Chef Arvind Rai, Senior Executive Chef, The Ashok, New Delhi was honored with ‘The Golden Hat’ award at the 17th Annual Chef Awards to commemorate the International Chefs Day by the Indian Culinary Forum (IFC).
“It is an absolute honor to be the recipient of this much coveted award and being recognized for all the hard work and dedication I have put forth in all these years. Indian Culinary Forum is one of the most prestigious platform for our fraternity and I am delighted to have win ‘The Golden Hat’, “said Chef Arvind Rai. He is also a recipient of the National Tourism Award for the year 2015-16.
Chef Awards by the Indian Culinary Forum is an effort to put the country on the international forefront, recognize and honor the chefs and their contribution to the Hospitality industry and society at large.
The chefs, who showcased their culinary skills at the four days of Trade Tests, organised by the Indian Culinary Forum were felicitated at the award ceremony along with top award categories including Lifetime Achievement Award, Golden Hat Chef Award, Silver Hat Chef Award, Pastry Chef of the Year Award, Lady Chef of the Year Award and Food Critic Award, etc.
On the occasion, Chief Guest Ms. Meenakshi Sharma, Director-General, Tourism marked her presence along with renowned names from the hospitality fraternity-like Zorawar Kalra, Vir Sanghvi, and many more.
Padma Shri Sanjeev Kapoor will grace the occasion virtually and talk about Entrepreneurship and chefs in the post-covid times.
The Chef Awards also honoured the industry veterans in six other sought-after categories. The winners were selected by a panel of an esteemed jury.
The following are the winners of the 17th Annual Chef Awards:
| Lifetime Achievement Award: | Chef Arun Agarwal |
| Golden Hat: | Chef Arvind Rai of The Ashok, Delhi |
| Silver Hat: | Chef Vinod Bhatti of IKEA |
| Pastry Chef of the Year: | Chef Tarun Kumar of Sunrise Victuals, Sonipat. He is also a fast-growing YouTuber. |
| Lady Chef of the Year: | Chef Nandita Karan The Lalit Chandigarh |
| Master Chef of the Year: | Chef Setu Gupta of Le Meridien |
| Master Chef Kebabs: | Chef Surender Singh of Le Meridien |
| Master Chef International Confectionary Award: | Chef Manish Kanojia of Radisson, Gurugram |
| Master Chef Indian Sweets Award: | Chef Dalbir Singh of Ashok Hotel |
| Master Chef International Cuisine Award: | Chef Rajnish Rawat of Radisson, Paschim Vihar |
| Master Chef North Indian Cuisine Award: | Chef Mehboob Alam of Ashok Hotel |
| Master Chef Oriental Cuisine Award: | Chef Nima Tshering Lepcha of Radisson Blu, Delhi Airport |
| Master Chef Baker Award: | Chef Narendra Singh of IHM, Gwalior |
As part of the 17th Annual Chef Awards, Indian Culinary Forum also organised the 8th edition of Knowledge Summit, “Exploring New Horizons and Challenges: Experts Perspectives on Opportunities During These Times”.
The Summit was phased over four sessions. The inaugural session was done virtually by Anil Bhandari, a hospitality industry veteran and Chairman of the Organising Committee.
The second session was on Entrepreneurship and Chefs in the Post Covid times by Celebrity Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, interviewed by Smitha Menon.
He advised aspiring entrepreneurs, “Don’t keep waiting for very big opportunities. Start small and build on it. Most chefs think that perfection is a virtue, but I think it can be a big impediment. Because when you say something is perfect, there is a lot of pressure from yourself, friends, family etc. Gone are the days for launching anything big and with perfection. So, test and learn. And that’s the way to scale up. It gives you an opportunity to correct your course quickly. Don’t wait for perfection, because it may be too late.”
The third session of the day was a panel discussion on Skills Required by the Chefs – An Industry Perspective with Varendra S. Dutta, Rajan Bahadur, Sanjeev K Nayar, Mohammad Shoeb, and moderated by Rajiv Gulshan.
The last session was on Future of Food through Sociological Lens by Vir Sanghvi who was interviewed by Dilip Puri, Founder & CEO at Indian School of Hospitality.
The summit was curated by Indian School of Hospitality and co-ordinated by Dr. Chef Prem Ram, Joint secretary Indian Culinary Forum. Those who could not attend the event, also joined the Summit virtually on Zoom App.
Read More: Food Voyager
