CAFÉ OF THE YEAR RETURNS IN 2014

Award helps generate consumer interaction

With Kiwis dining out more than ever, the positive habits instilled in hospitality staff by events such as the Café Of The Year competition represent a motivational way to improve businesses.

The Restaurant Association of New Zealand sanctioned competition returns for its third year in 2014 on the back of news that the sector has experienced its best growth in some time .

The Café Of The Year award attracted 660 entries in 2013 and more than 45,000 votes from the public. Restaurant Association CEO Marisa Bidois says that’s proof there is great public interaction generated by the competition.

“The Café Of The Year award is about much more than winning; it’s also about improving businesses,” Bidois says. “While we would hesitate to claim it has been responsible for all the growth in the industry, we do believe the award impacts positively on staff and builds habits that remain with them long after the winner has been crowned.”

Business improvement is not the only incentive for cafés to encourage their patrons to support them in the Café Of The Year.

The supreme café owner gets to drive away in a Renault Clio R.S. 200 worth more than $40,000. Regional winning cafés each receive $1,500 worth of Goodman Fielder products and $1,500 worth of Wattie’s products.

Café Of The Year award entries open today (1 July) and the winners are announced in December. Cafés need to register at www.nzcafeoftheyear.co.nz before 25 August.

The award is organised by Auckland-based Image Centre Group (ICG) and supported by Wattie’s, Goodman Fielder, the Restaurant Association and Renault.

Entry criteria
Only cafés that have a qualifying dish on their menu can enter. The dish must contain in its ingredients at least one specified product from Wattie’s and Goodman Fielder – details are on the website.

Voting process
Café-goers vote for their favourite café and three in each of six regions become finalists. The 18 finalists then enter the Café of the Year judging phase with one regional winner selected in each region. The supreme winner of Café of the Year for 2014 is then chosen from the six regional winners.

About Café Of The Year
Café Of The Year was launched by the Image Centre Group in 2012. More than 400 entries were received nationwide in the first year and 660 in 2013. Regions are Upper North Island (North of Orewa), Urban Auckland (Orewa to Papakura), Lower North Island (South of Bombay), Wellington, Christchurch and South Island Regions.

About The Restaurant Association of New Zealand
The Restaurant Association of New Zealand has hundreds of members covering the length and breadth of the country, representing every facet of the restaurant and hospitality industry.

The industry employs more than 100,000 people at nearly 15,000 restaurants and food outlets and generates sales in excess of $7 billion. Restaurant Association offers its members business tools, support and advice for growing their businesses and breaking new ground in the fast growing hospitality arena.

About Image Centre Group
Auckland-based Image Centre Group (ICG) is a diversified communications business with interests in printing, retail advertising, digital communications, video production and publishing.  Founded in 1989 as a pre-press provider, ICG now employs more than 200 New Zealanders across eight brands with one vision – to satisfy the brand or communications strategies of all its customers.  Full info at www.image-centre.com.

Issued for NZ Café Of The Year by Pead PR

Contact:
Jane Torrance, Pead PR, Tel: 0-9-918 5534, Mob: 021 393 157, email: jane@peadpr.co.nz