Tales from the Pass: Amanda Rogers

In this episode of Tales from the Past, the Restaurant Association of New Zealand podcast, we sit down with Amanda Rogers, founder of Waitstaff Pro and former owner of Ampersand Eatery in Auckland. Amanda shares her journey through the hospitality industry, from early café roles to leading one of Auckland's much-loved venues, and now supporting the next generation of front of house professionals. She reflects on the lessons learned from running a busy hospitality business, including the importance of team culture, training, and creating a clear "why" that drives great service. This conversation explores the realities of hospitality leadership, building strong teams, trusting others, and adapting to the changing expectations of customers. Amanda also offers practical insights for operators who are feeling stretched, with simple and actionable advice on training, delegation, and creating consistency in service. The Restaurant Association is the link between good food and good business. It supports New Zealand's diverse and creative hospitality businesses to deliver first-class experiences to diners. Since its humble beginnings in 1972, it has worked to offer advice, help and assistance in every facet of the vibrant and diverse hospitality industry. The organisation now represents, advocates and cheerleads for more than 2500 hospitality businesses within New Zealand. It offers advice and assistance on key industry issues, from property lease advice to wellness in the workplace. The Association also provides its members with industry-wide accreditation programmes, which set best practice standards and help them measure how they're tracking. It also works in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development to deliver the Hospostart and Springboard training programmes.