The judges were impressed with the mark that Zeitoun and the Kuwait-based hospitality group that he founded have made on the regional dining scene.
The restaurateur 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.
Unfortunately Zeitoun was not able to attend the awards ceremony but Maki Group operations manager, Toufic Salloum was on hand to collect the trophy which was presented by Gavin Dodd - Managing Director of A. Ronai.
Speaking to Caterer Middle East at the awards Salloum said: “He’s a really good boss. He treats us like family and we love him.”
Cedric Touissaint of Coya Middle East was highly commended in this category.
Other shortlisted nominees included: Jonathan Vercoutre and Julien Pilard concept developers for Bistro des Arts and Publique; Kunal Lahori, CEO and founder of Create Hospitality; Bhupender Nath, MD and founder of Passion F&B and Umut Özkanca, founder of Rüya Dubai.
The Caterer Middle East Awards 2017 was sponsored by Gold sponsor DMK Group, category sponsors GEMCO, TSSC, A. Ronai, Unilever, Meat & Livestock Australia, Bragard, Aramtec, SIAL, Party Social, Newby Teas, water sponsor Acqua Panna and San Pellegrino, and beverage sponsor MMI.
The Caterer Awards was held at the Waldorf Astoria, 24 May 2017.
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