The Leaders in F&B Awards 2017 will celebrate the leading restaurants and individuals working in the Middle East’s F&B industry. The full list of 18 categories is detailed below. For nomination enquiries and to request a nomination form, please contact catering@bncpublishing.net 

RESTAURANTS

*Please note: nominated venues can be within a hotel or stand-alone concepts, owned by a hotel or third party operator.

Sustainable Restaurant Award

A restaurant that demonstrates outstanding achievements with regards to energy efficiency and waste management, ethical sourcing, and social responsibility. This restaurant will procure ingredients locally where possible, and use ethically sourced meat, dairy and fish. Energy efficiency and a focus on waste management are also key to the winner of this award, as is positive engagement with the local community.

Healthy Restaurant Award

Exemplary in its nutritious yet delicious menu options, the winner of the Healthy Restaurant Award will cater to a wide range of customer needs and preferences, such as paleo, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free. With a focus on offering a wide variety of healthy dishes to consumers, this restaurant will go above and beyond to educate its customers and the wider society on the benefits of a nutritious diet.

Leading Homegrown Restaurant Brand

Combining stylish interiors, top-class service, a unique menu and a first-class chef, the Leading Homegrown Restaurant Brand will fill a gap in the market with a concept that stands out from the crowd and demonstrably attracts a loyal and returning customer base.

Disruptor of the Year

Celebrating an industry game-changer, the Disruptor of the Year award could go to (but is not limited to) an innovative food truck concept, a groundbreaking delivery service, a slick new ordering platform, or a first-of-its-kind F&B-related educational initiative. Whatever the business model, the Disruptor of the Year is creative, original and engaging and has clear evidence of market traction.

Best Newcomer
The Best Newcomer award recognises an F&B concept launched between July 2015 and July 2016 that can demonstrate exceptional performance. Creative and original, with excellent interiors, food and beverage and service, the Best Newcomer should fill a gap in the market, adding sophistication to the region’s F&B scene.

Best Interior

Best Interior will go to a beautifully designed space, which facilitates a highly efficient staff workflow. Everything from circulation space to seating and the bar area must be ideally-located and the atmosphere should reflect the concept perfectly in terms of price point, target market and food and beverage offer. This award must be entered collaboratively by both the designer and the outlet operator.

Leading Casual Dining Restaurant

A restaurant that offers a fun, relaxed guest experience with friendly, informal service and a high quality food and beverage offer presented in a quirky, innovative format. The space and location should reflect the concept perfectly, and the restaurant should be able to demonstrate excellent performance.

Leading Fine Dining Restaurant

The Leading Fine Dining Restaurant must demonstrate outstanding attention to detail in its food and beverage offer, customer service and ambience. The menu should offer exceptional taste, quality and creativity, while customer service should be highly attentive but not invasive, with well-mannered, experienced and knowledgeable staff. The atmosphere should be exclusive and high end, perfectly reflecting the restaurant’s distinctive status and unique character.

Leading Nightlife Venue

A perfect combination of music, lighting and great beverages is key to the Leading Nightlife Venue. Drawing in large weekend crowds, this outlet will set itself apart with extraordinary interiors, exciting and unique entertainment and a buzzing atmosphere, making it a market favourite that appeals to a range of age groups and nationalities.

PEOPLE

*Please note: each of the people category awards must be endorsed by the nominee’s line manager/ GM.

Leading Hotel F&B Director

The Leading Hotel F&B Director award highlights the achievements of an individual who has showcased outstanding ability in exceeding KPIs, developing and enhancing hotel restaurant concepts, streamlining processes and team leadership.

Chef of the Year

Open to head chefs and executive chefs, the Chef of the Year demonstrates outstanding creativity, passion and culinary flair along with exceptional skills in overseeing an entire kitchen operation in an efficient, cost-effective manner.

Pastry Chef of the Year

With a strong grasp of the fundamentals and an obsession with quality ingredients, the Pastry Chef of the Year will demonstrate how he/she has pushed the boundaries, introducing new techniques and daring flavours and textures to redefine the status quo.

Leading F&B Investor

F&B investment is a risky business, with cuisine, location, service offer and overall operational model some of the key elements that can predict a brand’s success or failure. The Leading F&B Investor will demonstrate a keen eye for brands going places, with a strong portfolio of successful ventures.

Young F&B Leader

An individual under the age of 30 who is making waves in the Middle East’s F&B scene with an exciting new restaurant or catering concept, an innovative F&B tech platform or supply chain solution. This person demonstrates tenacity, creativity and the potential to make a significant impact on the region’s F&B landscape.

F&B Heavyweight

A CEO of a restaurant group with a major brand or a number of brands under his/her remit. The brand(s) should have more than 10 outlets across the GCC, with an impressive pipeline of openings demonstrating its strength and popularity in the region.

Leading Restaurateur

A highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of the restaurant business, Leading Restaurateur is an individual behind a very successful restaurant brand(s), either founded in the Middle East or imported from abroad. The Leading Restaurateur will be an inspiring team leader, with exceptional vision and strong business acumen whose efforts have made a significant impact on the region’s F&B offer. This award is about quality rather than quantity.

Bartender of the Year

Demonstrating a solid knowledge of the classics, and a deep understanding of flavour combinations, Bartender of the Year is a professional who shows consistency alongside outstanding creative flair. Excellent team work and time management skills along with intuitive customer service are also imperative for the winner of this category.

Best Service Team

An F&B team that can demonstrate operational excellence with oustanding productivity, efficiency and quality. Both internal communication processes and customer service should be seamless and well executed. Extra merit will be given to those teams who have implemented an innovative process or procedure that has made a significant, positive impact on operations.