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Who? Dudi Ashkenazi, Manager, Grand Court Hotel, Jerusalem
Waiters Race organized: Hotel Grand Court Jerusalem Waiters Race 2009, on August 11th.
Number of waiters races organized: one
About the Grand Court Hotel Jerusalem
WR.com: since when does the Hotel exist?
Dudi Ashkenazi: The Grand Court Hotel opened in 2005. It is one of the newest hotels of Jerusalem. It has 442 rooms, big gardens, a restaurant and a swimming pool. The Grand Court Hotel is located close to the old city of Jerusalem.
WR.com: What kind of customers do you have?
Dudi Ashkenazi: We have all kind of customers. Many of our customers are tourists who come to visit the cultural aspects of Jerusalem. We also have a lot of French people who like Jerusalem and enjoy our hotel very much.
About the winner of the race
WR.com: One word about the winner of your race, Bassel Halawani. When did he start working in the Grand Court hotel?
Dudi Ashkenazi: Bassel Halawani started working at the Grand Court Hotel at its opening. He is a very good waiter. We are happy that he won the race.
About Waiters Race and its concept
WR.com: When did you hear for the first time about a waiters race and how did the idea to organize it in Jerusalem came up?
Dudi Ashkenazi: I heard about waiters races in general a few years ago in the media and the news papers and in particular about the one hold in Paris. We thought it could be a good idea to organize a race here in Jerusalem. We hope that in the future we will send our winner to an international race there.
WR.com: How did you decide to organize a race after you’ve heard about this tradition?
Dudi Ashkenazi: It took a few months before we decided to organize it. We heard about other races in the world, the way they were handled, and we decided to have a race with real food and drinks on the tray. A waiters race is a very nice way for a professional waiter to show his ability.
WR.com: Did you have to obtain any legal authorization from local authorities to organize the race in the street?
Dudi Ashkenazi: Actually, it happened in the street just in front of the Grand Court Hotel. It is a circle, so it is very suitable for the race. Therefore, we did not have to ask for authorization because we did not stop the traffic.
WR.com: Was is it difficult to organize the race?
Dudi Ashkenazi: It was not difficult to organize the race. It was a very exciting event for everyone. Even our guests came to see the race. And it was not expensive, the food and drinks came from the hotel.
About the media coverage of the race
WR.com: Did you have to work hard to get this incredible media coverage?*
Dudi Ashkenazi: We organized the media coverage of the event with our PR agency who informed cameramen and news teams and advertised for us in the media.Many journalists were interested and came. I found that the movie of the waiters race was even shown in Japan and Arabic countries.
WR.com: Were the persons involved in the waiters race satisfied with the event?
Dudi Ashkenazi: They liked it very much. First of all they were proud to participate. Secondly, for them , it was a unique event where they were the stars, so they liked it.
WR.com: Did you bring some VIP or special guests to the race?
Dudi Ashkenazi: No, for the first one we did not bring anyone especially for that, but for the next one we will do it.
About the profession of waiters in Israel
WR.com: How about the profession of waiters in Israel. Is there a waiters school in Israel?
Dudi Ashkenazi: I think that there is no waiters school in Israel. There is a professional hotel school in Tadmor Hertzlia however they do not have anymore a special course for waiters. Most of the waiters in Israel are young people who work and study at the same time, it is a part time job for most of them however some of them stay afterwards to work full time.
Advices of the organizer
WR.com: What are the main components of a successful waiters race? could you please give us a few advices for other organizers?
Dudi Ashkenazi: First of all, try to have many participants. Secondly, think about all the details, particularly regarding the content of the tray.
WR.com: Did you have judges for the race?
Dudi Ashkenazi: In order to be fair with the participants we had to make sure to have judges and degrees. We had to know who was the winner in case two waiters arrive at the same time. So we measured everything.
About WaitersRace.com and its services for organizers
WR.com: Did you know that an international community website dedicated to the waiters race existed?
Dudi Ashkenazi: No I did not. If I knew that there was a website like WaitersRace.com, for sure I would have promoted the race on it also before the race.
