Peter Avis

When the alarm clock goes off in the morning, don’t press snooze, get up, get out and be something! Doing this changed my life!

Before you meet the inaugural UK Restaurant Manager of the Year you know you are in for a treat. Any front of house staff worth their salt (let alone the UK Champ) will make you feel welcome, special and well-looked after without appearing obsequious, overstepping the mark or, to put it bluntly, getting in your face. Without even knowing through which extraordinary hoops Peter had to jump before triumphing in last year’s competition, it was not hard to see why Peter wears this prestigious crown, ticking, as he does, all the above boxes and more.

We all love a rags-to-riches story and Peter’s tale does not disappoint. Having left school in Liverpool at the age of 16 with fewer than a handful of GCSEs to his name, the one GCSE Peter is so proud of is his A* in food studies. He always knew he had a genuine passion for food and he made sure he always exceeded in this subject. He was unclear which direction his career was going to take until, aged 18, he joined his sister for a two-week holiday in Miami – he stayed for four years.

Peter’s first job in Miami was as a dishwasher. “I loved the job,” says Peter. “I went in every day knowing that each and every dish I washed was going to be done to the best of my ability.” With such an attitude it was hardly surprising that within a couple of months he had been spotted by the owner and was asked to help out as a commis waiter.

In the intervening years Peter has been head waiter at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas – where the importance of training, communication, service, consistency and grooming were instilled in him; a waiter at the Royal Garden Hotel, London – where his general manager spotted his burning ambition and put him on a trainee manager course; and assistant manager at a private restaurant/club in Knightsbridge, London.

Peter believes that it is a manager’s responsibility to instil passion into his or her team to get everyone working to their very best. “Never be complacent,” he says. “Always be ahead of the game and never lose your passion for whatever it is you choose to do.”