Caterer Awards '17 shortlist: Restaurateur

Find out which six restaurateur of the year shortlist for the Caterer Awards 2017.

Cedric Toussaint
Coya Middle East

Cedric Toussaint’s career spans more than a decade. The versatility of his talent knows no borders, his experience not only spans across brands like the iconic Fifth Floor, Harvey Nichols and Skylon in the front-of-house but he also held the position of executive chef for the French Embassy.

Jonathan Vercoutere & Julien Pilard
Bistro des Arts and Publique

Vercoutere and Pilard are people-orientated, passionate and innovative in their approach to the business in the region. Their only objective is to truly provide unique and original experiences through unique selling points, innovation and originality.

Kunal Lahori
Create Hospitality

Kunal Lahori has a serious passion for food. Stepping in to the hospitality industry, Kunal is notably the founder of the distinguished four concepts and 10 units in operation currently in the UAE, namely El Sur, Bazxar, Pret to Go and Meat District operating in the Middle East as of March, 2017.

M. Oliver Zeitoun
Maki Group

Zeitoun lives in and “lives” his restaurants. Thus, both back-of-house and front-of-house staff are constantly motivated to create, improve, and do their best to live up to his vision. Zeitoun treats his staff like family, listening to their suggestions, and working with them on a personal level.

Bhupender Nath
Passion F&B

Nath is a supporter of innovation and he encourages the team to constantly develop and improve. He communicates a holistic vision of the company to every employee and delegates responsibility amongst the team. He is open to every opinion before making a decision.

Umut Özkanca
Masa, Borsa, Parle and Ruya

Umut Özkanca has envisioned his lifetime dream of creating a Turkish/Anatolian restaurant concept that elevates its cuisine. So far, there is no other brand that reflects the region’s traditional cuisine in an uplifted and modern style, without adding any fusion elements.