Pip Harrison has been at the Taradale Rd store for 30 years.
Pip Harrison has been at the Taradale Rd store for 30 years.
For the four finalists in the sales and supply category there is one word that continues to emerge when it comes to describing how they approach the job - service.
"For us it's not just down to one person though, it is a team effort," Liquor King store manager PipHarrison said.
"And it is all about service."
She has been at the Taradale Rd store for 30 years and seen plenty of changes across the hospitality industry - all for the good.
She says while her role is a management one she continues to get out on the floor as well as on the road to meet customers and clients.
"It's all about building rapport with people and looking after them - that is the major thing."
He is territory manager for Rod McDonald Wines and looks after clients in the lower North Island from Taupo to Gisborne and to Wellington.
Like Pip Harrison, he is no stranger to the hospitality awards having been a finalist in the bartender category in 2010 when he worked at Diva in Havelock North.
He has been "on the road" in his new job for the past six months and likes working the days rather than into the night.
"And we have a great team here - great to all work in together."
David Thompson says it is vital to keep the chefs and the hospitality industry interested in what is available and on offer.
That was how David Thompson of Gourmeats, which he set up in August last year, saw it also.
"It's a three-person team here and it's all about getting great products and giving great service to people," he said.
Many of the products in the range were Hawke's Bay-sourced fine meat products, and he said it was vital to keep the chefs and the hospitality industry as a whole interested in what was available and on offer.
He described himself as the managing director, administration chief, salesman and butcher.
"It's all about working hard and looking after people."
Steve Olley puts in two to three days a week visiting the restaurants in Hawke's Bay.
Steve Olley at Elephant Hill winery is the fourth finalist and he won the title two years ago and was a finalist last year.
He has been with Elephant Hill for 18 months and puts in two to three days a week, visiting the restaurants in Hawke's Bay to meet its many clients.
"I like working in with people and it's all about good service, which comes easier when you've got a great product."
He said the Elephant Hill team was a small one but hugely devoted to, and focused on, the hospitality front.
"It's great to get out and meet the customers on a regular basis and it's a pretty vibrant industry at this time - we had five or six new restaurants open in the Bay over the past year."
