WHERE ARE THEY NOW: 2011 Caterer Awards winners
By Hannah-Farah Abdulla and Rachael Job
Ahead of the the 2012 Caterer Middle East Awards ceremony on September 26, we catch up with the stars of the 2011 awards to discover how their lives have changed since being recognised as industry heroes.
Since taking home their trophies many of last year's winners have been promoted, announced new and exciting projects or moved to new cosmopolitan cities to follow their dreams.
Click through to the next page to find out more...
Okku’s Graziella Nieto, Dubai, picked up the award for bartender of the year and was at the time “overwhelmed”. Judges liked her ambitious attitude and she was recognised for the training integration of junior members of staff.
Since then, Nieto has moved on from Okku and is bar manager at New York-owned Nirvana.
“When I won I was offered so many amazing job opportunities but I just had to choose what was best for me, I am very happy,” Nieto recently told Caterer Middle East.
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Hugh Sato Gardiner of Okku, Dubai, picked up chef of the year and has made it to the shortlist once again this year.
He started with the Okku restaurant, located at The H Hotel in Dubai (formerly The Monarch Dubai), from day one and has been said to be instrumental to the outlet’s success.
At the time, Gardiner said: “the most rewarding part of the job is teaching others what he’s learnt and continues to learn.”
Okku has announced plans to expand into London soon and Gardiner is playing a key role in developing the menu for the new outlet.
He’s also working on developing a direct supply-chain link between farmers in Japan and Okku so the outlet can bring the freshest and best in Japanese produce to the UAE at reasonable prices.
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Pheang Nary of C-Taste Restaurant, Centro Barsha, Dubai picked up the award for waiter of the year, recognised for her commitment to improving her skills, knowledge and experience.
She received excellent feedback from both guests and staff and even gets stuck in inventing her own drinks.
Paske, her manager from the C Taste restaurant said that she “was passionate about her job. She takes it personally and she looks after the guests.”
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Rengarajan Rengasamy from Armani Hotel Dubai took home the much-coveted sommelier of the year award.
He wooed the judges with his ability to smash sales targets and his drive to improve the outlet through the introduction of new menu offerings and concepts.
Rajan is still a sommelier at Armani Hotel in the Japanese restaurant and he is actively involved in product selection, and works closely with the hotel sommelier, particularly when choosing sake and cigars, his area of expertise.
The award has also become a motivation for Rajan, says a spokesperson, who continuously enhances his skills and inspires other colleagues to pursue their passion and dreams.
Rajan is currently completing a WSET (Wine Spirits Education Trust) diploma from London. His future plan is to focus on wines, spirits and cigars and someday own his own restaurant.
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Harald Oberender of the Dubai world Trade Centre was named Events Caterer of the Year 2011.
Oberender impressed the judges with his ability to continually innovate and to develop his team as well as successfully deliver a spectacular number of events, which rank among the most prestigious in Dubai.
Harald’s response to the award was to put his amazing achievements down to the team behind him.
He said: “For such big events you can't do it alone - you need someone behind you. I hope this award will give something back to the team."
Since then, Oberender says business continues to remain strong at DWTC.
“The catering team has been busy complementing the various exhibitions, conferences, mega-shows, concerts, weddings and other events (both on and off-site), with award-winning catering and hospitality.
"DWTC thrives on being innovative and trend-setting, and we have been working hard to develop and implement new and exciting concepts to bring to our visitors,” he added.
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Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi’s Raghuprasad S. Pillai took home the Sous Chef of the Year award.
He impressed the judges with his ability to deliver the whole package and was also praised for his efforts in making the kitchen stronger by organising social gatherings for the team.
He said after winning the award “I feel very very good – it is my fifth award and I love this, I always wanted this because it is an award nominated by others. So previously I have won awards such as Salon Culinaire but this is somebody else’s opinion, it is recognition from the industry and peers and colleagues alike."
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Kitchen Hero of the Year was Chamara Segera, commi one at the Butchery, Iberotel Miramar Al Aqah Beach Resort.
Segera beat off a lot of tough competition to the popular award, which is designed to recognise the ‘unsung ‘hero of the kitchen.
He stood out to the judges because of his professionalism and innovation he has shown far beyond expectation.
When Segera received his award he “didn’t have words” to describe how delighted he was.
“I cannot believe it” he said. “This is the best of the best”.
Segera is still with Miramar Al Aqah but has since been promoted.
Nishan Liyanage Don, sous chef in charge said: “After the award, he did not stop on showing his passion and eagerness to learn. He continuously strived hard and aims high. This entire positive attitude gave him another blessing as he was promoted as in charge of the butchery at Miramar Al Aqah.”
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Scott Price, executive chef, Verre by Gordon Ramsay, situated in Hilton Dubai Creek was crowned Chef of the Year — Hotel Restaurant, at the Caterer Middle East Awards 2011.
Price was awarded the top spot as he impressed the judges with his inspirational work ethic and drive to help Verre reach its full potential.
Commenting on his win he said “I feel elated, it’s great. It’s always good to be part of the Caterer awards … its great just to be part of it”.
Since then, price has gone on to develop his own concept with partner Nick Alvis who worked with Price at Verre. Still at Hilton, Table 9 by Nick and Scott is designed to offer high quality food in relaxed contemporary settings.
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Madinat Jumeirah Dubai’s executive pastry chef Antony Nicholas Hoyle was named Pastry Chef of the Year 2011.
Anthony was not just recognised for his perfect pastry making skills, Hoyle impressed judges with his flair for making high quality creations on a large scale, and managing a 42- person strong pastry brigade.
Al Qasr Hotel pastry chef Christiane Trilk said that Anthony is “such a great pastry chef. He’s creative and his mind is always thinking pastry, pastry, pastry”.
“There’s also a lot to learn from Anthony he’s very passionate about what he’s doing- and he teaches with the same passion”.
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Arun Narayanan of Blue Orange Restaurant, The Westin, Dubai, picked up the award for Restaurant Manager of the Year, recognised for the increase in covers at the outlet in such a short time.
He emphasised a guest focused service was key, when speaking to Caterer Middle East at the time:
“I believe it all starts with Westin service culture. It’s an ongoing and hands-on training process for each and every individual who is in direct guest contact. As my team is large we broke them down into smaller teams led by a certified trainer.”
Since then, Narayanan has moved on to become assistant director of F&B at the W Doha Hotel and Residences.
"I have moved forward in Starwood Hotels and am currently working for W Hotel in Doha, Qatar as Assistant Director of Food and Beverage. It’s been only 2 weeks now and I find Qatar exiting as there is plenty of opportunity for a young hotelier like me. The future of Qatar looks very promising, and with the country’s development comes hospitality requirements in terms of rooms and restaurants. My focus will be to dissolve into the trends and demands of the state and deliver the best of the best at affordable prices. Be innovative and at the same time make sense and be operational friendly. I wish good luck to all Caterer Award nominees of 2012."
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Bar Manager of the Year 2011 went to Ferdie Idris of Y-Bar Yas Island Rotana Abu Dhabi who said his creations were inspired by the demand of the market trend and the combination of his signature based on art, passion, love and respect.
He added: “My aim is to create a pleasurable environment of work for the Y Bar team and it will generate more success in the future, no matter what the target given by the management, it’s just a piece of cake to reach without the pressure or stress.
“Have fun at work and make the working place a part of the lives of the people who work there. It terminates boredom and keeps the team members highly motivated.”
With Idris' continued innovation and good work, Y-Bar has grown as a popular hang-out in Abu Dhabi and has been nominated for Bar of the Year in the 2012 Awards.
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Barasti, Westin Mina Seyahi, Dubai, picked up the award for Bar of the Year. The outlet has once again been shortlisted this year.
Bar manager Phil Hardie who has also been shortlisted for an award this year said to Caterer: “Any award means a lot to us at Barasti, but being voted the Bar of the Year for the Middle East was extra special. It showed that the hard work and dedication by everyone in the team had been recognized not just within Dubai, but all across the region. There continues to be fierce competition for this award, and this year we hope the advances we have made will help us win once again.”
Since winning the award, the bar has played to its strengths, attracting visitors to come and enjoy sport and entertainment.
“Since winning the award, we have added features that makes Barasti the only bar to visit for sport, great food and beverage and entertainment all within the best beach side location. 12x42” LCD TV’s along with our outdoor 5mx3m LED TV provides the ultimate sporting viewing, with live sports radio broadcast every Saturday to add to the excitement. A brand new menu keeps the taste buds of the guest interested, along with a vast selection of beverages. Add in our ever popular live bands and international DJ line up every week, Barasti is continuing to grow and improve every year.”
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New outlet of the year 2011 went to Tribes at Mall of the Emirates, Dubai.
Restaurant manager Majdi Romdhani said winning had really motivated the team and the award has seen the team pull together, even today – months after winning.
“Everyone, front-of-house and back-of-house staff, seemed to work with even more power, commitment and energy and realised that their attempts to exceed customer expectations were recognised and rewarded by winning this award. It’s as though the external recognition boosted the team even more and helped the store smash previous records and far-exceed customer satisfaction targets."
The outlet has developed a mystery diner programme since winning to ensure customer service levels remain at their highest.
In addition, he said: “There have been a couple new menu items added and we have become active in social media marketing ie Tribes Facebook account, which will helps the brand engage with our customers more effectively.”
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Okku was named restaurant of the year of 2011 and once again is within the top 10 battling it out to win this year.
The judges couldn’t put the Restaurant of the Year nomination down, so transfixed were they by the achievements recorded: launch of a new à la carte menu in 2010 with 50 new creations; staff growth of 41%; significant reduction in food costs; massive increases in gross sales; and a 15% rise in average spend per person.
Since then, Okku has continued to go from strength to strength with the introduction of around 75 new wines and 40-50 new items being brought to the menu.
Co-founder Markus Thesleff says the reason the outlet is so successful is simple: “from all the guys in the kitchemn to the ones behind the bar and on the floor, everybody it’s the passion and love they put into what we do. That makes such a huge difference there’s still a lot of love there, and that’s what you can taste in the food.”
Training has been a big focus for the outlet since it won whch has involved cross training between departments. In addition have been the announcements for expansion into London, Morocco and Saudi.
“We have to inject the DNA so heavily within our teams so when we start and as our team spreads they have to bring that DNA with them,” said Thesleff.