Finalists for the Queenstown Hospitality Awards will be announced on Monday, 30 April.

Queenstown’s flourishing hospitality industry is to be celebrated at the inaugural Queenstown Hospitality Awards, an industry event aimed at highlighting the very best of the region

Established by the Restaurant Association of NZ and lead partner Trents Wholesale, the awards are an important development for the region, as Queenstown continues to be recognised globally for its distinction in tourism and hospitality.

CEO Marisa Bidois says,

“It’s imperative the hospitality industry recognises its champions as it provides not only a peer benchmark for excellence but also serves to give people valuable guidelines on the best places to visit”.

With more than 16 award categories, the best of Queenstown’s hospitality industry – from crew members, to suppliers, to establishments – will be celebrated for their contribution in creating a world-class hospitality industry in Queenstown.

The relevance of the event has attracted support from local and national category sponsors signing up to be part of the inaugural event including Meadow Fresh, Hellers, Pernod Ricard, Federal Merchants, Antipodes, Menumate, Southern Hospitality, Crombie Lockwood, OneMusic, Negociants, GrabOne, Harrows, NZI, First Table and host venue Skyline Queenstown.

Final voting will begin on Monday, 30 April upon announcement of finalists.
RSVP to the Finalist Launch

Awards winners will be revealed at the highly anticipated Queenstown Hospitality Awards Gala on Monday, 28 May at Skyline Queenstown. Queenstown general public are also able to vote for their favourite establishment in the First Table People’s Choice Award category.

Queenstown Hospitality Awards 2018 Categories:

• Meadow Fresh – Outstanding Barista of the Year
• Hellers – Cafe of the Year
• Jameson – Outstanding Bartender of the Year
• Glenfiddich – Bar of the Year
• Antipodes – Outstanding Waiter of the Year
• Menumate – Outstanding Front of House Team
• Southern Hospitality – Outstanding Chef of the Year
• Burns & Ferrall – Emerging Talent – Chef
• Crombie Lockwood – Central City Establishment of the Year
• OneMusic – Outstanding Ambience & Design
• Negociants – Emerging Talent – Wine Service Professional
• GrabOne – Winery Restaurant of the Year
• Harrows – Restaurant of the Year
• Restaurant Association – Sales Rep of the Year
• McCarthy – Specialty Supplier of the Year
• NZI – Goods & Services Wholesaler of the Year
• First Table – People’s Choice – Establishment of the Year
• Skyline Queenstown – Outstanding Hospo Hero

RSVP to the Finalist Announcement event here.
Purchase tickets to the Queenstown Hospitality Awards here.

For more information or to purchase tickets to the awards evening please visit: www.hospitalityawards.co.nz/queenstown

Achieving productivity growth in New Zealand over the next few years will need to come from improving labour productivity rather than growing the population, says ASB Bank.

Net immigration has contributed more than 70 per cent of population growth in recent years but also placed pressure on housing and wider infrastructure according to ASB’s Economic Weekly report released yesterday.

Recent data has signalled a slowdown in net migration inflow which is expected to be highlighted in the Statistics New Zealand net migration figures for March, due out today.

Data from February showed a net monthly inflow of less than 5000 people – the lowest in three years.

ASB said with the unemployment rate at a nine-year low, the labour market was tight.

The bank said New Zealand’s productivity track record had been poor, but this had been masked by strong population growth.

Its report said capacity constraints could start to slow domestic expansion and with finite resources, increasing the amount produced with the same inputs was the key to boosting per-capita incomes and living standards.

“With the goods terms of trade already the highest since 1950 and with the peak in net permanent and long-term migration looking to be behind us, there are limits to how much more can be gained from these influences in the current cycle,” the report said.

“Achieving more growth in the next few years will need to come from strengthening labour productivity.”

Slowing net immigration figures were already having an impact on labour shortages with a number of industries struggling to attract and retain staff.

Separate data from Trade Me showed the number of jobs available, particularly in the regions, was up but applications were down.

Southland, Northland, Otago, Hawke’s Bay, Waikato and Marlborough all had solid double-digit growth in new listings year-on-year but the average number of applications per role was down 15 per cent compared with last year and down 5.8 per cent on the previous quarter.

Applications in Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury decreased by 17 per cent, 10 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

The hospitality sector is one such industry facing a labour shortage, and Restaurant Association chief executive Marisa Bidois said businesses relied on a migrant workforce.

Bidois says

“Our industry is still feeling the pinch from the skills shortage across the country, and we’re still experiencing that lack of skill set in our industry.”

“Our industry is extremely reliant on migrant help particularly in some of the regions, but in Auckland and some of our major centres we’ve been getting more feedback than usual on how businesses are feeling the struggle to find key staff even more acutely.”

The industry had been working on a number of initiatives to encourage workers into the sector but Bidois said sentiment had not changed in that they still needed help from migrant workers to sustain businesses going forward.

ASB predicted net immigration of about 60,000 people in 2018 and 50,000 in 2019.

Article by: Holly Ryan, Business writer, NZ Herald

The owner of Napier restaurant Bistronomy says industry moves to pay staff a living wage are a step in the right direction. James Beck recently began paying all of his staff the living wage of $20.55 an hour minimum, and is encouraging others in the industry to do the same.

“We know not everyone can do this but we’re really looking to encourage the bigger players and industry members, not just in hospo but in other major industries, to pay a living wage,” Beck said.

As of this month the minimum wage increased by 75c to $16.50 an hour. The Government has committed to lifting it to $20 an hour by 2021 as part of Labour’s coalition agreement with NZ First.

Beck said the decision was based on finding and retaining good staff, but it also “just felt like the right thing to do”.

Beck says

“The hospo industry is bloody hard work and myself and my partner as owners work bloody hard, but our staff work almost as hard as we do, so it felt fair to try and pay them something that would give them a comfortable standard of living as well.” 

“As an industry we’re struggling at the moment to find good staff and a lot of that is because I don’t think it’s seen as a long-term career, so part of changing that is by offering a decent wage for people when they start off.”

The living wage is calculated every year by researchers, and is voluntary for businesses to take on board.

Although most of Bistronomy’s senior staff were already on more than $20.50 an hour, Beck said it was an increase for the dishwashers, cleaners and junior staff that would typically start on a lower wage.

He said part of the issue with finding staff was the image of hospitality in New Zealand as an in between or low-paid job as opposed to a career.

“Offering decent pay was a good start,” said Beck.

Restaurant Association chief executive Marisa Bidois said the industry as a whole was looking at ways to attract more people to the industry.

Bidois says

“Most hospitality businesses run on tight margins and wage bills are their single biggest costs.”

“Despite this, many are now understanding that paying slightly higher wages will not only have a significant impact on the wellbeing of staff but also on attracting and retaining good people.”

Bidois said working with the Government on initiatives to encourage young New Zealanders to consider hospitality as career would be a focus for the organisation this year.

Article by: Holly Ryan, Business writer, NZ Herald

Member Spotlight: O.G.B. revitalises a heritage building to create a unique point of difference in Christchurch’s vibrant hospo scene

Once a city of dilapidated buildings bearing the wrath of Mother Nature’s quakes, Christchurch has undergone years of revitalisation efforts and now plays host to a vibrant and creative community – a community full of entrepreneurs such as Nick Inkster, owner of member establishment O.G.B.

We dropped in on Nick at work and caught up with him to chat about O.G.B. and his decision to come back to his roots to rebuild in a city he loves.

After years of working a successful career in Australia, what prompted you to move back to Christchurch and start O.G.B.? 

After the earthquakes, I saw an opportunity. There wasn’t a lot of confidence in Cathedral Square and that’s the heart of our city, and one day it will be the heart again.

I came back in 2015 and took up a lease, which I held for over a year without touching it because I knew it was the location I needed for O.G.B. I dreamed about building O.G.B. since I was a teenager. I wanted to design and build a bar that was going to suit the space and was going to complement the building and the people of Christchurch. I wanted to create that lounge room so that people could come any time of the day, all day, every day, whether it’s for coffee or drink.

What’s the scene like in Christchurch now as opposed to when you were last here?

I loved Christchurch, pre-earthquakes. It was where I grew up and where I first started going out. There was a good night scene and nightlife. But I think now it’s actually more exciting because you’ve got a lot of young entrepreneurs coming into town and they have an opportunity to have a crack [at the game] and it’s sort of putting the pressure on these older boys who’ve been in the industry for a while, and keeping everyone on their toes.

I was fortunate enough to be working in a good job in Australia. I came back and invested my own money into the business, and not the brewery’s money. I’ve tried to carve a point of difference…the bar’s got character and soul in it…it’s me.

What do you think makes the Christchurch scene unique?

Christchurch people have that mentality that nothing can stop them now. We’ve been through such disaster with the earthquakes that people’s morale and mindsets are much stronger; there’s a great sense of belief in terms of what people can create. Everyone saw it as an opportunity to create a new vibrant city.

How have you tried to create your own identity with OGB in the current Christchurch hospo scene?

A lot of people asked me before I opened the bar “what’s your theme?”

My theme is Christchurch. My theme is this building.

There’s a lot of places that are opening up that are themed on other countries, whether it’s Mexico, Thai, Chinese, or Vietnamese. My theme is Christchurch and this building. The bar is called O.G.B. – Old Government Building – and is complemented with that old-time fit out from the 1930s to 1950s to bring back some of that heritage.

What is the best piece of advice you can give someone wanting to start out, either in Christchurch or elsewhere in New Zealand?

Create a point of difference. Whether it’s the location, the coffee you brew, the building you’re in – work on it, stick to what you know, and be realistic about things. If you’re not a chef or a bartender, you’ve got to get the right people to do the job for you. And don’t think you can do everything. Hire the right people with the right skillset.

Any special future plans for OGB or anything else in the works?

Inkster Company (my holdings company) would like to source more old buildings around town for more hospitality establishments in the future. But at the moment, there are a few projects on the go. Parlour Bar, which opens in April, will be it’s own bar and sit next to O.G.B. It’ll be branded differently with its own identity.

What are some of your thoughts around the current landscape of hospitality in New Zealand?

There’s such a market in New Zealand hospitality to change the game by way of bringing back proper old-school hospitality in terms of table service, like what they do in Europe. We don’t do that in New Zealand. With O.G.B., it’s all about style and service. That’s why people love it. We need to encourage operators to acknowledge the customer, engage the customer, and then appreciate the customer. Those are my three rules to my staff. If you can do those three things with a smile, at the end of it, you win every time.

All photos via O.G.B.  |  Video courtesy of Braveheart Christchurch

In case you missed it, check out our March Member Spotlight on The Mussel Inn: Longevity in Hospitality

You need to know what’s changing for your business from 17 April. Inland Revenue is making changes that will integrate tax with your business processes, so sending information to IR will become streamlined with your day to day activity.

Register for a free webinar on 9 April to find out more about payday filing, changes to myIR, changes coming to investment income information, and details on Inland Revenue’s closedown period when it rolls out the changes.

If you’re unable to watch it live, you can still view a recording after the live webinar in your own time, as long as you’ve registered at https://www.cchlearning.co.nz/events/1449-businesses-an-update-on-legislation-and-more-on-changes-coming-in-april

Head to Inland Revenue’s website for more information on what’s coming up: http://www.ird.govt.nz/transformation/businesses

Work the Seasons is an initiative created to connect seasonal employers with seasonal employees, in collaboration with industry (horticulture, tourism, hospitality, viticulture, meat processing, and seafood) and Government.

This site may provide members who have seasonal workforce requirements with a way to reduce recruitment costs and time. Employers may place a job advertisements free of charge and employees can also register online for free.

The Work the Seasons website offers a variety of courses focusing on time management and team work to customer service and much more. As an employer, you can use these courses to encourage skills development in your staff.

Getting Started:

www.worktheseasons.co.nz

1. Click the ‘Sign In / Sign Up’ button in the top right corner on the homepage
2. Select Employer and fill in your details.

You then can work on your company profile, create job advertisements, track the progress of the applicants through recruitment, try out the learning modules that employees have access to, search for talent from the pool of employees who have registered for the site, and watch the short video guide to creating a new employee account so you know what an employee will experience.

Download the employers guide for more of how the website works

For the first time, the National Secondary Schools Culinary Challenge (NSSCC), the country’s premiere cooking competition for up-coming chefs, is offering a whole lot more than a prize for just a few.

This year, every competitor will get the opportunity to line-up a job, and kick-start a career with internationally recognised on-job training programmes, courtesy of ServiceIQ, Industry Training Organisation for the hospitality industry.

As a sponsor of the popular event, ServiceIQ’s expert hospitality advisers will work with every entrant who is interested in kick-starting a career, by matching them with respected employers and proven on-job training programmes that back-up their talent with the essential skills and knowledge on which to build a career.

This unique and substantial “prize for all” will include the opportunity for some entrants to complete New Zealand’s favourite chef’s apprenticeship programme, that leads to an internationally recognised professional qualification and has launched hundreds of successful culinary careers.

ServiceIQ Schools Manager Mark Dronjak, says it’s exciting to be able to give so many young chefs the chance to turn up the heat on a cookery career as soon as they leave school.

“The reality is that New Zealand has a major shortage of skilled chefs. People with the right blend of practice, theory and real hands-on experience who can be relied on to walk into the heat of a commercial kitchen and perform at a professional level. But at the same time there are lots of passionate young people mastering cookery at school using ServiceIQ learning material, and who want to make a career being a chef. Through our sponsorship, we are able to put the two together to benefit everyone – students and employers, and over time, diners in cafés, restaurants and hotels around New Zealand. It’s a win-win!”

The NSSCC competition is open to all students over the age of 15 at the time of the Grand Final on 4 September 2018. https://www.cadt.nz/page/nsscc-entry-information/

With Auckland as the host city for the 2021 America’s Cup event, the impact of the event has gathered mixed emotions and reports.

A recent article titled “Viaduct hospitality businesses call for re-think of immigration laws ahead of America’s Cup” was recently published on 27 March 2018 with some inaccuracies about the Essential Skills work visa requirements and, in working with Immigration New Zealand, we wanted to address the article with the corrections.

This article states that:

Many restaurants and bars are staffed by immigrants and seasonal workers. Under new immigration changes, migrants will now need to earn at least $49,000 to be eligible for a skilled worker visa – hospitality workers often earn less. 

1. There is no such visa category as “skilled worker visa”. 

There is the Skilled Migrant Category (residence class) visa, and Essential Skills work visa.  It is believed that this article is referring to the latter.

2. Essential Skills policy does allow those earning less than $49,000 to apply for a work visa.

3. Those in higher skilled ANZSCO 1 to 3 occupations (including Chefs, Cooks, Café/Restaurant Managers amongst other hospitality-related occupations) who are earning 85% (or more) of the current median income level are entitled to Essential Skills work visas of up to 3 years in duration.

This amounts to earnings of approximately $43,000 per year (or $20.65 per hour).  Those earning less than that are still entitled to apply for a work visa, however if they are approved will only be entitled to a work visa of maximum duration of 12 months.  Further, they will only be able to apply for work visas on the basis of lower-skilled employment for 3 consecutive years before being required to serve a one year stand down period.

4. Those in lower skill ANZSCO 4 and 5 occupations (including Waiters, Bar Attendants, Baristas etc) are entitled to a maximum of a 12-month duration Essential Skills visa if their application is approved. 

The same stand down rules apply as per the above.

In the situation described in this article, there would be nothing to prevent Viaduct Harbour businesses from applying for Essential Skills work visas covering the duration of the America’s Cup event.

Should you have any further questions, please contact us at 0800 737 827.

Nominations for Lewisham Awards are officially open!

It’s that time of year again for the hospo community of Auckland nominate who you think is the best of the best within the Auckland hospitality industry!

This is your chance to nominate and vote in 19 categories for your fellow hospo crew members, suppliers and establishments who you think are doing a stellar job of serving up the goods in Auckland.

Eat New Zealand (formerly ConversatioNZ) has launched a new online resource for people to discover the best of New Zealand cuisine. The new website has been made possible via a grant from Auckland Airport, in joint application by Eat New Zealand and the Restaurant Association of New Zealand, and focuses on showcasing New Zealand as a top destination for food tourism.

There is a great journey being started here by promoting the quality of our produce, the skill, creativity and passion of our people, and the spirit of the people creating the food. The Restaurant Association is proud to partner with Eat New Zealand to showcase our members as part of New Zealand’s story about food.

www.eatnewzealand.nz

All Restaurant Association members receive a free membership with the new Eat New Zealand platform and have been included on the site. Simply type the name of your establishment into the universal search field on the top right hand corner of any page.

Update 23 March 2018

A new website has brought together two of New Zealand’s biggest industries; food and tourism: www.eatnewzealand.nz

The Eat New Zealand website, launched today, has over two thousand food businesses listed including eating establishments, farmers markets, events, food tourism venues and operators throughout the country.

It’s the first time New Zealand’s Farmers Markets have been listed on the same platform and the first time regional food information can be found in the same place. It’s been designed so a food itinerary of the country can be made.

The huge undertaking is only the beginning, and the organisation behind the website hopes it will become the landing place for New Zealand food.

Eat New Zealand CEO, Angela Clifford, explains it’s part of the movement’s ultimate goal to put New Zealand cuisine on the world map. “We’ve seen what New Nordic Cuisine can do for Scandinavia’s food and tourism and we believe our country is ripe for this type of gastronationalism. We have incredible ingredients enjoyed around the world, but we’ve not been good at connecting those with people’s experiences when they visit the country. We believe this is a significant step in that direction”.

Eat New Zealand’s founder is Giulio Sturla from Roots Restaurant in Lyttelton and he is excited by the collaborative nature that moved things so quickly from its origins as a day of talks in 2015. “We knew the time was right, and my experience of the rise of cuisines in places like South America showed me we had everything we need here to show the world a completely unique offering. What has been achieved in less than three years is amazing, but there’s still so much work to do. It would be wonderful to see our government organisations and New Zealand Tourism get behind this push”.

The opportunity was obvious to Eat New Zealand’s strategic partner, The Restaurant Association of New Zealand. “We’ve always been about food, and anything that raises the profile of our members’ businesses and New Zealand food in general is worthy of our support. We’re excited to work with Eat New Zealand on this website and embrace the big vision and long-term goals” says CEO Marisa Bidois.

The website was built with the tourism grant from Auckland International Airport Ltd and Mark Frood, International Market Development Manager, says “We’ve always under-done food and beverage in this country. We’ve undersold our manaakitanga or hospitality, and when you combine that with our ingredients in our unique landscape, and a year-round food offering, we have no doubt there is plenty of scope to increase food tourism in this country”.

Cuisine Magazine owner and editor Kelli Brett says “Even just having the first conversations about regional food on this website is important. Each regional tourism association and economic agency has been developing their food story, but there’s been no national co-ordination. That alone is hugely exciting”.

The Eat New Zealand collective is a not for profit organisation and has had to be creative about finding money, but it has the support of many of the country’s top chefs, media, event and tourism operators. The executive includes CEOs from Wellington Culinary Events Trust and Taste of Auckland and they’ve created fundraising events under their respective umbrellas, but the history of the movement has been the collaborative efforts of restaurants.

In this spirit, the new website launch coincides with a collaborative fundraising dinner between Amisfield and Roots Restaurant on Wednesday, April 11th in Christchurch. Some proceeds will go to Eat New Zealand and they are hoping it will provide a template for other restaurants to do the same. Amisfield head chef Vaughan Mabee was recently awarded the Innovation Award at the Cuisine Good Food Awards and the dinner promises to be at the cutting edge of New Zealand cuisine. “We have a saying in the kitchen” smiles Sturla “Push, push, push.” “We know this website and the movement that supports it is the beginning of a new era for New Zealand food. We’re determined to keep pushing to put our food, places and people together on the world map”.

For more information:
Angela Clifford
CEO-Eat New Zealand
angela@eatnewzealand.nz
Ph: 0274242871
www.eatnewzealand.nz
Instagram: @eat.newzealand

Globally, as our industry is continually becoming more technologically advanced, we are always interested in where the hospitality industry in the New Zealand landscape is at. 

The Restaurant Association recently surveyed our members to find out what percentage of payments made by customers in their businesses are cash transactions, as opposed to electronic payments (EFTPOS, debit and credit card).

Here are the results:

CLICK IMAGE BELOW TO ENLARGE

Now, Colour Accounting, the highly successful accounting training programme for non-financial managers, is available here in New Zealand.

ServiceIQ, in partnership with BDO Accountants, are holding Colour Accounting One Day Workshops around the country, or on-site at businesses, to give non-financial managers in New Zealand organisations all the benefits of being financially literate.

That’s because these days, managers and business owners are expected to have a good level of financial knowledge as part of their role. Until now, that’s been easier said than done. Many managers may have got to where they are with other skills, but today their role demands that they get to grips with practical financial concepts. That’s where Colour Accounting comes in.

It’s a highly successful accounting training programme that uses real life examples managers can relate to easily. Internationally, it’s the method proven to make non-financial managers confident masters of the financial essentials, and all in just one day.

The presentation is also a lot of fun, and at the end of the day, you’ll have a good, practical working knowledge of important accounting principles that you can use every day.

The Colour Accounting One Day Workshop can also be tailored as an on-site presentation to managers at your business.

Check out the 60 second video at www.ServiceIQ.org.nz/colour to find out more about the programme.

Book a workshop

Either contact Nikki Rogers, ServiceIQ Training and Development Manager on 027-667 4584 to book a one-day Colour Accounting workshop for your managers.

Or simply register online at ServiceIQ.org.nz/colour