2010
- A Beginning of a new era, foundation stone laid on August 20th by Padma Shri chef Sanjeev Kapoor
Food & Restaurant Business of India
We Are ComingHyderabadRestaurant Awards 2023 is the top honour bestowed upon the greatest in the industry who have tirelessly dedicated their lives walking an extra mile to raise the bar of the Food & Beverage Sector. The awards will go to various regions of the country physically,to honor and applaud the great work done by foodpreneurs and chefs around the country.
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People Who Have Been A Part OfOur Journey
Bio
Amit Bagga comes from a family which is in the business of automobiles by the name of Bagga Link group established in the year 1952 and owns leading dealerships of Maruti Suzuki , Bajaj Auto and Bharat Petroleum . In the year 2009 he ventured into the restaurant business and launched many successful restaurant brands like OTB - Café Out of the Box, Maquina, Faarsi and Teddy Boy. Amit’s interests also lies in the Digital OOH business by the name of EyeTalk Media Ventures with a total of 1000 plus digital displays in 9 cities. It is considered the most innovative startup in the industry and was launched by Delhi Police with a CSR campaign of “Don't Drink And Drive” and was well appreciated for the social message given. TagTalk (a division of EyeTalk) is present in 250 top bars and restaurants of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore,Pune and also internationally in Dubai. BizTalk (another division of EyeTalk) is present in 65 top corporate office parks in 8 cities in india. Amit is a hands on restaurateur, who pays attention to every single detail in his restaurants making sure all the five senses of a customer are evoked positively and they end up having a memorable experience, the same principles are applied when he conceptualises any new restaurant brand. Amit is the C.E.O. of Daryaganj Hospitality and his restaurant Daryaganj – By The Inventors of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani is operational in Connaught Place and Aerocity and will be opening soon in three other locations in Delhi NCR. It has been very well received by the customers and top journalists of India Amit was awarded “Fastest Growing Entrepreuner” from Elite Magazine Amit was featured in the list of “Top 50 Young Leaders of Delhi” by India Today Group in the Mail Today newspaper
Bio
Vineet Manocha, Sr. Vice President – Culinary at Lite Bite Foods Pvt. Ltd., has tapped his global experience to make signature dining a reality in all his endeavours. His interests and achievements go beyond simply a Chef’s normal kitchen profile.An alumnus of IHM Pusa, Vineet’s experience of over 25 years includes management tenures at renowned hotel chains like Oberoi, Hyatt and Radisson; flight kitchens and restaurant companies. Besides Delhi, he has also worked in Bahrain, Goa, Mumbai, Liverpool-UK, Philippines, Jeddah and Daman.Vineet also worked with Saudi Arabian Airlines, heading their menu planning and development worldwide catering to more than 60000 meals per day.Setting up F&B retail projects is Vineet’s strength. He is adept in F&B concepts, menu planning, designing new kitchens, managing PnL and heading large operations across the world. Thorough knowledge of ingredients, the science behind cooking, their application and adaptability, make his culinary creations, unique.He is also an avid trainer, F&B strategist and team builder. A HACCP trained internal auditor, has been a core team member for 5 ISO certifications in his career. He has several media articles to his credit and has recently been conferred the “Rashtriya Gaurav Award – 2017” for outstanding services, achievements, and contributions to Culinary.
Bio
Masterchef Sanjeev Kapoor is the only chef in the world to have his own channel - FoodFood. He has been conferred the ‘Best Chef of India' award by the Government of India and has represented India in the World Association of Chefs' Societies (WACS) in South Korea introducing ancient Indian way of Ayurvedic cooking.Masterchef Kapoor was the Indian ambassador for UN's Clean Cook Stoves campaign for the underprivileged of developing countries. He represented India as a Food ambassador in Spain under the Spanish Government's Indian Future Leaders Programme (IFLP).Known as the Rachel Ray of India, his website www.sanjeevkapoor.com has more than 10,000 recipes, attracts more than eight million page views per month.His restaurants Sanjeev Kapoor's Khazana, The Yellow Chilli, Signature, Hong Kong and Options are considered the best in their categories not only in India but abroad as well.
Bio
Shipra khanna, winner of renowned TV show Masterchef India 2 (broadcasted on Star Plus) is live example of such real fighters in life. Winners have a different attitude towards tough paths of life. This can be clearly understood by looking at the background of Shipra khanna. Born and brought up in a prosperous and upper class family, Shipra would have never imagined that what upcoming life has in store for her. From the day she born (17th November) till the day she got married (At the age of 19), she has a flourishing and happy life. She had perfect schooling & graduation studies in leading schools of Shilma (her hometown), which included Lorreto convent and St Bede's. She is youngest female celebrity and has marked her name on the global cooking standards. She has toiled with French michelin star chef in Paris and continues to give cooking workshops in India and on global scale. Her forte is fusion food. Shipras book talks about her experiences,and inspirations of cooking also teaching a home cook the basics of cooking professionally,named 'The Spice Route'. Shipra has won many awards. Amongst them few include felicitation by the C.M. of Himachal Pradesh,Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, felicitation by Rotary International, SAARC Chamber Women Entrepreneurs Council (SCWEC) as " Woman Chef Taking Tastes Beyond Border" in Nepal. She was awarded as "Himachali of the Year". An artist by nature, her passion for painting and dance transformed into a passionate love affair with cooking.For Shipra Khanna, life imitates food, and vice versa. And just as in life, simple things can be beautiful & uplifting; so it can be, in food too. These are the beliefs & matras she lives by, and the themes that this Masterchef winner from humble beginnings in Shimla, explores in her maiden cook book
Bio
With more than 13 years experience in India's finest Hotels The Taj Group of Hotels (Bombay and Delhi, Intercontinental-New Delhi), Renaissance Mumbai Hotel and Convention Center and The Claridges Hotel (New Delhi), The Clarion Group Of Hotels (Gurgaon) and presently The Sun N Sand Group Of Hotels Chef Mehrishi not only has expertise in pre-opening from start to operation but also re-branding and repositioning of a property. He also has unique skills in development of food and beverage concepts and the uniqueness in positioning with competitive sets in the existing market. He is responsible for ensuring the concepts and establishing them firmly in the market with constant fascia development and research management. Chef Mehrishi also has expertise in further blossoming food concepts with the aid of nurturing culinary festivals and campaigns. He streamlines recipes for different outlets by standardising techniques and requirements for the same. Chef Mehrishi has won Bronze Medal at Indian Culinary Forum Contest (2nd Mango Culinary Contest organised by Delhi Tourism Development Corporation) in July 1998. He has also won Bronze Medal and Silver Medal in Culinary Art India 2000, which was organised in Delhi in November 2000. He has also won gold medals at the culinary art show organised in 2001 and 2002 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. He was selected for the Culinary Art 2001, Colombo, representing Hotel Park Royal as well as the country and won medals at the international level. He has successfully completed three seasons with phenomenal success and viewer accreditation as Chef Judge on Kitchen Champion, a reality cookery show on Colors channel. He is currently anchoring an immensely popular Culinary Show on TV called Naram Garam, which is aired on Sahara One National Network from Monday to Friday at 12:30 pm. He has also anchored shows like Kitchen Maharishi', a cookery show on 9X general entertainment channel and regional cookery based show on DD National channel Wheel Smart Srimati Ki Rasoi'.
Bio
Karan Tanna, is the Founder CEO of Yellow Tie Hospitality - India's 1st scalable restaurant concept who has worked with General Motors & Mckinsey. However, he was interested in the F&B industry & started his journey with 'Kutchi King' & played a key role to expand its business to 200 outlets – a landmark figure.Karan believed that F&B franchising in India is in its infancy as the country is yet to have a single sustainable local brand. This, to him, was an opportunity to change the scenario. Harnessing his understanding & experience of F&B franchise market he founded Yellow Tie Hospitality Management LLP in Dec 2015.Karan has also been featured in Forbes India as one of India's most promising entrepreneurs under the age of 30 & listed in Entrepreneur Magazine as Top Entrepreneur under 35 making Karan & Yellow Tie names to reckon with.
Bio
Chef-Entrepreneur Abhijit Saha is the Founding Director of Avant Garde Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. His award winning restaurants include Caperberry(UB City), Fava(UB City) & Café Cassia(Cinnamon Boutique, Ulsoor) in Bangalore & Saha in Singapore. As guest judge of MasterChef India 2016 and with twenty six years of national and international experience, he has been awarded 'Chef of the year' by Times Food Awards, 2016 and 'Best Chef of India' at the Indian Restaurant Congress, 2013.Chef Saha has participated as Guest Chef & Speaker at TedX, 'World of Flavours' Conferences in Culinary Institute of America 2004, 2005 & 2007), Gourmet Abu Dhabi(2012), World Gourmet Summit Singapore (2015 & 2016), Times Literature Festival Mumbai, Food For Thought Fest New Delhi & IFCA National Congress across the country.Regarded fondly as the "Forever Young Chef" he enjoys F1 Racing, Wines, Travel, Architecture, Design and Photography.
Bio
With India's exponential growth, experimentation with cuisines and concepts and frequency of eating out, the F&B sector is expanding at a rapid pace, which is expected to grow to USD 75 billion by 2021, with compound annual growth rate of 10%. Based on the report by consulting firm Grant Thornton India and lobby group Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), urbanisation, changing lifestyle and evolving food preferences are further contributing to the growth of the organized sector. Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) and Casual Dine-in restaurants account for 74% of the total market, while Cafes make up 12%, growing at 10.7% a year, and Fine Dining, Pub Bars Clubs & Lounges (PBCL) comprise the rest. The restaurant industry alone will contribute 2.1% to the GDP of India by the year 2021. This year alone, the Indian restaurant sector will contribute a whopping INR 22,400 crores by way of taxes to the Indian economy.Along with culinary innovation and contemporary presentation being the key focus, in the coming year, we will also witness chefs and restaurants going back to their roots, bringing out the traditional, lesser known dishes to the forefront and contemporising them for today's well-travelled, curious and adventurous diners, to deliver a stellar dining experience. The dining experience today starts with reading reviews, exploring menu options and reserving tables. Guests expect a frictionless experience that empowers them with all the relevant information, while understanding their preferences and convenience. To ensure a superlative dining experience, restaurant operators need to invest in front-of-house technologies that directly impact Customer Experience. When developing the concept for a restaurant, it is essential to understand the core bandwidth and network for smooth functioning of front-of-house as well as back-of-house operations, so as to deliver a richer customer experience," he further adds.
Bio
Television celebrity, Masterchef India judge, author, restaurateur, food film producer and benefactor, chef Ranveer Brar is one of the most celebrated chefs in the country. He has set up restaurants in India (including a heritage hotel, Alila Fort Bishangarh) and abroad and curated the menu of many more (including cruise kitchens aboard Royal Caribbean). His popularity on television is matched by his tremendous fan following on social media as well. Getting the basics right and revering the kitchen as an artist would his/her studio, are mantras he lives by and propagates to others as well. He also pioneered the first ever Twitter video show called Ranveer On The Road, covering new destinations each season and exploring their cuisines and cultures. For someone who propounds the theory of cuisine being an extension of culture, he strongly upholds the belief of travel making a good chef better. An avid photographer with a keen eye for details, his love of art flows into his food styling and photographs as well. With a bestseller in his kitty, a popular host and judge on television and an artist both in and out of the kitchen, chef Brar calls himself a food-sufi on a constant culinary quest.
Bio
Mr. Kabir Suri, Co-Founder and Director of Azure Hospitality holds a degree in Economics and Business Management from Wheaton College, Massachusetts, USA. Kabir's professional career began in commercial real estate finance with North Fork Bank in New York followed by Argent Fund Management in London as an analyst. His role required him to assist in providing investment strategies and in-depth research focussing on the hospitality segment. Kabir's personal interests in the hospitality segment led him to the hospitality sector where he spent 3 years with international award winning restaurants Zuma and Roka. Initially involved with operations, he then shifted to business development, spearheading global expansion and brand development. Kabir is currently the Managing Director of Azure Hospitality. which owns and manages brands such as Mamagoto, Dhaba by Claridges, Speedy Chow, Rollmaal, Mamapaati and Celeste Food Services.
Bio
Sameer Bhasin is the Chief Executive Officer at Barbeque Nation Hospitality ltd, one of India's leading casual dining restaurant chains. He is responsible for driving Barbeque Nation's legacy of providing great hospitality and enhanced dining experiences across the nation. With over 20 years of experience in the hospitality sector, Sameer brings great expertise, with a focus on driving performance and has a particular passion for managing operations.Prior to joining Barbeque Nation in 2016, Sameer was COO of Paradise Food Court Pvt. Ltd.Sameer has over 8 years of experience overseas, as director of operations at Yum! Brands based in Singapore. Throughout his career, he has been associated with diverse brands in the F&B industry. Key names include Yum! Brands, Pizza Hut delivery and Taj hotels. His roles entailed leading and managing strategy, operations and providing business support to the brands.
Bio
Mr. Bector started his career in 1987; post completion of B.E. in Industrial & Production Engineering. His initial endeavours included the establishment of a modern bread plant which was soon followed by a world class biscuit plant. His focus remained on expanding the business which saw him soon joining hands with Mc Donald's to become one of their biggest suppliers in India. Mr. Bector's efforts led to a JV with two companies- Quaker Oats Company (USA) for manufacturing of ketchup, mayonnaise and other liquid condiments and the other with EBI Foods (UK) for manufacturing of battering and breading pre-mixtures. Currently he is Chairman of CII NR Agriculture Council and Member of various Punjab Government Committees. In the 3rd National Convention on Entrepreneurship 2013, he was awarded "Entrepreneur of the Year" and in "Mc Donald's APMEA 2013 Supplier Business Forum" the Company received "Mc Donald's Asia Pacific Award for Innovation".
Bio
Mr. Rajeev Varman is the Chief Executive Officer at Burger King India Limited. Prior to this, Rajeev was the Senior Vice-President & General Manager North Western Europe of Burger King Worldwide. He brings over 2 decades of rich and diverse experience in F&B operations to Burger King Corporation. Rajeev has been associated with Burger King Corporation for 18 years and has held numerous positions in the Canadian and European operations. Most recently, Rajeev was responsible for Burger King’s turnaround in the UK market and was also spearheading the North Western Europe division. Previously, Rajeev held various senior management positions in Canada, where he implemented a ‘Value’ strategy, new product development, led strong franchise growth and improved the operations matrix. Rajeev holds an MBA from the Golden Gate University, California, and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bangalore University.
Bio
An ecommerce pioneer, Ankit Nagori is the cofounder Cure.fit, a holistic healthcare platform, and currently oversees Eatfit – one of India’s largest healthy food platforms. Soon after graduation in 2007, Ankit founded a social media startup- Youthpad, which he ran for three years. He then joined Flipkart as a manager, where he rose quickly among the ranks to spearhead the company’s operations as its Chief Business Officer. In 2016, after a six-year tenure at Flipkart marked by several groundbreaking initiatives launched by him, Ankit left the company to establish Cure.Fit, along with Mukesh Bansal. Cure.fit is an integrated health platform that provides all aspects of a healthy lifestyle on one platform. In his current role at Eatfit his ambition is to grow the company further as a forerunner for healthy food that is fun and ‘desi’ at heart. Ankit’s commitment to this industry is fueled by his longstanding passion for fitness – a trait he is also well-known for in his personal and professional circles. He is famous for hiking the 9km distance between his home and office in HSR Layout to commute for work. A sports enthusiast, Ankit captained the cricket group at the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, his alma mater. He continues to honor his love for Cricket by regularly participating in his cricket club matches as a pace bowler. He is also an active volunteer with the Simply Sports Foundation.
Bio
With over 4 decades of work experience across hospitality, retail and real-estate sectors, Navin Gurnaney has been successfully delivering growth for businesses across the globe in India, Europe and the US. Navin’s vision for Tim Hortons in India is to build a café brand that makes people feel at home. Globally, Tim Hortons has stood for its warmth & care that guests experience, and Navin strives to create the same experience here in India. Launched in August 2022, under Navin’s leadership, Tim Hortons in India is already receiving great love and admiration from its customers. In his previous years, he has been leading growth, strategy, and operations for brands such as Starbucks USA, Starbucks India, Pepsico, Office Depot and C2 Education. Apart from his passion for building world-class F&B experiences for discerning Indian consumers, he is equally zealousabout building an enriching, collaborative and inclusive workspace for the people in his organization. Within the industry, Navin is extremely well-known for his unique style of leadership which creates an ecosystem of inspiration, ownership and excellence. On the personal front, he is an avid traveler and enjoys listening to Indian music and singing.He is also the winner of Atlanta Indian Idol.
Bio
Rohit Kapoor is the CEO - Food Marketplace at Swiggy. He has moved into this role recently and is charged with leading the largest vertical for Swiggy - Food Delivery.Prior to this Rohit was the CEO - India & South East - Asia at OYO. He led OYO India during the pandemic years and was instrumental in transforming the business across financials, partner and customer NPS. A seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience, Rohit has worked in various leadership positions across sales and finance in several companies such as Max India Limited and McKinsey & Company. Rohit has recently been featured as one of ISB’s most influential alumni in the book “ISB Portraits.” In addition to the PGD, he is also a certified Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA Institute, USA). Rohit is extremely passionate about quality education, and access to opportunities being given to all. For this reason, he has been appointed as visiting faculty at SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Harappa Education, IMT Ghaziabad, and Vedica Scholars- a programme for women to broaden their horizons. He also dons the hat of an investor across the domains of prop-tech, health tech and fintech to name a few as he believes that entrepreneurial ambitions must be nourished, and is actively entrenched in the startup ecosystem of India. He continues to mentor and invest in startups such as OFBusiness, Cars24, Mosaic Brands, Orange Healthcare, Park+ to name a few. In his personal life, he is fond of all things design, is a keen portrait photographer and a fitness enthusiast. In 2017, he bicycled from Manali to Leh, one of the toughest cycling routes anywhere in the world.
Bio
Vishal Jindal has 20 years of entrepreneurial and investing experience across different sectors and countries. He has a passion for food & entrepreneurship, and is currently the Director for Sky Gate Hospitality (Biryani By Kilo). He was the Founder & Director of Carpediem Capital, India based Private Equity Firm operating from Gurgaon. He also built from scratch Bhartiya Electronics Pvt Ltd and Vectra Solutions Pte Ltd (Singapore), both IT companies involved in value added reselling and customized solutions to major OEMs, distributors and multinationals in Asia. He later moved to investing in his career as founder & director for Akshayam Capital Pte Ltd (Singapore), long/short hedge fund investing in Asian markets across different sectors. He mentors different startups and is a frequent speaker on startups/entrepreneurship. Vishal received a post graduate management degree from Syracuse University, New York and bachelors engineering degree from IIT- BHU, India. He is also an avid traveler & voracious reader.
Bio
Fusion of Indian food with international cuisine is what made Chef Harpal a name to reckon with in the hotel industry. A graduate from the catering school at Bhubaneshwar, he spent his initial years in learning different international cuisines, but later realised that his interest lay in unearthing the authentic regional Indian food. Pursuing this goal, Chef Harpal mastered the art of Indian food and created a niche for himself by learning authentic Hyderabadi food under Ustad Habib Pasha. Begum Mumtaz Khan, an authority in Hyderabadi cuisine, further helped him in enhancing his knowledge. Today, people recognise him with the famous quote, namak shamak, namak shamak, daal dete hain as a host of the most popular culinary show Turban Tadka on Food Food channel on Indian television. He has already bagged the title of Energy Chef of India and passionately charged-up people about cooking! He has worked with restaurants like Vintage a Hyderabadi speciality restaurant a specialty restaurant in Luxembourg, five star properties like Centaur Hotel (Juhu beach), The Oberoi (Bhubaneshwar), Hotel Tuli International (Vidarbha) and The Regent (Mumbai). Chef Harpal has also received the title of Most Admired Chef on television for the year 2012, by Golden Star Hospitality Awards. Hes the first chef to come up with Indian fusion cuisines at the popular Passage to India restaurant. Hes the creator of the famous Lalla Mussa Dal, which was highly appreciated by the Australian High Commission. The taste of this particular dish was given in a verdict of it being better than its counterpart dish Dal Bhukara. He has been awarded with a letter of appreciation from the Australian High Commission praising the quality of the food cooked by him as the best in the country. He also hosted the first ever episode of the programme Khana Khazana on ZEE TV in the year 1993.
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