RESTAURANT MANAGER OF THE YEAR:
Arun Narayanan, Blue Orange Restaurant, The Westin Dubai
You significantly increased covers at Blue Orange in a short space of time — how?
It’s a combination of changes that we made to our product and our people to influence the market. Together with chef Jay, chef Luke, Joel and Shelston (my immediate assistants) we focused on building a strong team who wanted to deliver and win.
We drafted and executed our training plans, re-imagined our business, checked what the competition was doing, and kept on telling ourselves that there’s much more that we can do. Our guest database grew stronger and stronger and they kept coming back with new friends and family which resulted in increased covers.
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It’s a cumulative result of all that we did. However, the most significant impact was the introduction of our Friday brunch “Bubbalicious”, which has a phenomenal following.
You emphasise guest focused service — how do you train your staff on this and ensure it is delivered?
I believe it all starts with Westin service culture. It’s an ongoing and hands-on training process for each and every individual who is in direct guest contact. As my team is large we broke them down into smaller teams led by a certified trainer.
They have classroom training and on -the-job training and a manager accompanies them at all times. During all our service periods a leadership presence helps a lot, for associates and guests alike.
What does this award mean to you?
It’s so special for me, I can’t explain it in words. Any recognition, or even a comments card from a guest with a staff name on it makes me feel so proud. More than anything I was very lucky to have a great team and all their efforts count towards this award. All our restaurants in Mina Seyahi have won awards and Blue Orange was the only one left, so I am exceptionally proud.
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