New Delhi, September 06, 2016: Season 3 of Delhi NCR’s first and only chef-centric food awards, nearbuy presents Top Chef Awards Delhi-NCR, concluded successfully on Sunday, 4th September 2016, at The Claridges New Delhi. The Top Chef Awards is the only one of its genre in Delhi-NCR to honour the people, especially young and emerging talent, behind popular and successful restaurants in the country’s most competitive dining out market. The nominees for the voting round of the Awards were shortlisted by an eminent jury consisting of industry leaders.
Commenting on the selection process, Co-Founder and eminent food critic Sourish Bhattacharyya had this to say – “I am struck by the support we have received from the leaders of the hospitality industry from the time of the jury meeting on August 10. Their love and good wishes have made us more determined to uphold the sanctity of the nomination and voting processes.”
Highlights from the evening included Chef Devender Bungla, Corporate Pastry Chef, Hyatt Regency Delhi, being conferred with Lifetime Achievement Award for an Exemplary Chef, while A.D. Singh, Managing Director, Olive Bar & Kitchen, was conferred the Excellence Award for Restaurateur of the year. This coveted award last year went to Riyaaz Amlani, CEO and MD, Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. Recognizing its indelible mark on Delhi’s culinary landscape, Dhaba at The Claridges New Delhi was awarded the Excellence Award for completing a glorious 30 years in the service of Delhi-NCR’s taste buds.
Ankur Warikoo, Founder & CEO, nearbuy, the online marketplace for online vendors, spoke about their association – “Even though this is the first time nearbuy has been associated with the Top Chef Awards, the awards are important to us as they recognise the individuals who are important to the success of restaurants and go directly to the chefs themselves. This is a great way to recognise veterans and upcoming talent from the industry.”
The Top Chef Awards Delhi-NCR Season 3 was presented by nearbuy and co-presented by The Claridges New Delhi, Lite Bite Foods and Ballantine’s Music CDs. The glittering award ceremony held at The Claridges New Delhi witnessed winners in 18 categories, voted for by more than 21,500 voters, as well as the eminent recipients of 11 jury awards, who were honoured by their peers.
For the first time ever, a live Butter Chicken cook-off was organised in association with Lite Bite Foods as a build-up to the award night, which saw Shiva Arora, Pullman New Delhi Aerocity, and Upinder from Masala House, Sunder Nagar, win respectively in the five-star and standalone restaurant categories.
Sharad Sachdeva, CEO, Lite Bite Foods, spoke on their association – “We see great synergies with Top Chef Awards and are glad to celebrate their third year with them. I’m sure the jury members had a hard time picking the best from across the city as it definitely isn’t an easy task!”
Some of the other notable winners were Danny El Soury (Zizo Restaurants), Excellence Award for International Chef of the Year; Chef J.P. Singh (Bukhara, ITC Maurya), Excellence Award for Best Indian Cuisine (Five-Star Hotel); Chef Ashish Singh (Cafe Delhi Heights, Cyber Hub, Gurgaon), Excellence Award for Best Multi-Cuisine Chef (Standalone Restaurant); and Anoop Parmar (Sevilla, The Claridges New Delhi), Excellence Award for Best Restaurant Manager (Five-Star Hotel).
As a member of the jury, Manish Mehrotra, Corporate Chef (Luxury Dining), Old World Hospitality, put it: “It was an absolute pleasure to be a part of the process. These are the only awards that recognise chefs themselves purely on the strength of their talent in the kitchen. They are the heart and backbone of every restaurant.”
Atul Sikand, Co-Founder, Top Chef Awards, said, “The record number of votes that were cast this year is an affirmation of the growing support for the core philosophy of the Top Chef Awards – namely, to give talented young chefs the place they deserve in the meteoric and irreversible rise of Delhi-NCR as the dining capital of India.”
With the three successful seasons of nearbuy presents Top Chef Awards, the patrons promise to continue recognising chefs and the teams behind the scenes who are responsible for some of the best dining experiences around the city.
| Members of the Jury for 2016 – Chef Manjit Gill, Corporate Chef, ITC Hotels; Chef Bakshish Dean, Executive Director, Prime Gourmet; Chef Manish Mehrotra, Corporate Chef (Luxury Dining), Old World Hospitality; Chef Ritu Dalmia, Chef & Co-Owner, Diva; Cookbook Author and TV Personality; Samir Kuckreja, Trustee, National Restaurant Association of India; Rahul Singh, Founder-CEO, The Beer Cafe; Secretary General, National Restaurant Association of India; Chef Vineet Manocha, Corporate Executive Chef, Lite Bite Foods; Anant Verma, Business Head, DLF Utilities; Shivkaran Singh, Director, Smokey’s BBQ & Grill; Chef Ravitej Nath, Indian Regional Cuisine Entrepreneur; Yangdup Lama, Celebrity Mixologist, Owner/Partner, Thirsty Three Hospitality; Chef Tanveer Kwatra, Director of Cuisine, W Goa; Chiquita Gulati, Chef & Co-Owner, Gulati’s Spice Market; Sid Mathur, Head of F&B, Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality. |
Complete List of Awards – 2016
1. Lifetime Achievement Award for an Exemplary Chef – DEVENDER BUNGLA, Corporate Pastry Chef, Hyatt Regency Delhi
2. Lifetime Achievement Award for an Exemplary Restaurant Manager – ANIL LAMBA, Kwality, Connaught Place
3. Excellence Award for Restaurateur of the Year – A.D. SINGH, Olive Bar & Kitchen
4. Excellence Award for completing a glorious 30 years in the service of Delhi-NCR’s taste buds – Dhaba at The Claridges New Delhi
5. Excellence Award for International Chef of the Year – DANNY EL SOURY, Zizo Restaurants
6. Excellence Award for PR Person of the Year – MALLIKA DASGUPTA, The Oberoi Gurgaon
7. Excellence Award for F&B Manager of the Year – SUVEER SODHI, Shangri-la’s Eros Hotel
8. Excellence Award for Sommelier of the Year – ANKUR CHAWLA, J.W. Marriott, New DelhiAerocity
9. Excellence Award for Young Chef of the Year – TEJAS SOVANI, Amaranta, The Oberoi Gurgaon
10. LITE BITE FOODS PRESENTS GREAT BUTTER CHICKEN COOK-OFF (No. 1 in the Five-Star Hotel Category – SHIVA ARORA, Pullman New Delhi Aerocity
11. LITE BITE FOODS PRESENTS GREAT BUTTER CHICKEN COOK-OFF (No. 1 in the Standalone Restaurant Category) – UPINDER, Masala House, Sunder Nagar
12. Excellence Award for Best Indian Cuisine (Five-Star Hotel) – CHEF J.P. SINGH, Bukhara, The Oberoi Gurgaon
13. Excellence Award for Best Indian Cuisine (Standalone Restaurant) – CHEF AKRAM QUREISHI, Dhaba by Claridges, Cyber Hub, Gurgaon
14. Excellence Award for Best Regional Indian Cuisine – CHEF KULBEER SINGH, Soda Bottle Opener Wala, Khan Market
15. Excellence Award for Best Multi-Cuisine Chef (Five-Star Hotel) – CHEF DOLPHY LOBO, Machan, The Taj Mahal Hotel
16. Excellence Award for Best Multi-Cuisine Chef (Standalone Restaurant) – CHEF ASHISH SINGH, Cafe Delhi Heights, Cyber Hub, Gurgaon
17. Excellence Award for Best Modern European Cuisine (Five-Star Hotel) – CHEF LUIGI FERRARO, Sorrento, Shangri-la Eros Hotel
18. Excellence Award for Best Modern European Cuisine (Standalone Restaurant) – CHEF SHAMSUL WAHID, Smoke House Deli, Khan Market
19. Excellence Award for Best Chinese Cuisine – CHEF SALEM LEPCHA, House of Ming, The Taj Mahal Hotel
20. Excellence Award for Best Asian Cuisine (Five-Star Hotel) – CHEF UMESH SINGH, Wasabi, The Taj Mahal Hotel
21. Excellence Award for Best Asian Cuisine (Standalone Restaurant) – CHEF ANSAB KHAN, Burma Burma, Cyber Hub, Gurgaon
22. Excellence Award for Best Mixologist (Five-Star Hotel) – DILBAR SINGH RAWAT, Blue Bar, Taj Palace
23. Excellence Award for Best Mixologist (Standalone Restaurant) – CHEF PRAJWAL RAI, Cocktails & Dreams Speakeasy, Gurgaon
24. Excellence Award for Best Restaurant Manager (Five-Star Hotel) – ANOOP PARMAR, Sevilla, The Claridges New Delhi
25. Excellence Award for Best Restaurant Manager (Standalone Restaurant) – RAJ PALLAV BORAH, Dhaba by Claridges, Cyber Hub, Gurgaon
26. Excellence Award for Best Pastry/Bakery Chef (Five-Star Hotel) – CHEF ANURAG BHARTWAL, The Leela Patisserie, Ambience Mall, Gurgaon
27. Excellence Award for Best Pastry/Bakery Chef (Standalone Restaurant) – CHEF AMIT SINHA, L’Opera, Khan Market
Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)
