MHRA ‘Recommended’ label for restaurants

Eight restaurants were awarded the prestigious ‘Recommended’ label by the Malta Hotels & Restaurants Association at an awards ceremony last week.

The restaurants – Black Pearl, Blue Elephant, Grill 3301, La Mentha, Medina, Quadro, Rickshaw and Vinotheque – were the first ever to receive the label in recognition of achievements in professional management, quality food, and high service standards.

Endorsed by the Malta Tourism Authority, the label has been designed to cater for restaurants falling within the fine dining or casual dining categories.

It is being bestowed on those participants who pass an assessment on 10 areas of good management practices and service, including a mystery guest audit. The results are then scrutinised by an independent panel made up of non-operational past members of the MHRA and a representative from MTA.

The panel is chaired by Judge Joe Galea Debono, a former secretary general of the MHRA before being appointed chairman of National Tourism Organisation in the early 1990s, and eventually to the bench of Judges.

Successful participants of the scheme are awarded a certificate and plaque to be displayed in a prominent place in their respective restaurant.

Meanwhile, the MHRA and MTA are developing market awareness through inclusion in their literature, mail shots, advertising and through their websites.

When the scheme was launched in March, 12 establishments had originally applied for participation. Eventually one establishment withdrew its application, while three more are in the process of implementing the necessary criteria.

At the ceremony last Friday, MHRA president George Micallef explained how the scheme aimed to incentivise restaurant operators to adopt best practice across their operation.

Participants are allowed a six-month ‘adjustment period’ to implement the necessary standards, policies, procedures and training as indicated in the operational guidelines manual given to them on signing the participation contract.

“The restaurant sector is considered a vital component of Malta’s tourism product and through this scheme, the MHRA is aiming to award those that achieved and seek to maintain very highest operational standards,” Mr Micallef said.

The label has a ‘lifespan’ of two years during which the establishment will be re-visited and assessed every six months to ensure that the good management promise and standard of customer care and service has been maintained. Participating restaurants risk losing the label if their standards are deemed to have slipped.

Mario de Marco, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, told guests quality was an essential in the sector, for the benefit of the many local patrons who eat out regularly and leisure or business travelers. Dr de Marco encouraged more restaurateurs to participate in the scheme.