Indian Star Tandoori Restaurant owner Ray Singh won the RA Lexis Comply Hub Local Hospo Hero award at the Rotorua Resilience Awards. Photo / File
Indian Star Tandoori Restaurant owner Ray Singh won the RA Lexis Comply Hub Local Hospo Hero award at the Rotorua Resilience Awards. Photo / File
The Rotorua hospitality industry has acknowledged those who have made a significant contribution in response to 2020's Covid-19 pandemic.
Presented by the Restaurant Association of New Zealand, the Rotorua Resilience Awards recognise those who have gone above and beyond to keep their people employed, help their communities and keep their businesses alive.
The RA Lexis Comply Hub Local Hospo Hero award, one of three categories, was awarded to Ray Singh, of Indian Star Tandoori Restaurant.
Indian Star is Eat Streat's longest-running restaurant.
Singh was nominated for his relentless commitment to the local industry and for his involvement in charity events, especially during the Covid-19 outbreak.
He donated food to feed the volunteers in Rotorua, to the local homeless community as well as gifting meals to hospital staff in recognition of their service.
Matt Cooper from Social Eats won the Eftpos NZ Outstanding Innovation award.
Cooper has been a chef for 30 years, having worked all over New Zealand and Australia.
As a chef at Rotorua's The Pullman Hotel, he lost his job during a restructure prompted by the pandemic.
A local of Rotoma, Cooper saw a gap in the market to set up a gourmet home-delivered meal business. His idea was to cook wholesome and affordable pre-prepared meals for the local community.
He named his new enterprise Social Eats and quickly moved from making meals out of his home kitchen to a food truck. His quick thinking and ability to execute a new business which is now flourishing is the epitome of innovation.
The OneMusic Outstanding Community Spirit award went to Scope Cafe Rotorua.
Scope, owned by Steve and Dana Greer, won the OneMusic Outstanding Community Spirit award. Photo / File
The ability to stay positive and act as a cheerleader for the local community wasn't easy for the hospitality community.
However, the team at Scope were relentlessly optimistic, staying active on their social channels, and encouraging people to keep a positive outlook.
They ran a number of giveaways for essential workers and made donations to local charities and businesses.
They also rallied around their team to keep them motivated while at home, holding weekly team calls and checking in on them individually. They made sure all staff were receiving 100 per cent of their usual salary.
Restaurant Association CEO Marisa Bidois said: "Over the year we've been overwhelmed by some of the stories we've heard - of people and businesses around the country with amazing community spirit, those who have innovated and changed, and those who have found silver linings in the most challenging of times.
"It has never been more important for diners to get out to try the fantastic array of local dining spots, so we hope these awards inspire the Rotorua community to support their locals."
OneMusic director Greer Davies said: "If there's been one silver lining from 2020, it's been the privilege of witnessing the spirit, compassion and manaakitanga shown by people and businesses, both large and small.
"It hasn't been an easy ride, and like the hospitality sector, the music community has been massively impacted this year. Thanks for making things a little easier for your community and congratulations."
Rotorua Resilience Awards Winners
Eftpos NZ Outstanding Innovation Matt Cooper, Social Eats
OneMusic Outstanding Community Spirit Scope Cafe Rotorua
RA Lexis ComplyHub Outstanding Local Hospo Hero Ray Singh, Indian Star Tandoori Restaurant
