Hilton and Aqua waiters win National Waiters' Day contest

21 May 2015 by James Stagg

Waiting staff from Hilton London Metropole and Aqua Group have won this year's National Waiters' Day race.

Edgar Qudrhasovs from the London Hilton Metropole was the fastest waiter, while Hattie Clark from Aqua Group was the fastest waitress.

They beat some 300 other competitors in the race in London's Hyde Park.

The waiters had to run along a stretch of the park carrying a cup and bottle of water on a tray. The winner was the first to complete the race with the props intact.
The team prize went to Prezzo.

Clark (pictured) said: "I love my job. It's great having interaction with customers every day and having the satisfaction of offering a high level of service."

National Waiters' Day was founded by Galvin at Windows general manager Fred Sirieix to raise the profile of front of house roles.

Sirieix told the waiters in Hyde Park: "The reason we started National Waiters' Day is because our profession hasn't until now been regarded as a great profession with prospects. But it's not the case. There are many people making great careers in the industry, and there's never been such a great opportunity given the growth in hospitality.

Qudrhasovs runs to the finish line during the National Waiters' Day 2015 race

"The industry needs people with passion and determination. We need to attract more people with those qualities as it leads to a great career."

National Waiters' Day is led by Springboard, who run the legacy projects, and sponsored by Bunzl.

Races also took place in Edinburgh - where a team from DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh City Centre challenged local operators to a race - on the Glebe in Bowness-on-Windermere, and in Exeter.

All cash raised by National Waiters' Day will be used for legacy projects, including schemes where hospitality professionals go out to schools to teach youngsters about hospitality and the career potential in the industry.

Springboard chief executive Anne Pearce explained: "One of the legacy programmes we've been developing as a result of National Waiters' Day is a programme in schools to encourage more young people to gain the skills they need to enter the industry in hospitality service and food and drink service. We're piloting it in Glasgow at the moment, thanks to the support of National Waiters' Day."