This month, Caterer Middle East recognised the winners of its inaugural industry awards — and many people deserve thanks for their help

Well, the first ever Caterer Middle East Awards have now drawn to a close — and I have to say we’re all delighted with the response we’ve had from the region’s F&B professionals!

It was a real pleasure to see so many who are working tirelessly to move the regional F&B scene forward; every single one of you is helping to raise the Middle East’s culinary profile and improve standards across the industry.

Before we direct you to the full coverage, there are some ‘thank-you’s to be said: firstly, to our main sponsor The Hotel Show, for supporting us in our first awards effort; and also to all the individual category sponsors who were so enthusiastic about supporting the professionals in their field.

Secondly, we send a big thank you to the InterContinental Residences Dubai Festival City for hosting the awards presentation and photo shoot. Their support, patience and provision of numerous cups of coffee definitely played a big part in the success of the photo session!

The next thank you must go to our awards judges form around the region, who graciously volunteered their time and expertise in settling on the winners.

F&B Awards judge and Emirate Academy of Hospitality Management head chef Michael Kitts noted that it was “good to see some new names in the frame and to reward people who really do make a difference”.

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Design firm Keane’s founder, Aidan Keane, suggested that he’d have liked to see more nominations from independent outlet. “Next year, I’d hope to see more standalone, individual and soulful venues applying, not linked to a hotel,” he said.

Meanwhile Chefs’ Choice Awards judge Uwe Micheel, director of kitchens at Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek, added that “all winners and highly recommended parties in the supplier categories were major players in the market, known for their service”, and praised all involved for their ongoing support of the F&B industry.

“Hopefully next year, we’ll see even more nominees,” he added.

So, to our main panel of judges — Halima Anderson, Peter Hallmanns, Suzanne Husseini, Aidan Keane, Michael Kitts, Rob MacLean, Junaid Malik, Louise Oakley and Nigel Witham — as well as our panel of industry professionals who selected the winners in our Chefs’ Choice Awards categories — Marcus Gregs, Uwe Micheel, Anthony Gill, Felix Hartmann, Sid King and Kim Gates — we are so grateful for all you efforts and input.

And finally, we want to thank you: everyone who submitted a colleague, suggested a great supplier and generally supported Caterer Middle East’s first annual awards.

We welcome your input and feedback, so that we can ensure next year’s awards can be even bigger and better.

Next year will in fact see the launch of our first live awards ceremony, so get thinking now about who you’re going to nominate!

Best wishes for the New Year!

Lucy.

To see the awards issue of Caterer Middle East, featuring full coverage of the winners, please click here.