FM's Best Concept Awards program is designed to showcase the best of the many innovations developed by onsite dining operators who work to provide attractive, healthful and affordable meals to specific in-house clienteles. Unlike their commercial restaurant counterparts, onsite operators often toil in anonymity even within their host organizations.
The annual Best Concept Awards are designed to shed some well-deserved light on some of these achievements. They also serve to emphasize just how creative the onsite dining community is as a whole and to give our larger reader community some new ideas they can use to manage their own operations more efficiently and better serve their customers. Learn more about the winners:
Best of Show: Restaurant Associates
The innovations at Restaurant Associates have won a string of FM Best Concept Awards over the past decade…
Best Customer Service: Compass Group at Microsoft
Cashierless payment/ordering system accomodates made-to-order menu selections customers prefer...
Best Renovation: Hampshire Dining Commons, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
More than 70% of what’s offered is customizable and all cooking is display style...
Best New Facility: Bruin Plate, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
The venue design incorporates floor-to-ceiling windows with panoramic views of the campus...
Best Station/Unit Concept: Manna, Castle Rock (CO) Adventist Hospital
Manna was conceived three years ago as part of the brand new Parker Adventist hospital in Castle Rock...
Best Wellness Concept: Smart Choice Smart U, University of California at San Francisco Medical Center
Smart Choice Smart U makes choosing healthy options easier...
Best Menu Concept: Smoothie Program, Pinellas County (FL) Schools
The program started with only a dozen recipes last fall and now has almost three times as many options...
Best Convenience Retailing Concept: District Market, University of Washington
District Market specializes in healthy and sustainable products...
Best Management Company Concept: Mindful, Sodexo
A partnership with Fitbit also encourages physical activity to complement the healthy dining program...
Best Special Event: Bayer 150th Anniversary Employee Celebration, Bayer Corp. and Parkhurst Dining
The five chefs worked for months in advance to develop recipes with high-quality, fresh ingredients...
