The Caterer Awards 2016 took place last night, June 1, at the Conrad Dubai. At the annual awards ceremony, The Sum of Us walked away with the award for casual dining team of the year.
The venue, which opened in May 2015, was the second outlet opened by Bull & Roo Hospitality duo Tom Arnel and Sergio Lopez, with two more venues opening subsequently in Dubai: Common Grounds and Brunswick Sports Club.
Lopez and Arnel’s Sheikh Zayed Road based café caught the judges’ eyes with its holistic celebration of the team, from the efforts of its marketing professionals to bring in new guests, through to the café’s ever-creative pastry chef, lovingly known to the Bull & Roo team as “Pastry Dave”.
Speaking to Caterer Middle East on the night, Tom Arnel commented on the award win: "The Sum of Us was our next step after Tom&Serg. It was about all the things we had learnt from Tom & Serg. It was about taking that idea, and adding new things, such as the coffee roastery and the bakery. And helping the staff come in to their own, in terms of growth.
"It was about an evolution of Tom & Serg," agreed Sergio Lopez. "The name, The Sum of Us, was about bringing everyone together that had worked with us in the beginning. That’s why the The Sum of Us came together, through team work."
The award was presented to The Sum of Us by Arnd Springer, managing partner of Jackson Trading.
Sponsors of the Caterer Awards this year included Al Rawdah, Aqua Panna- S.Pellegrino, Aramtec, Bragard, Dallmayr, Figjam, MMI, Patron, Ronai, SampleMe, Sial and TSSC.
The Sum of Us fought off competition from last year’s winners in this category, Claw BBQ, who received the highly commended award at this year’s Caterer Awards.
To find out which other casual dining teams made it on to this year’s awards shortlist, click here.
| Advertisement |
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
