Academy of Food & Wine starts search for top hospitality managers

The Academy of Food & Wine​ has launched its second UK Restaurant Manager of the Year competition and is inviting entries from managers working in all areas of the catering industry, including pub and hotel restaurants.​

The competition, supported by the National Skills Academy for Hospitality and sponsored by OpenTable.com, aims to reward managers who have the skills to help a business succeed in today's demanding climate.

Judges will be looking for restaurant managers with good business sense, an ability to get on with people and a thorough knowledge of their trade. They should also have 'bags of personality and confidence', the sensitivity to judge when customers want to chat and when they don’t, and, crucially, be able to recruit, manage and motivate their team.

Academy executive director Sophie Roberts-Brown said: "Last year was the first time we’d held this competition and we were delighted with the response.

"This competition truly tests the skills required of a restaurant manager and these are the same in a Michelin-starred establishment as they are in a high street brasserie – great business sense, knowledge of the trade and fantastic people skills."

Entry​

Entrants will be asked to complete a questionnaire to enter from which the semi finalists will be drawn. Judges, who include former Le Gavroche maitre d' Silvano Giraldin, Academy director and the Princess Victoria owner Matt Wilkin, will pick candidates from five regions to compete in the semi final on 8 March 2010 before the final takes place in May at Babylon at the Roof Gardens in London, the home of last year's winner Peter Avis​.

The winner will get the chance to spend a week in New York where they will complete a stage at one of Danny Meyer's restaurants while staying at the MAve hotel. The winners' restaurant will also receive a 12-month subscription to the OpenTable reservation system.

For an entry form visit www.afws.co.uk​ or call the Academy on 020 8661 4646. Entries must be received by 29 January 2010.