Secret Sauce

Thrill of victory--and cash prizes: The What's Cooking? competition puts workers to the test in a simulated lunch rush.

Coming from the founder's son, Dobson's comments sound predictable. But franchisees and employees at every level echo them. Franchisee Heiman has two teams in the Sweet Sixteen--they are the only noncorporate units--and he even stages his own WhataGames in the off years to keep his workers' interest piqued. "Whataburger treats everyone like they're family," he says. Crystal Reed has been a team member at unit 421 in Mesa, Arizona, for six years. "For 16 years, I worked in restaurants, but it was just a job," she says. "Here, it's more; it's a family."

The WhataGames work because no one wants to disappoint their "family," which they come to believe includes everyone at the company, even Dobson and his siblings. And it works because the company has aligned its compensation with its values. It pays even entry-level employees above minimum wage, and the top 20% of operations managers earn double the industry average. Nearly half of its employees contribute a portion of their pay to the Family Foundation, which offers an emergency fund for coworkers in crisis.

On the final night, the awards ceremony is held in the grand ballroom of Houston's largest hotel, and in a scene lifted straight from the Olympics' closing ceremonies, the 16 teams march from the back of the ballroom to the front to plant their flags on the main stage. The team from Brownsville, Texas, clinches the bronze. One of Acerra's rivals from San Antonio, unit 698, takes the silver. Everyone at her table grabs hands and stares down at untouched dinner salads.

The room falls silent. The winner of the 2007 WhataGames is … yet another San Antonio outlet, unit 790. Acerra doesn't let her kids see any disappointment as she leaps to her feet to applaud the winners. The victors bound onto the stage. Some are crying as Dobson drapes medals over their heads, and they're all pumping their fists in the air and hugging.

There's still one more award to be handed out, the Thomas E. Dobson Award, which goes to the year's top general manager. Acerra is one of the four nominees. Two of her team members stand behind her chair, their hands on her shoulders. When Acerra's name is called, her team mobs her before leading her to the stage to receive her trophy--and keys to a brand-new Ford Mustang. The team forms one last huddle in the far corner of the ballroom and yells, "Shake and bake!" Tomorrow morning, they'll drive back to San Antonio--and start training for 2009's WhataGames.