Applejack Annual Awards Conference

We celebrated our leadership group at our Applejack Annual Awards Conference

Applejack’s vision is to be one of Australia’s leading hospitality group, and we believe that the way to achieve this is with our people.

The Applejack Annual Award (AAA) conference was about bringing our leadership group together and celebrating the success they have had in their roles and with their team over the last 12 months. This AAA conference was special because it was the inaugural conference, but also the first time we have bonded as a group in over 2 years.

From the Monday 25th – Wednesday 27th of July, members of the senior leadership team all headed to the South Coast with the crew from Unique Team Building to take part in the AAA conference.

With our Applejack purpose in mind, the 3 day conference was set out to inspire, challenge and motivate the current leaders of Applejack including our Head Office team, Head Chefs, General Managers and senior leaders in the company, as well as our Applejack Directors Ben and Hamish. From teamwork challenges to an awards night, keep reading to see some of the highlights from the conference.

The Trip Highlights

Annual Award Night
The Applejack Annual Award ceremony took place on the evening of the second night where Ben and Hamish wanted to use the night to acknowledge the hard work of the senior leadership team and show their appreciation for their support, especially over the past few years.

We were treated to an incredible dinner in the dining room before the awards were announced.

Joel Doyle (Applejack Tournant Chef) – The Latest & Greatest: For the best new hire

Laura Veal (The Botanist Assistant General Manager) – The Applejack Award: For someone who lives and breathes Applejack

Rohit Bohora (Forrester’s Head Chef) – The Pillar Of Strength Award:  For someone that always goes above and beyond.

Alexandra Barron (Applejack Group Digital Marketing Manager) – The HQ Hero

A big congratulations to all our winners!

Teamwork Challenges
The trip was all about unlocking the power of teamwork. We were presented with activities designed to encourage the team to lower theirs guards, challenge themselves and work as a collective. The first morning started as we were all split into 4 teams. We then took part in a series of challenging mind games and physical activities, set to encourage team work and critical thinking.

The Iron Chef:
The Iron Chef challenge took place on the first evening comprised of each team creating and preparing a menu (entree, main & dessert) for the judges, before digging into the dishes themselves. Each team had access to a pantry and fridge full of fresh produce as well as their own kitchen. The challenge took place over 2 hours and dishes including bread and butter pudding hit the table for the judges and teams to enjoy.

Downtime:
The afternoons were there to relax and explore the estate we were staying. From saying a quick hello to the resident cows to soaking up some sunshine on the green as well as heading down to the beach to do some boomerang throwing and exploring, everyone took some time out before the evening activities were set to take place.

The 3 days conference was a huge success that brought our people together to identify strengths, weaknesses and most importantly building stronger relationships within the company, to reach our goal of becoming one of Australia’s leading hospitality groups! As a leadership group we feel we are stronger and more united as a team. A big thank you to Ben, Hamish and our HR Manager Matt Jenkins for putting on this amazing AAA Conference.

We’re always looking for future leaders, if you want to join the Applejack fam, get in touch today!

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