Amie Duncan, The Butchershop Bar & Grill, Glasgow
Daniel Harrison, De Vere Village Urban Resorts, Wirral
Dace Lace, Bat Globe House, London WC2
Karen Lee, The Cavendish Hotel, London SW1
Sunnil Panjabi, The Punch Tavern, London EC4
Ian Sturrock, The Arts Club, London W1
Amelia Thornhill, The Rockingham Arms, Hants
Carlos Villacanas, Hyatt Regency – The Churchill, London W1
Alper Zan, Café Rouge, Ellesmere Port

The nine managers will go through to the semi-finals being held in London at the beginning of October, where they will be interviewed by experts and tested on their knowledge as well as presenting a business proposal to a panel of judges. From this, the top managers will go through to the final.

Now in its sixth year, the competition will for the first time see members of the judging panel visiting the finalists in their own establishments to spend the day looking at service standards and training.

“Each candidate will have different challenges according to his or her area of work and we felt it was important to see how they dealt with typical issues that arise in their own establishments,” explained AFWS operations director Sheila Fraser-Whyte.

The competition aims to reward the best managers in the food service sector – whether from fine-dining restaurants, gastro pubs, high street dining operations, hotel restaurants or those run by contract caterers.

Judge Stephen Motion, sales director for sponsor Bookatable.com, commented: “I am looking forward to being a judge for the competition again this year. As an ex-operator myself with a background in the pub trade, hotels and casual dining, the competition allows me to gain valuable exposure to the candidates varying business needs. This insight helps Bookatable evolve its technology solutions to make life easier for restaurant managers.”

The winner will be announced at a gala dinner awards ceremony at London’s Roof Gardens on 17 November 2014. Tickets are available for the event on the AFWS website at www.afws.co.uk.