CHEF’S DELIGHT AWARDS HONOUR KENYA’S BEST CULINARY MINDS
The Chef’s Delight Award Dinner last weekend at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in the heart of Nairobi showcased Kenya’s culinary best and rewarded those who consistently turn freshly sourced ingredients from Kenya’s farms and ranches, lakes and sea into dishes rocking the palates of culinary gurus, food critics and every day diners.
It was particularly rewarding for this correspondent to see names of chefs appear on the honour list who are personally known to me and who over time prepared dishes of their own choosing to showcase their craft tickling my taste buds like Chef Athanasius of The Boma Hotel, Chef Kumar of Sun Africa Hotels or Chef Shailender Singh of Sarova Hotels.
The same of course applied to the names of establishments in the past favourably reviewed, such as The Boma Hotel in Nairobi, Sun Africa’s Sovereign Suites in Limuru and the Sarova Stanley in the very heart of the city, underscoring the accuracy of both TripAdvisor reviews as well as articles written about these establishments and their extraordinary restaurants, bistros and coffee shops.
The Gala Night was supported by Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism, the Kenya Tourism Board and a number of key corporate sponsors including Brussels Airlines and RwandAir and the proceeds of the night were dedicated to the Lions ‘SightFirst Hospital’ in Nairobi.
The organizers’s award list covers a total of 8 pages, too much to include here but for the top awards, which went to:
The Top Award for the night as voted by their diners, went to:
For the Best Individual Restaurant and Chef Nairobi:
Haru Restaurant in Karen
Chef J.H. Park
For the Best Hotel Restaurant and Chef Nairobi
Thai Chi Restaurant at the Sarova Stanley
Chef Phansandha Phommee
The Chefs Delight Awards for Most Innovative Chefs 2012 went to
Chefs Tim Freeman of Brew Bistro
Chefs Kiran Jethwa of Seven Restaurant
Chef Archie Athanasius of the The Boma Hotel
Chef Kislay Kumarof Sun Africa Hotels
The Chefs Delight Lifetime Achievement Awards went to the following that have been in the industry longest and have made a mark
Chef Giuliano Zanette – Mediterraneo
Chef Shailender Singh – Sarova Group
Chef Pradeep Mullick – Haandi Restaurant
Chef Paul Amur – Golden Spur
Best Restaurants for overall PRESENTATION
Individual Restaurant – Haru Restaurant
Hotel Restaurant – Thai Chi at the Sarova Stanley
Congratulations to all the winners, the complete listings of which can be found via www.chefsdelightawards.com or via their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/chefsdelightawards.
