Be Inclusive Hospitality Spotlight Awards Announces Winners

Be Inclusive Hospitality announced the winners for their BIH Spotlight Awards during a sold out awards ceremony at M Threadneedle Street, London last night. The evening, presented by chef and restaurateur Shelina Permalloo, was a celebration of exceptional businesses and individuals from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds in the hospitality industry.

The BIH Spotlight Awards celebrated winners from 15 categories including Chef of the Year, Pastry Chef of the Year, Drinks Professional of the Year plus best in Caribbean Food, African Food, South Asian Food, East & Southeast Asian Food, Middle Eastern Food, Writer of the Year, Head Office Impact, Bar or Pub of the Year, Brand of the Year, Rising Star plus two Peoples’ Choice Awards for Person of the Year and Restaurant of the Year, which were chosen by the public.

This year’s judging panel played host to some of the hospitality industry’s most influential figures, including Culinary Director of Rare Restaurants, Mike Reid and Chief Executive of Umbrella Training, Adele C.Oxberry, who shared a few words during the ceremony about this year’s difficult judging process, due to the high quality of submissions.

Founder of Be Inclusive Hospitality, Lorraine Copes, said: “Last night marked an extraordinary celebration of outstanding talent in the hospitality industry. The ambience was unparalleled, and I express my heartfelt gratitude to all those who contributed to this event. Whether it was our esteemed judging panel, our sponsors, and the hospitality community who nominated their favourites. It was a privilege to be surrounded by so many passionate and dedicated individuals, and I offer my hearty congratulations to all our deserving winners.”

Winners for all 15 categories were:

Chef of the Year – Sponsored by caterer.com
Ahmed Abdalla, Head Chef, Legacy at The Grand – York

Pastry Chef of the Year
Ryan Panchoo, Owner of Borough 22 Doughnuts – London

Drinks Professional of the Year – Sponsored by Moet Hennessy UK
Jeri Kimber-Ndiaye, Head Sommelier at The NoMad Hotel – London

Caribbean Food
Liam Barker, Chef & Educator – London

African Food – Sponsored by Pedros
The Flygerians – London

South Asian Food
Manju Patel, Head Chef at Manju’s – Brighton

East & Southeast Asian Food – Sponsored by ESEA Eats
Amy Poon, Founder of Poon’s London & Poon’s Wontoneria

Middle Eastern Food – Sponsored by Persian Hospitality Network
Modern Persian Kitchen, Co-Founder of Modern Persian Kitchen – Durham

Writer of the Year – Sponsored by Decanter
Jimi Famurewa

Head Office Impact – Sponsored by DesignMyNight
Olajide Alabi, Equality, Inclusion and Wellbeing Partner at Turtle Bay Hospitality

Bar or Pub of the Year – Sponsored by Campari UK/WSET School London
The Village People – London

Brand of the Year – Sponsored by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
Crazy Gin Ltd

Rising Star – Sponsored by Umbrella Training
Chef and Food Writer, Rahel Stephanie

Peoples’ Choice Person of the Year – Sponsored by Deliveroo
Director of Human Resources at The Biltmore Mayfair, Sting Khumalo

The Peoples’ Choice Restaurant of the Year – Sponsored by OpenTable
Akoko