for our customers and interacting with them. Having great staff who help us to do this—I value and hold my staff in high esteem everyday.
Do you keep in touch with guests? Yes we try to, especially those with birthdays and anniversaries, just need to keep updating our list. And the biggest challenge? Staffing, absolutely. So we aim to keep those we have. There is a belief I think, that we are in a really remote area, when in reality travelling distances are less, and easier, than the big cities. Also there is an ability to save money here, and as we are seasonal, there is an opportunity to work hard, save hard and then have a good break. How do you advertise and attract them? We mostly advertise on SEEK, with some local advertising. Our ads promote the lifestyle.
What have you found to be the best/ most effective marketing medium? Word of Mouth. Do you use social media at all? Yes but not as effectively as we should - we need a young guru! Do you read and pay attention of online reviews? Yes we do and reply accordingly when we can. What is your advice to owners of restaurants and cafés who don’t have a huge budget but would like to improve their ambience and décor? Employ an interior specialist and look at their work. Also look at auctions and second-hand shops if you know what style you want.
UPCOMING MEETING 4 t h N ov e mbe r , A uc kl an d
AUCKLAND BRANCH President: Krishna
Botica
BAY OF PLENTY BRANCH President: Andrew
HAWKE’S BAY BRANCH President: Sean
Targett
ROTORUA BRANCH
Burns
President: Sharon
Wallace
TARANAKI BRANCH President: Barbara
Olsen-Henderson
UPCOMING MEETING 1 8 th N ov e m be r @ S u sh i N i n j a
REGIONAL UPDATES NELSON BRANCH President: Harry
MANAWATU BRANCH
Morris
President: Sean
Kereama
UPCOMING AWARDS M an aw a tu H os p i tal i t y Aw ar d s , 9 t h N ov e mbe r
WELLINGTON BRANCH Branch President & National President: Mike National Vice-President: Steve
SOUTHERN LAKES BRANCH President: Grant
Hattaway Mitchell
Vice President: Cam
CANTERBURY BRANCH Branch President : Sam
DUNEDIN BRANCH President: Olive
Tabor Wright
Vice President: Helen
Crofskey
Logan
Egan
new members
November 2011
19
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 or restaurant. We will help guide you through the regulatory minefield that exists in today’s business environment. You have joined 1750 of New Zealand’s most dynamic and profitable hospitality businesses. Bethany’s Restaurant, Palmerston North
Lone Star, Rototuna
Bob's Pop Up, Kihikihi
Lorne Street Cafe and Restaurant, Auckland
Cortado Restaurant, Bar and Café, Picton
Nandos New Zealand, Auckland
Covo, Auckland
Palmers Planet Westgate, Auckland
Delissimo, Auckland
Passito, Auckland
Flying Pancakes, Queenstown
Pierside Café, Christchurch
Four Pizza, Auckland
Pita Pit Henderson, Auckland
Hoki Smoke, Hastings
Quality Hotel Ambassador, Hamilton
Pepper Delight, New Plymouth
Quay Street Café, Auckland
Saleyards Café, Feilding
Queenies, Auckland
Sautee, Auckland
Restaurant Indonesia, Napier
Settlers Country Manor, Auckland
Rototuna Kitchen, Hamilton
The Bay House, Westport
Sherwood, Queenstown
The Cake Stall, Auckland
Sierra Cafe New Lynn, Auckland
Van Uffelen Restaurant at The Gallery, Palmerston
The Coffee Club Pukekohe, Auckland
North
The Coffee Club St Lukes, Auckland
Baduzzi Restaurant, Auckland
The Flying Burrito Brothers Newmarket, Auckland
Bueno Latin Cantina, Christchurch
The Mussel Pot Restaurant, Auckland
Charlie Baxter, Auckland
Wallaceville House, Wellington
Eden Garden Café, Auckland Habitual Fix Pakuranga, Auckland Habitual Fix Takapuna, Auckland Habitual Fix Westfield Manukau, Auckland
AND these supplier members supporting the industry… (go to www.restaurantnz.co.nz and click on ‘partners’ & ‘industry guide’ for contact information on a range of industry suppliers of good and services)
Hogs Breath Café, Napier
Blade Master, Auckland
Knights Bridge Café, Auckland
e: nzbladmaster@gmail.com w: www.blademaster.co.nz
Lone Star, Hamilton Lone Star, Queenstown
Original Foods e: clinton@origfoods.co.nz w: www.originalfoods.co.nz
Lone Star, Timaru for membership tools and resources go to www.restaurantnz.co.nz
THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
33
REGIONAL ROUNDUP… ROTORUA
kia ora from
rotorua
W
ell with the “silly season” just about here everyone is gearing up for it.
Labour weekend trading was a bit of a mixed bag—up for some and not as busy as last year for others. Rotorua had a huge influx of visitors, with hotels and motels packed. I would like to say welcome to our newest member, Atticus Finch owners, sisters Cherry Te Kiri and Kay Thompson. Feedback has been really great, with customers raving about the food. You will find Atticus Finch in Eat Streat, in the building which was previously the Arawa Wines building, 1106 Tutanekai Street. Capers Epicurean Café is in the finals for the 2014 NZ Café of the Year, which is exciting for Rotorua. They also won Bidvest Outstanding Café at the Hospitality Awards this year. Winners of NZ Café of the Year are announced on December 3rd.
CAPERS EPICUREAN
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THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
ATTICUS FINCH
One of our members, Café Ephesus, featured in our local paper recently. The owner Niyazi Gunaydin, has been running the café since it opened in 2003. This café features wood fired pizza, pasta, Greek salads, and mixed platters with delicious dips. Prices are very reasonable too. You will find Café Ephesus on Eat Streat at 1107 Tutanekai Street. Skyline Rotorua has undergone a major refurbishment and is looking fantastic especially with the new bar area (dear to my heart). More on this in the next feature. The new bike track has opened there as well. I visited Skyline with my students last week and General Manager, Bruce Thomasen, spoke to the students about how he started out in the industry as a 17 year old at the THC Hotel. He is a great mentor for our young people, for what he has managed to accomplish. My family featured in a Tourism New Zealand and Destination Rotorua Chinese reality show last month called “Dad Where Are We Going”. I cannot believe that it has been viewed by 404 million viewers in China. It features stars from China and Hong Kong who travel with their children and have to undergo a series of different challenges. My son Todd and daughter Vanessa and partner Kelly hosted a family each, as did another two families.
Lastly, this Caramel Popcorn Martini Cocktail will get any party started and is a good Christmas celebration the students and I have made. To make the liquid popcorn: - 4 Cups water -
¼ Cup sugar
-
2 tsp salt
-
5 Cups of fresh popcorn kernels
In a small saucepan bring water, sugar, salt to boil over medium heat and add the popcorn over medium heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain through cheese cloth, pushing gently on the popcorn to push out most of the liquid. Discard the kernels, chill liquid and remove excess fat. Martini: -
8 ounces liquid popcorn
-
15 mls Butterscotch Schnapps
-
30 ml Vanilla Vodka
-
30 mls cream
Rim a martini glass with grenadine syrup and dip in pop rocks. Serve and enjoy! Have a safe and profitable Christmas and summer holidays. Naku noa Sharon Wallace Rotorua Branch President Waiariki Institute of Technology Sharon.Wallace@waiariki.ac.nz m: (027) 233 4146
regional update
sale & supply of alcohol
THE THYMES MAY 2014
27
REGIONAL ROUNDUP… … HAWKE’S BAY
September 2011
news from
wine country
I
am writing this coming out of a solid Labour weekend. Traditionally the weekend represents the beginning of the summer season, kicking off with the Hawke’s Bay Wine Awards, the local A&P Show and our Anniversary Day, giving locals a four day weekend. This year’s Wine Awards were slightly different after the local paper mistakenly reported the results a week early, but even with everyone knowing the winners before the corks popped, the event was still a great success. LABOUR WEEKEND This year’s Labour Weekend looks like it was one of the best with accommodation providers reporting the two cities of Napier and Hastings were totally booked out. The Napier Port welcomed the second cruise ship of the season, an Under 19 football tournament brought families into the region and wineries experienced great visitor numbers and strong sales. Our restaurant had a fantastically busy weekend with revenue up 12% on last year, and all the restaurants I have spoken to have reported similar results. We did see some restaurants and cafes choosing to close on Hawke’s Bay Anniversary Day on Friday. It does worry me that visitors who come to our region for the long weekend may arrive to find restaurants and cafes closed, but some owners believe it is more cost effective to close rather than pay the extra cost and you cannot blame them for that. ANOTHER GROWERS MARKET IN HASTINGS The local Hawke’s Bay farmer’s market scene is set to get even more
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THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
HUGO CHANG, HAVELOCK NORTH
competitive, with Hastings soon to get a new Saturday morning market. At present we have the original Farmers Market at the Showgrounds in Hastings (now 14 years old) on a Sunday morning. A smaller version runs on a Saturday morning in Napier, as well as the popular Black Barn Growers Market which operates over summer.
A new cafe & pizzeria in the Napier CBD called Ooh La La was due to open late September, but looks like it should be open in a couple of weeks. Bay Espresso in Hastings has recently sold and re opened as Little Black Bird. I have been hearing great things about the food.
Recently the Hastings Businesses Association started a Thursday night market, and will soon start another Saturday version in a bid to bring regular shoppers into the CBD on a Saturday morning. Many believe Hastings cannot sustain two large markets over the weekend and the new market is ‘another dilution of community resources’. Time will tell. SUMMER FAWC The third summer FAWC (Food and Wine Classic) opens at Craggy Range on Friday 31st October and runs until November 9th. Ray McVinnie, the FAWC ambassador, will host the Locavore’s Lunch and attend many events during the week. Over the 10 days, there will be 61 events including the revamped Cranford Hospice Charity Wine Auction. NEW The owners of Mister D in Napier are set to open a new bar next door in early December. A new retail/commercial area is taking over the old Bunnings Store in Napier, with Volvo, Honda and Big Save all operating together under one roof. It will also include a new cafe to be operated by Milk & Honey.
Hastings also has a new cafe on Queens Street East called The Artisan owned and operated by Katie Whitcombe and features breads baked by her partner. RUMOUR IS..... Chef James Beck from Taste is moving from Hastings to Havelock North into the Red Barrel Cellar Door, formerly Molto Kitchen. Someone has taken over the lease of the Brazen Head in Napier, but the new lease holder is still unknown. Here’s to a long, hot, dry summer. Sean Burns Milk & Honey Hawke’s Bay Branch President sean@themilkandhoney.co.nz
Hugo Chang Bar in Havelock North has opened to rave reviews. regional update
REGIONAL ROUNDUP… … TARANAKI
September 2011
Tales from
taranaki
W
ell the time seems to have gone really fast since the last update, and we’re starting to gear up for a warm profitable summer, one hopes. We’ve just had a rugby game final between Nelson and Taranaki. We won and that always helps people to celebrate. Also, with a week of open gardens in the Powerco Garden Spectacular and the Fringe Garden Festival just been there have been lots of hungry gardeners enjoying our local hospitality. I am just back from a week in Golden Bay, attending a basket-weaving workshop. It was such a good break – made even better by not knowing that one of my chefs did a no-show on Sunday (our busiest day), and no-one told me and I didn’t have to work their shift. Bloody Beautiful! And because I knew nothing about it until I got back last night, I’m still feeling the love for her – but counselling starts today to make sure she develops the skills to not give in to temptation again. I find that people sometimes need to get their personal issues sorted out to maintain a reliable professional life and I’m hoping this will work in my favour as this person has real potential.
Sophie and Ken Kurota of Sushi Ninja have enlarged their premises into an adjoining shop and have created a really lovely space. I took my staff there for lunch the other day and we all liked the new look and interesting techy touches like the buzzer on your table that summons a waiter whenever you want them. How handy! The food was delicious as well. Delux Diner has opened and if their article in the paper is anything to go by, they’re nice and busy. I haven’t had time to treat myself to a visit there yet, but it’s on the agenda. Manou’s is now open on the main street, as well as the original café still being maintained at the waterfront. I’ve taken some staff and friends, on different occasions, to Table at Nice Hotel in the past couple of months, and I see that Terry has also enlarged his dining area and created a comfortable and stylish little bar area from a previous room, opening it up to the main dining area. He was really busy! The death of Andre Tessonnaire and subsequent closure of Andre’s L’Escargot, has meant that anyone wanting a ‘top-end’ dining experience heads straight for Terry’s door. The service was excellent. I’ve recently cut back our evening dining nights from 5 nights, to just our 3 busy nights a week. I’ve been wanting to do it for about 3 years as our nights are nowhere near as profitable as days, but I just couldn’t bring myself to cut back the hours of staff who have been loyal and lovely for years. The opportunity presented itself recently, so I’ve been able to combine
DELUXE DINER
23
MANOU’S CAFÉ & RESTAURANT
shifts and offer all my keepers more hours doing jobs they enjoy and it’s working out really well. It’s particularly good from the point of view that instead of having two separate teams of staff, I now essentially have one bigger team, with all the good will that working together more closely entails. And in the four weeks since I cut back nights, my turnover has been higher in three of those weeks, than the same weeks of last year. That’s with two nights less, and of course less man hours and costs. I was hoping it would condense my clientele instead of spreading them out across the week. We’ll see how it goes. I’m forever hopeful! Our local hospitality awards evening – The Halamoana Awards was held recently to celebrate our general fabulousness! There is more on the Awards over the page, along with some photos. Our last Branch meeting for this year will be on Tuesday November 18th at 6pm and will be hosted by Ken and Sophie at Sushi Ninja.. We plan a nice informal (as always) hour of drinks and nibbles and chat. RSVP to sabra@restaurantnz.co.nz if you can attend. I’ll leave you on that happy note and wish all owners a profitable and worryfree Christmas season. Barbara Olsen-Henderson Taranaki Branch President Bach on Breakwater barbara_olsen@xtra.co.nz CHECK OUT THE RESULTS FROM THE HALAMOANA AWARDS OVER THE PAGE
THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
37
REGIONAL ROUNDUP… …… REGIONAL ROUNDUP… TARANAKI NELSON & DUNEDIN
regional updates regional updates
November 2011
24
Tales from
taranaki
M
ore than 300 people gathered at the Mayfair in New Plymouth at the end of October to recognise the best of the best in the region's hospitality industry. The 9th Taranaki Halamoana Hospitality Awards recognised hospitality professionals in 19 categories. Four categories included public votes, the rest were voted on by members of the industry and one was awarded by a judging panel. This year the Halamoana Awards experienced a huge upturn in the number of votes from the industry. In most categories they were up more than three times on previous years—an increase which has been put down to the co operation the awards have had from its media sponsors Taranaki Daily News and Radio Works.
THE WINNERS ARE:
OUTSTANDING HOSPITALITY ACHIEVEMENT Terry Parkes - Table, Nice Hotel
OUTSTANDING OWNER OPERATOR Simon Johnston-Saywell - Arborio
OUTSTANDING BARISTA Tahlia Lowers - Petit Paris
OUTSTANDING HOST Dicky Chattha - Bella Vita
OUTSTANDING BARTENDER Mike Sales - Rhythm
OUTSTANDING CHEF Troyden Waters - Mexico
OUTSTANDING TRAINEE CHEF Nickolas Han - PIHMS
OUTSTANDING SUPPLIER Bidvest
OUTSTANDING SALES REPRESENTATIVE Mike Schofield - Bidvest
OUTSTANDING BEVERAGE SALES REPRESENTATIVE Scott Baker - DB Breweries
OUTSTANDING BAR Snug Lounge
OUTSTANDING CAFÉ Chaos
OUTSTANDING RESTAURANT Okurukuru
OUTSTANDING TAKE OUT Burgerfuel
OUTSTANDING CATERER Delistyle Catering
OUTSTANDING WAITER/ WAITRESS Rae Davey - Okurukuru
OUTSTANDING INTERNATIONAL ESTABLISHMENT Cafe Turkey
OUTSTANDING SOUTH TARANAKI ESTABLISHMENT Black and White Cafe
OUTSTANDING SOUTH TARANAKI PERSONALITY Linda Morrison - Tairoa Lodge and Mike Reader - Marracbo Cafe
regional update
38
THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
regional outlook PHOTOGRAPHERS: LIAN O’NEILL & JOANNA PITTWOOD
REGIONAL ROUNDUP… … WELLINGTON
From the CAPITAL
hot plate coming through
Changes Burger Liquor has opened on Willis Street.
Beam Suntory, Outstanding Bar Havana Bar Deloitte Private, Outstanding Barista River Vili – Café Polo The Cornerstore Pub in Brooklyn is to be refurbished and opened as The Salty Pigeon.. The Bresolin, a smart gastro pub has opened on Willis Street. Martin Bosley’s Restaurant is to be refurbished and opened as a casual café bar. Poneke a new café from the team at Mojo has opened on the southern end of the new apartment complex on the overseas passenger terminal at Clyde Quay. Martin Bosley is the consulting chef. The White House on Oriental Bay has closed after nearly 2 decades and will re-open as Whitebait in the same complex as Poneke café. The head chef and the pastry chef are all ex Rockpool Sydney . Kind regards Mike Egan, Restaurant Association National President e: monsoonpoon@actrix.co.nz m: 021 966 667
regional update
The city's brightest hospitality talent was honoured at the end of October at the fifth annual Capital Awards, with prizes for Wellington's most outstanding establishments, staff and suppliers.
Ara, Outstanding Wine List Vivo Enoteca Cucina
Menumate, Outstanding Maitre d’ Davey McDonald – Ortega Fish Shack
Crombie Lockwood, Outstanding Restaurant Charley Noble Eatery & Bar
Möet Hennessy, Outstanding Chef Jacob Brown – The Larder
Havana Club, Outstanding Bartender Giancarlo Quiroz Jesus - Hawthorn Lounge
Whittaker’s Chocolate, Outstanding Supplier Cuba St Fruit Mart
Best Ambience & Style Hawthorn Lounge
Bidvest Foodservice, Outstanding Emerging Chef Helen Turnbull – Hummingbird Eatery & Bar
Meadow Mushrooms, Outstanding Casual Dining Experience Little Penang
Caffe L’Affare, Outstanding Sales Representative Amy Alexander – Pernod Ricard Posboss, Outstanding Café Ti Kouka Café
Negociants NZ, Outstanding Front of House Team Ortega Fish Shack
Outstanding Beer List The Malthouse
Toops Wholesale ltd, Outstanding Local Establishment Goldings Free Dive Bar
Le Cordon Bleu, Outstanding Contribution to Wellington Hospitality Blair Fryer
THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
39
REGIONAL ROUNDUP… … SOUTHERN LAKES
regional updates
News from the
deep south
G
reetings from the South, A few new foodie businesses have opened
of late...
The company began in Australia in 2001 and now has stores in Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. The Queenstown store, located on 29 Rees Street, is the first New Zealand branch.
New restaurant Wild Ginger aims to be a mix between fine Chinese dining and European cuisine. Owner Ming Huan said the Beach St restaurant was vastly different from anything else in the area. The long time Queenstown restaurateur said his new venture was completely separate from any of his other restaurant, combining the best of Chinese and European cooking, but it was not fusion cooking. The main dining area can seat up to 50 people and there are other private dining rooms where people can hold business lunches, meetings or just relax and enjoy the atmosphere, he said.
FEATUREDPRODUCT FEATURED
JOB
DESCRIPTIONS
HANDBOOK
Popular eatery Fat Badgers, which was destroyed by fire in 2013 also reopened in September. The pizzeria is at the former Freiyas Indian Restaurant building in Camp Street. Right next door is another new to Queenstown business, Rehab juice bar, who have a branch in Frankton. The juice and smoothies outlet is also located in the former Freiyas building.
The Restaurant Association has developed a Model Job Descriptions handbook for members. This handbook provides a valuable resource for creating position descriptions to help businesses hire the most qualified applicants for their operation. Job descriptions are intended to help an employer determine whether a person is qualified to perform a job. This handbook includes job descriptions for 24 positions.
UPCOMING EVENTS 8-9TH NOVEMBER
The world’s best GT cars are back in NZ, Highland Park (Cromwell)
22ND NOVEMBER
Queenstown International marathon (6000 entrants)
Take care! WILD GINGER
In keeping with the food theme, Australian chocolatier company Koko Black has also opened.
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THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
Grant Hattaway Southern Lakes Branch President Pier 19 & Blue Kanu
This handbook provides generic position descriptions, which can be customised to reflect the specific tasks and responsibilities of your employees. We have identified the attributes, experience and competencies associated with the various positions.
ORDER NOW… The Restaurant Association’s Model Job Descriptions handbook is available for just $12.27 (incl of GST and P&P) - order online @ www.restaurantnz.co.nz or call 0800 737 827.
info@pier19.co.nz
regional update
November 2011
MAINLY OF INTEREST TO
auckland members news.
Greedy Guts
Peasant is a new Vietnamese restaurant on Dominion Road offering a contemporary take on Vietnamese street food . Owner John Yip has teamed up with head chef Willie Ngyuen, formerly of Teed St Larder and The Grove, and his brother Simon Yip in front of house. Peasant is open for lunch and dinner, serving Vietnamese favourites such as bahn mi, rice paper rolls, and delicioussounding plates like stuffed squid, pork, chestnut, coriander, paprika oil. Greedy Guts has opened at 44 Wellesley St West, and is owned by Sam Richardson and Lily Deng, previously of Dominion Rd's Cereal Killa cafe. The food menu consists of moreish salads, open sandwich options, and all-day breakfast dishes.
Peasant
Also in the CBD, Misters has opened up on Wyndham Street (underneath newcomers, The Black Hoof). Open for breakfast and lunch six days, the café is owned by Fraser Jamieson and Alex Brayne, both fairly new to the hospitality industry. Misters’ slogan is “real food”, so the meat is free range and the produce organic where possible, spray-free where not. The kitchen is totally dairy -and gluten-free, and nearly every dish has a vegan or paleo option. There is action outside of the CBD too… in Newmarket’s Kingdon Street, Panscape is another recent opening serving both traditional and European pastries alongside daytime meals with a Mediterranean twist – and a focus on Turkish cuisine. Meanwhile in Remuera’s main strip a new pop-in eatery and lunch bar, Kismet, has opened. Kismet is the brainchild of mother and daughter Sandra and Anna Haydock. With a large selection of sweet cabinet offerings, the café also caters to the lunch crowd with a range of salads and pies, with takeaway dinner meals on offer from Tuesday – Friday. And in Ellerslie, Open Table is a new sustainable, community-focused café. The original concept was a “business innovation project” for owner Hannah Feenstra’s entrepreneurship degree, with the café first starting to take shape when she and her partner Dylan spotted an empty site on a quiet Ellerslie street back in 2012. They initially lost the lease to a proposed liquor store, but strong local opposition meant the store failed to gain a liquor licence. The next step was a Kickstarter campaign to raise initial financing. Feenstra distributed 5000 leaflets promoting the campaign, held a street party outside the site and drummed up support through mainstream and social media. The end result: $20,000 in donations from Ellerslie locals which helped to fund the opening of the cafe.
Dilecta
The Barworks-owned Sale St has had a revamp and reopened as Sweat Shop. The name references the building’s previous life as the premises of Ross and Glendining, once New Zealand’s largest clothing manufacturer. The look and layout has had a bit of a rejig, while the brewing operation has been extended. Pool and ping-pong tables; a new sound system; and a larger, brighter deck with plenty of heaters and a retractable roof are set to be installed soon. auckland members Sweat Shop
34
MAINLY OF INTEREST TO
auckland members news.
what’ s on akl.
ANYONE FOR GOLF. . .
01
The 2015 Restaurant Association Auckland Branch Golf Day will be held on Tuesday 17th February, 2015 at Muriwai Golf Course. Here’s a sneak preview of what will be happening...
-end of December DineAid
www.dineaid.org.nz
Beer / Wine / Soft Drinks challenge
Hole in One challenge Clevedon Oyster Shack & Live Music
BBQ
05
Restaurant Association professional development webinar, Strategies for Success, café panel workshop
www.restaurantnz.co.nz
www.restaurantnz.co.nz
BBQ
13
-16 Taste of Auckland, Western Springs, Auckland
Slushy Machine
Drinks and nibbles
BBQ
www.tasteofauckland.co.nz
14 Restaurant Association National AGM @ taste, 45 Normanby Road, Mt Eden, Auckland
Cleaning challenge
www.restaurantnz.co.nz
Sweet foods / Gambling challenge
www.santaparade.co.nz
2014 NZ Café of the Year announced
Fruit and nut bars Activity
Putting challenge
www.nzcafeoftheyear.co.nz
13
Drinks
Fruit station
Coca-Cola Christmas In The Park, Auckland Domain
BBQ steak sandwich
SUPPORTING SPONSORS BARKERS | DMK | HALLERTAU | CAFFE L’AFFARE | NEW ZEALAND NATURAL | RED BULL | THE PASTRYHOUSE | UNILEVER
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Farmers Santa Parade, Auckland CBD
03
Chocolate bars & ball challenge and Jaguar
Rekorderlig cider tastings
11
Restaurant Association Visiting Hour @ Westpac Britomart
THE THYMES NOVEMBER 2014
www.christmasinthepark.co.nz
16 School finishes (secondary schools) - 19 School finished (primary & intermediate schools)
25 Christmas Day (public holiday)
The Restaurant Association was formed in 1975 with the aim of serving and representing owners and manger of foodservice operations. It represents 1,750 members throughout New Zealand who employ 13,000 full and part-time employees. This is an industry that has an annual turnover of almost $8 billion, that employs over 100,000 workers, that is each week visited by more than a million hospitality customers. This makes it a cornerstone of New Zealand’s economy. CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Marisa Bidois
NATIONAL PRESIDENT: Mike Egan (Monsoon Poon, Auckland & Wellington; Boulcott St Bistro, Osteria Del Toro, Wellington)
VICE PRESIDENTS: Bart Littlejohn (Sails Restaurant, Auckland) Steve Logan (Logan Brown, Wellington)
BRANCH PRESIDENTS: Auckland: Krishna Botica (Café Hanoi, XuXu, 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: Marcel Rood Nelson: Howard Morris (Harry’s Bar, Nelson) Rotorua: Sharon Wallace (Waiariki Institute of Technology, Rotorua) Southern Lakes: Grant Hattaway (Pier 19; Captains Table Restaurant, Blue Kanu, Queenstown) Taranaki: Barbara Olsen-Henderson (Bach on Breakwater, New Plymouth) Waikato: watch this space! Wellington: Michael Egan (Monsoon Poon, Auckland and Wellington; Boulcott St Bistro, Osteria Del Toro, Wellington)
RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION OF NEW ZEALAND KEY OBJECTIVES 1.
Protect, promote and advance the interests and rights of its members
2.
Promote industry quality, reputation and excellence
3.
Provide relevant value added services to members
4.
As an organisation achieve best practice stewardship within the business association sector
s