With the final voting closed and judges’ decisions cast, the emirate’s leading restaurants, chefs, hosts and managers face an anxious wait to learn whether they will be crowned with a prestigious Abu Dhabi Gourmet Stars Award during a glittering Gala Dinner ceremony at Fairmont Bab Al Bahr this Thursday February 17.
The coveted awards, dubbed the ‘Oscars’ of the local hospitality industry, are bestowed on individuals and restaurants acknowledged for their achievements and contributions to the evolution of the domestic and regional F&B sector.
They will be presented by HH Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), which organises the Gourmet Abu Dhabi culinary festival at which the awards are the climax, and HE Saif Al Hajeri, chairman of Abu Dhabi National Hotels, one of the festivals primary partners.
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The awards are the highlight of a glittering five-course Gala Dinner prepared by internationally-renowned masterchefs Régis and Jacques Marcon of France, Vivek Singh of the UK and Singapore’s Willin Low, as well local nominees and leading Abu Dhabi chefs. Gala Dinner tickets are AED 1950 per person, or 15,600AED for a table of 10. Reservations can be made at info@gourmetabudhabi.ae
“The Gala Dinner features the best dishes international chefs and their Abu Dhabi peers have to offer,” said Noura Al Dhaheri, acting leisure development manager, ADTA. “A front-row seat for the Stars Awards is the icing on the cake."
Among the premier accolades due to be presented at the closing event of Gourmet Abu Dhabi 2011, a 16-day culinary odyssey that is rolling out across 14 of the emirate’s finest restaurants, are ‘Restaurant of the Year’, ‘Executive Chef of the Year’ and ‘Restaurant Chef of the Year’.
“The competition this year has been astounding,” said Suzanne Husseini, Gourmet Abu Dhabi’s masterclass moderator and one of the four-strong Abu Dhabi Gourmet Stars Awards judging panel. “The emirate’s industry is evolving at such a swift rate and our nominees are the driving forces behind the sector’s ever-improving culinary options, standards, service and value.”
With an online polling session forming the original list of 134 industry professionals and 57 outlet nominees, public from more than 35 countries voted the contenders down to a nominated shortlist.
It was then that Claudia Habets, academic dean of the European International College of Hotel Management and Tourism, Susanne Drexler, chief executive officer of Gourmet Connection, and Bruno Ménard, a three-Michelin-starred masterchef, joined Husseini to tour the nominees and pick the 10 winners.
“Choosing the winners has been extremely difficult because all the nominees had justifiable claims to an award. Collectively, these institutions and individuals are spearheading Abu Dhabi’s arrival as an internationally-respected culinary destination – singling out specific winners was a daunting task,” said Suzanne.
Perhaps the most eye-catching award to be handed out will be the much-coveted ‘Restaurant of the Year’. The three nominee restaurants, ‘Indigo’, ‘Rangoli’ and ‘Rodeo Grill’, all belong to hotels operated by the Rotana Group.
“These hotly-contested awards testify to Abu Dhabi’s increasingly diverse offerings in the food and beverage sphere, so to have three of our restaurants clean sweep the ‘Restaurant of the Year’ category signals the Rotana Group’s success in setting the local industry benchmark,” said Helmut Arthold, Corporate Vice-President F&B Operations, Rotana.
“This success only feeds our appetite and with several more openings, including three-Michelin-starred chef Juan Amador’s restaurant at Park Rotana Abu Dhabi, coming online later this year, we plan to continue re-defining the emirate’s culinary landscape.”
Elsewhere, the much-desired ‘Executive Chef of the Year’ award is a three-way tussle between Fairmont Bab Al Bahr’s Chef John Cordeaux, Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi’s Chef Patrick Bischoff, both of whom will prepare dishes on the Gala Dinner menu, and Emirates Palace’s Chef Wolfgang Fischer. With no clear favourite for the award, two of its nominees stressed that Abu Dhabi diners are the biggest winners as Gourmet Abu Dhabi continues to impact industry-wide improvements among the emirate’s high-end cuisine offerings.
“Gourmet Abu Dhabi is a great event for the city and its chefs,” said Chef Cordeaux. “It is exciting having such illustrious mentors come here. These are culinarians we have respected and admired for many years. The award will be given to the person who most epitomises what Gourmet Abu Dhabi stands for, which is innovation and quality. All nominees are strong - it will be a tough choice.”
Chef Bischoff, who has lived and worked in the UAE for 20 years, acknowledged the festival’s educational benefits. “Gourmet Abu Dhabi gives a boost for the chefs and hotels because it allows us to showcase our skills and share our knowledge with some of the world’s leading chefs – it is a fantastic event,” he said. “I will be 50 years old next year and it would be a great achievement for me to win this award.”
Chef Fischer, meanwhile, lauded the event’s impact on local service standards. “Gourmet Abu Dhabi brings different chefs and cuisine to the city, adding to the existing options found locally and enhancing the knowledge of our staff. I’m honoured to be nominated in such esteemed company.”
Gourmet Abu Dhabi 2011 has the support of: Abu Dhabi National Hotels as premium corporate partner; Etihad Airways as airline partner; RAK Porcelain as fine porcelain tableware partner, Acqua Panna & S.Pellegrino as the official still & sparkling mineral waters partner; Gaggenau as the premium kitchen appliances partner; Classic Fine Foods as premium gourmet products partner; Spinneys, High Spirits and African + Eastern as beverage partners; Nespresso as coffee partner; Valrhona as chocolate partner and Donate A Brick as the charity partner.
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