It’s that time of year again, amigos! We’re dusting off the red carpet, putting on our tuxes and cocktail dresses, and celebrating in style – it’s the Mad Mex Golden Burrito awards! Our annual event awards showcasing the Mad Mex familia that go above and beyond to live our values, and it is never easy to narrow down the winners.
This year we’ve been able to celebrate a particularly talented and amazing group of people. People who have contributed by helping each of our locations to be the best Mexican restaurant in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, or regional Australia that you can imagine. There are also so many ways that our winners have contributed to making Mad Mex the perfect place to work, and we thank each of them for their contributions. Enjoy those Golden Burritos! You’ve earned them.
The Winners
| Values Awards | Winner |
|---|---|
| Connected | Sarish Sharma |
| Authentic | Kerrie Parton |
| Cheeky | Ricardo Vilela |
| Healthy | Jake Presland |
| Own It | Kristie Ann Hall |
Supplier of the Year Red Bull
Corporate Restaurant of the Year Dubbo
Franchisee Restaurant of the Year Doncaster
Support Office Champion of the Year Tamara Dass
Connected – Sarish
Sarish has been with the company for over three years and has been instrumental in opening Mad Mex locations, including Doncaster, Broadmeadows, and Watergardens . Not only does he manage his own work to the highest of standards, but he is a proven mentor, helping other people within the Mad Mex team grow into their roles and become high achievers themselves. Whether he’s providing helpful tips to the marketing team, getting out there in his community to understand what the locals are craving, or expertly managing his team, Sarish is the true embodiment of an employee that is connected to everything we as a company hold dear.
Authentic – Kerrie
The Authentic award goes to a person that we can always rely on to show up, contribute, and be an enthusiastic member of the team with no catches, pretences, or ego. Kerrie embodies this award to a “T”. There is not a day that she doesn’t turn up and perform to the best of her ability and contribute to the company in a true and meaningful way. Her honestness and forthrightness has meant that she’s in the top 10 of the -balanced scorecard, and has achieved a Gold Operations Excellence Report this year, and her star within the Mad Mex community is rising still.
Cheeky – Ricardo
Our familia works hard, and we play hard. No one better represents the best of both those worlds than Ricardo, who provides a true burst of brightness to anyone who has the privilege of working with him. He’s full of energy, passion, and enthusiasm, anywhere he goes he brings positiveness and excitement.
In the past year Ricardo has boosted team spirits by creating fun little videos, and has helped boost productivity through small, but engaging challenges that he sets for his team and peers. He’s also one of our best performers out there in the community, with his personable style meaning that locals love dropping in to say hi and grab a burrito.
Healthy – Jake
Mad Mex is committed to healthy, full lives, and in Jake we see that commitment every day. For the past year he has been running two restaurants, successfully, despite the challenges of COVID and other disruptions. What’s more, in the past nine months, he has been part of no fewer than four Mad Teams, helping to mentor newcomers to the familia, and has taken an active role in mentoring supervisors and training his people. It’s been a challenge, but his positive atmosphere has also made it rewarding and productive for everyone that he’s been involved with, and the entire Mad Mex familia is the stronger for Jake’s leadership.
Own It – Kristie
To “own it” in the Mad Mex familia means to take on every challenge with a positive and proactive spirit. Kristie is the very definition of extreme ownership. If she doesn’t know how to do something, rather than try and pass the buck, she finds the answer and makes things happen!
In fact, Kristie’s willingness to get involved and take control of her role has led her to being trusted with training and running the Gregory Hills restaurant – showing a rapid career development that has not slowed down by any means. Given that it’s in the top of the balanced scorecard for the past two years running, it also shows that Kristie’s has been able to maintain her energy and passion, and bring it to work every day.
Red Bull
Where would Mad Mex be without excellent suppliers? We wouldn’t have much to serve! While all our suppliers are amazing and filled with amazing people, Red Bull has been a true partner to the Mad Mex business. They provide significant support to us, from assisting with consumer and internal competitions, to providing DJ’s and promo teams at every opening event, sponsoring conferences without delay and finally, for supplying the support office with an always-stocked Red Bull fridge. They share our values and align strongly with our Fresh Fuel for Life philosophy.
Franchise – Doncaster
Talk about passion! The Doncaster team opened their restaurant in the depths of a lockdown and, against all, odds, thrived. They were the first to get 100 per cent on their Virtual Operations Excellence Report -and have always achieved gold – the highest standard possible. They have been topping of the balanced scorecards in two periods and currently running 2nd to date. The restaurant was fully paid off in just nine months. Internally, they have been nothing but an asset to the growth of Mad Mex, too. They have supported the development team at the Franchise Expo and put their hand up to join the marketing advisory committee despite it being their first year as franchisees. Doncaster truly represents the spirit of Mad Mex franchising, and proof of just what can be achieved for the entrepreneurially minded.
Corporate – Dubbo
Rohit was sent into Dubbo as Business Manager, and despite being in a location the rest of the team was not able to visit for two years due to the pandemic, he has completely turned it around. The Dubbo location met every KPI under Rohit’s watch, and continues to do so. Rohit has now returned from his mission because he was so successful in training the new Business Manager. Dubbo is now one of our most successful locations, running efficiently (often beating budget) and drawing in the crowds thanks to the impeccable standards that Rohit has set for the restaurant.
Support Office Champion of the Year – Tamara Dass
To determine the winner for Support Office champion we ask our entire Mad Mex network to nominate an individual and share why they should be recognized with this award. Tamara Dass, Regional Operations Manager was awarded champion this year, for demonstrating our “Own It” value to the fullest extent. Over the last year Tamara has led the opening of 5 restaurants 2 of which were on the same day! She has worked hard to train and coach new Franchisees and Business Managers, all whilst mentoring 2 multi-site managers, in addition to the BAU of being a Regional Operations Manager. Our Franchisees and Business managers know they can always count on her. ‘In a recent conversation with her manager Tamara stated “I think I’ve had my best year ever.” Well, we’d say she certainly has.
As you can see, amigos, Mad Mex is full of incredible talent and passionate people. All our Golden Burrito winners also showcase why we’re such a good place to come and build a career – one that makes a real difference and will give you genuine satisfaction in the work that you do. Visit our jobs page for more information on how to join us, we’d love to hear from you!