Manaakitanga Award 2010 winners announced

Manaakitanga Award 2010 winners announced

The winners of the Manaakitanga Awards 2010, Rodney District’s hospitality and tourism awards, were announced at a glitzy, red-carpet awards evening recently (Sunday, 3 October).

After months of speculation, over 13,000 public votes and rigorous judging by some of the best in the industry, winners of 16 categories recognising the best in sustainable hospitality and tourism and excellence in customer service were revealed.

Ascension Wine Estate, Matakana, picked up four awards for Outstanding Restaurant Experience, and Outstanding Entertainment Experience for the MoreFM Winery Tour 2010 at Ascension Wine Estate, while Food and Beverage Manager Guido Paseri won the Excellence in Customer Service award, and owner Darryl Soljan won the Outstanding Contribution to Hospitality award.

Heron’s Flight Vineyard won the Most Sustainable Hospitality Business, and with neighbour Charlie’s Gelato Garden, won the Outstanding Slow Dish award for its Dolcetto Sorbetto made from Dolcetto wine. In turn, Charlie’s won the award for Outstanding Local food Producer.

First time venue winners included Bees Online Cafe, Waimauku for Outstanding Cafe Experience; Ransom Wines, Warkworth for Outstanding Winery Experience; and Pakiri Beach Horse Rides for Outstanding Visitor Attraction.

In the ‘people’ categories first-time winners included Adam McLeely from Oliver’s Cafe in Orewa who won the Outstanding Hospitality Youth award while David Wyatt from The Great Dessert Cafe in Puhoi was awarded Hospitality Personality of the year.

Four other businesses are still at the top of their game winning their categories for the second year in a row. Leigh Sawmill Café won Outstanding Bar Experience; Takatu Lodge - Outstanding Accommodation Experience; Matakana Village Farmer’s Market – Outstanding Local Supplier and The Vintry won Best Local Wine List.

Chief judge David Williamson from the AUT University School of Hospitality and Tourism says as expected it was close in many categories.

“We had a robust set of industry standards for each category and in some cases there was only a one or two point difference in the score between the winner and second place,” he says.

According to David, judging the Manaakitanga Awards gave members of the panel a rare overview of the industry in Rodney.

“Over the past couple of months we have been privileged to talk to many operators, owners and managers giving us a fantastic insight into what this wonderful region has to offer.”

He says while there are fantastic establishments throughout Rodney, many of the award winners being in the Matakana / Warkworth area was the subject of much discussion amongst the judging panel.

“Like other industries, hospitality and tourism operations are sensitive to population, seasonal, environmental and other external pressures. We concluded that as an established destination there is a modestly larger labour pool and level of customer demand that enables businesses in this area to plan for and deliver consistent quality.”

While quick to point out the many positive attributes of hospitality and tourism in the Rodney area, the judges gave a timely reminder that there is always room for improvement.

“Local business owners still need to understand they operate in a global market. This means regardless of the type or size of business, we must consistently deliver internationally competitive service.

“Being friendly and warm is a given, but to take service to the next level we must think about the extras: upselling, enthusiasm and presentation, and the only way to do this is to invest in your staff - train, train, train,” says David.

He also reminds the public that they have a role to play in ensuring service is of a consistently high standard.

“Culturally New Zealanders do not easily give feedback about the service and quality they receive. It is important that we tell operators how we feel about their service so they can improve on what they are delivering,” he says.

“This feedback will guide operators on where they need to invest their staff training dollars.”

Project Manager Charlotte Cuffe says the awards have been a huge success, but whether or not they will carry on under the new Super City remains to be seen.

“Like everything else the Manaakitanga Awards are subject to Super City restructuring, so we are not entirely sure what will happen, but there is definitely potential for local flavoured awards to be implemented across the Auckland region,” says Charlotte.

As part of planning for the future, a survey is being carried out to evaluate the awards and can be completed at www.hospitalityawards.co.nz

ENDS

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