Babylon contender named Restaurant Manager of the Year
The Academy of Food and Wine (ACFW) has announced the 2009 Restaurant Manager of the Year as Peter Avis of Babylon at the Roof Gardens.
In a hotly contested competition held at the Langham, judges led by Andaz food and beverage manager Conor O’Leary deemed Avis’s dedication to his team and customers worthy enough to receive the title.
“We had six impressive restaurant managers in the final,” said O’Leary. “The skills of a restaurant manager are very broad and we had a mix of styles with contenders from very different restaurants.”
Avis beat six restaurant managers in the final, including Mark Bevan of Chester Grosvenor (runner-up), Christopher Noone of Liverpool Community College, Michael Stokes of Wiltons in London, Alison Stubberfield of Theo Randall at the InterContinental in London, and Giuseppe Vurchio of Macdonald Randolph Hotel in Oxford.
Winning a week’s trip to New York to complete a stage at a top restaurant, as well as a nights stay at the Marylebone Hotel in London and a 12-month subscription to OpenTable for Babylon, Avis vowed to raise the profile of front-of-house careers.
“The key attributes of a restaurant manager are the ability to communicate and the ability to value your team,” he said. “It’s essential to take everyone as an individual and give them time.”
At the awards dinner, the ACFW announced the Restaurant Manager Hall of Fame, which recognises those who’ve contributed to promoting the position as a worthy profession. Joining the list were: Elena Salvoni, of Elena’s L’Etoile; Silvano Giraldin, former maitre d’ at Le Gavroche and now senior consultant of Albert Roux Consulting; Jesus Adorno, director and maitre d’ of Le Caprice; Diego Masciaga, restaurant manager of the Waterside Inn, Bray; and David Morgan-Hewitt, managing director of The Goring, London.
