(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) The who's who of Oman turned up for a great evening on Thursday when the sultanate's top hospitality awards – the Oman Restaurant Awards were presented at the Grand Hyatt Muscat.
Based on public voting and the decision of a panel of judges kept anonymous till the last moment the 13th edition saw some surprise winners while others further cemented their place at the top in 14 categories from among 101 participating restaurants.
As one of the judges later said it was - 'An amazing ceremony...that gets better and better.' Livening up the evening were the very witty Issam Sultan as the emcee and equally entertaining cameos by 'revenge emcees' Sean Hennessey of African & Eastern and Rishi Khimji discussing their 'Mama Mahal' restaurant concept of keeping naughty kids under control by serving them chillies.
Then followed a delectable dinner during which Salha and the Million Dollar Band regaled the guests and built up the anticipation for the evening's most awaited part – the awards announcement.
The Oman Restaurant Awards 2014 received a stupendous response from diners across the sultanate with 475000 votes (a marked increase from the previous edition's 426000) being cast during the preliminary round that kicked off on September 25 last year and concluded on October 25.
Following the month-long voting process three finalists were selected from each category. A team of five judges took over from here visiting the finalists anonymously from November to February. Their votes were then collated to decide the winners in each category.
The judges were Aaditya Khimji Anna Dudchenko Hassan al Saleh Kami Sharif and Richard van de Ruit. Anna said 'The objectives of the Restaurant Awards are to recognise and celebrate excellence to enhance the quality of the dining experience across the country and to improve the image of Muscat as a dining destination. I was honoured to be one of the judges for the Restaurant Awards 2014 and I must confess that it was a rather challenging experience. It was difficult at times as I had to look beyond specific dishes and try to capture the whole of a restaurant and its intentions so it was important to be fair to be honest and understand the cuisine that a restaurant had to offer.'
'Yet another amazing awards ceremony was hosted by Apex Press and Publishing that I was honoured to have been a judge of. I think this was my fourth or fifth awards ceremony that I have had the privilege of attending and all I can say is they just get better and better each year. I do believe that the rightful winners won and speaking for myself as a judge there were certain restaurants that were equally good in all the categories but one just might have had that little something extra that swayed it in their favour. Thanks to Apex I got to try out restaurants that I had never been to before' said Richard van de Ruit.
He too contended that it was an extremely tough competition.
'I hope that the runners-up that did not walk away with the title will look to do that something extra not just for the Restaurant Awards but as a standard practice. There were no losers and in my opinion all the nominees were winners. This was an incredible experience and I just want to end by saying a great thank you to Apex Press and Publishing for giving me this opportunity and for hosting an incredible event once again' he said.
Exuberant scenes were witnessed when Saleh Zakwani executive chairman and Mohana Prabhakar chief executive Apex Press and Publishing announced the winners.
"It was an 'Oh My God' moment for me. Though I was confident of On The Rocks winning in the Newcomer category Espeto Gaucho winning in the Casual Dining (Independent) category was really unexpected' said an excited Hussain Fadhil owner of Espeto Gaucho and On The Rocks.
The event was sponsored by Bank Muscat Saraya Bandar Jissah and African & Eastern. AbdulRazak Ali Issa chief executive Bank Muscat said 'On the occasion of the 13th Oman Restaurant Awards Bank Muscat congratulates all winners for the year in achieving high standards in their respective culinary fields. The bank is proud to be closely associated with the awards which is reckoned a culinary benchmark for the hospitality sector in Oman. As the nation's leading banking partner Bank Muscat attaches great importance to initiatives aimed at contributing to the country's progress and development in all arenas including hospitality and tourism. In light of the priority accorded to economic diversification programmes the bank is committed to promoting the hospitality and tourism sector which is witnessing significant developments in the country.'
Sean Hennessey general manager of African & Eastern said 'African & Eastern is delighted to be associated with Oman Restaurant Awards for the ninth consecutive year. The awards provide an ideal opportunity to recognise and celebrate the success of those who work hard every day to deliver quality food and beverage within the hospitality industry. It is clear the standards within the industry are rising each year which is reflected in how competitive the awards have become. Many of the entrants utilise African & Eastern's portfolio as an element of their F&B offering and this is a chance for us to show our gratitude to them.'
Sheikh Hamood al Hosni CEO of Saraya Bandar Jissah and co-sponsor for the fifth time said 'Saraya Bandar Jissah has been a continuous supporter of the Oman Restaurant Awards and it gives us immense pleasure to be part of it once again. This prestigious competition which is held exclusively for the hospitality and tourism industry inspires participating restaurants to strive for perfection and showcases their efforts within the sector. It is our collective vision to make the sultanate a truly unique tourist destination and the participants and winners of the Oman Restaurant Awards are a testament of the increasingly sophisticated hospitality scene in Oman.'
The night culminated with a sumptuous offering of desserts.<
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