Waitersfriend

Founded in 2005 by Luke Mangan and Lucy Allen the Electrolux Appetite for Excellence program is a fantastic source of inspiration and encouragement for young up and coming hospitality professionals.  The press release below outlines this year’s program and announces the judging panel which is made up of “some of Australia’s most successful chefs, restaurateurs, and industry leaders”. 

Waitersfriend encourages eligible waiters, chefs and restaurateurs to take part in this amazing program.  Plenty of wonderful industry related information can also be found at the Appetite for Excellence website - from industry talks to food articles and recipes and all you need to know about the 2010 program.

PRESS RELEASE

DATE:  FEBRUARY 2010

Electrolux Appetite for Excellence CALL FOR ENTRIES

Electrolux Young Chef, Electrolux Young Waiter, Electrolux Young Restaurateur

Applications are open for Electrolux Appetite for Excellence, the ultimate national competition for young hospitality professionals. This year, Australia’s stellar food industry awards welcome ex-pat and newly awarded two Michelin-starred wunderkind Brett Graham as guest of honour.  Brett is the executive chef/owner of London’s famous The Ledbury in fashionable Notting Hill and is currently serving as mentor to 2007 Young Chef QLD finalist Nicholas Hill.

 The Awards have garnered firm support from Australia’s culinary heavyweights with a highly acclaimed panel of judges, supporters and mentors including co-founder Luke Mangan, Chris Taylor, Tony Bilson, Tetsuya Wakuda, Peter Doyle, Christine Manfield, Guy Grossi, and Philip Johnson. 

Searching Australia for emerging talent within the restaurant and catering industry, Electrolux Appetite for Excellence aims to inspire, support and educate future industry leaders, providing unique career opportunities and enviable prizes. 

 ”The program is all about delivering support and encouragement to young professionals working in all aspects of the hospitality industry. By continuing to reward and recognise outstanding levels of service, culinary skill and restaurant innovation, we hope to grow Australia’s hospitality industry from strength to strength,” said Luke Mangan.

“Electrolux Appetite for Excellence is a unique and valuable hospitality program that we are extremely proud to have supported for the past five years. 

Nurturing young professionals is vital to the continued growth of the industry and it’s really promising to see previous entrants and winners continue to excel since their involvement in this competition,” said John Brown, Managing Director Electrolux Home Products.

2009 Recipients

The Application Process

Applications for Electrolux Young Chef and Electrolux Young Waiter are open to career focused chefs and waiters aged 30 or under, and currently working in the Australian restaurant and catering industry.

Chefs are invited to submit a seasonal menu comprising of canapé, entree, main and dessert. 

Waiters are invited to submit answers to questions testing their food and wine knowledge, customer service and leadership skills. 

Two to three young chef and waiter applicants per state will be invited to participate in the first of two judging selections held in Sydney in June 2010.  From this group, the judging panel, comprising of Australia’s leading chefs and restaurateurs, will select the best seven chefs and waiters to compete in the final selection and judging in July. 

Nominations for Electrolux Young Restaurateur can be put forward by Australia’s industry leaders or by self nomination from individuals who have owned and operated their licensed business for a minimum of two years. Three finalists will be selected by our judges, which include Christine Manfield of Universal, Sydney and Luke Mangan, Sydney, and evaluated via a series of interviews, assessing their business acumen, passion and staff commitment. 

 After the first round of judging, young chefs will participate in a comprehensive and informative coffee session held at the Allpress Roastery where they learn about the raw material from growing and harvesting through to production and blending. Young waiters will be able to participate in an introduction to the fundamentals of espresso preparation and how to achieve the best flavours from your coffee. 

Before final judging takes place, all the national finalists will win an all expenses paid five day tour of one of Australia’s leading food and wine trails from Byron Bay in northern NSW to Sydney to meet and learn from some of Australia’s world renowned pork, dairy, seafood, meat, horticulture and viticulture producers. 

Following the trip, Electrolux Young Chef and Electrolux Young Waiter national finalists will be flown to Sydney for final judging where chefs compete in a mystery box cook-off and waiters are tested in a series of customer skills, food and wine knowledge.  

Application forms and further details are available online at www.appetiteforexcellence.com 

Lucrative Prizes for Young Talent: 

The Electrolux Young Chef and Electrolux Young Waiter Winner prize package offers:

• Sanpellegrino offers the Electrolux Young Chef National winner a once in a lifetime experience to represent Australia and compete in the famous S.Pellegrino Cooking Cup in Venice. This is followed by a visit to the source of two of the world’s most renowned mineral waters - S.Pellegrino located in the Italian Alps and Acqua Panna positioned in the hills of Tuscany, where both the Electrolux Young Chef and Electrolux Young Waiter National Winners will experience the rich heritage, lifestyle and culture of each of the waters.
• Return overseas flights courtesy of Qantas to attend this event and participation in two weeks work experience at a world leading restaurant overseas
• $3,000 cash to assist with travel & overseas work experience expenses
• The highly-acclaimed title and an accompanying trophy 

The Electrolux Young Restaurateur Winner prize package offers:

• A unique opportunity from Sanpellegrino with an all expenses paid trip to London to attend “The S.Pellegrino Worlds 50 Best Restaurants”
• Return overseas flights courtesy of Qantas to attend the London event
• $8,000 cash to be invested in their business

Restaurants Benefit Too

For the establishments of each of the winners, Electrolux will once again be providing an industry prize of commercial kitchen equipment. Eg.  Last year, Electrolux provided an Air-o-Steam Combi Oven with stand to Pettavel Winery Restaurant, a Green&Clean Undercounter Dish/Glass Washer to Montalto & Olive Grove Vineyard Restaurant, and a 4-Burner Gas Range & Oven model for Wasabi. Similar prizes will be included in the 2010 program.  More details to be posted on the website over the coming weeks. 

For further information about applications and award categories, please visit www.appetiteforexcellence.com 

KEY DATES

Entries open                                       01 February 2009

Applications close                             16 April 2010

National Finalist judging                   07 June 2010

National finalists’ announcement     08 June 2010

National finalists’ produce tour        28 June - 04 July 2010

Final judging selection                     05 July 2010

Winners’ announcement                   09 August 2010

THE JUDGES

The Electrolux Appetite for Excellence is supported by some of Australia’s most respected chefs and food industry leaders. 

Electrolux Young Chef Judges:

Electrolux Young Waiter Judges:

Electrolux Young Restaurateur Judges: 

PARTNERS

Naming Rights:  Electrolux         

Principal Partners:  Sanpellegrino and Acqua Panna

Official Airline Partner:  Qantas

Other dedicated partners:  Allpress Espresso; Australian Pork Limited; Fisheries Research and Development Corporation; Grape & Wine Research and Development Corporation; Horticulture Australia Limited; Meat & Livestock Australia; delicious magazine; foodService magazine; and, Learning Curve Solutions.

ENDS

For more information, please contact SMPR:

Sarah Mason

T. 0412 147 416

E.  sarah.masonpr@gmail.com

More industry info…