BE INCLUSIVE HOSPITALITY ANNOUNCE FINALISTS FOR BIH SPOTLIGHT AWARDS

The BIH Spotlight Awards celebrate diverse talent in the hospitality industry

Be Inclusive Hospitality, (BIH) a not-for-profit organisation, have announced the finalists for 2nd year of the BIH Spotlight Awards. The awards are designed to shine a light on exceptional businesses and individuals from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds in hospitality.

The winners of the BIH Spotlight Awards will be announced at an awards ceremony, taking place on Monday 16th October at M Threadneedle Street, London.

BIH received over 300 public nominations for 15 awards 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 and The Peoples’ Choice Awards for Person of the Year and Restaurant of the Year.

This year's judging panel plays host to some of the hospitality industry's most influential figures including Culinary Director of Rare Restaurants, Mike Reid and Co-founder of Tayer & Elementary, Monica Berg.

They will also be joined by Founder of Juma Kitchen Philip Juma; Writer, Food and Diversity Consultant Mallika Basu; Chief Executive Umbrella Training Adele C.Oxberry; Chef Consultant for Tiger & Rabbit and Bamboo Bowls Jay Morjaria; Chef, Author and Restaurateur Shelina Permalloo; Global Rum Ambassador Ian Burrell; Founder & Director of Mum Craig Prentice; Owner, Presenter of Wood & Water April Jackson; Director of Susa Comms Piers Zangana; Owner of Happy Endings Terri Mercieca; Chef Director Dominic Taylor; Founder of Celestial Peach Jenny Lau; Founder and Executive Director of Peach 20/20 Peter Martin; Found of Home Hospitality & Actually Good Lauren Barnett.

Founder of Be Inclusive Hospitality, Lorraine Copes, said: “Following the success of our very first BIH Spotlight Awards last year, we’re really looking forward to celebrating more of our industry's unsung talent. We’re over the moon with the number of applications we’ve received this year and can’t wait to raise a glass to all our finalists, alongside our incredible judging panel, at our awards ceremony on the 16th October.”

The finalists in 15 categories are as follows:

Chef of the Year - Sponsored by caterer.com

Dixie Fingal-Rock Innes, Chef at Sohaila Restaurant - London

Eric Allangba, Founder/ Chef Patron of Funky Feast - London

Lalit Kumar, Executive Chef at IHG
Ahmed Abdalla, Head Chef, Legacy at The Grand - York

Pastry Chef of the Year

Fang-Yu Lin, Head Chef and owner of Sugarcane Studio Ltd - Bath

Donovan Dyer, Head Pastry Chef of M Restaurants - London

Ryan Panchoo, Owner of Borough 22 Doughnuts - London

Sara Assad-Mannings, owner of Bun Head Bakes - London

Drinks Professional of the Year - Sponsored by Moet Hennessy UK

Sonal Clare, Wine Director at The Wilderness - Birmingham

Stephanie Wangui, Senior Sommelier at Noble Rot - London

Jeri Kimber-Ndiaye, Head Sommelier at The NoMad Hotel - London

Wine Educator, Shane Jones

Caribbean Food

Liam Barker, Chef & Educator - London
Ayanna and Ayisha Fisher, Director of Ayannas London

Jamaican Restaurants, Rudie’s Jerk Shack - London

Adians Tropical Fusion Restaurant - Birmingham

African Food - Sponsored by Pedros
The Flygerians - London

Tunde Tejumola, Chef at Suyaman - London

Louis Ashok, Chef at Technique London Ltd

Restaurant brand, Chuku's - London

South Asian Food

Sohini Banerjee, Supperclub Chef for Smoke and Lime - London
Restaurant brand Rambutan - London
Roti Chai Restaurant - London
Manju Patel, Head Chef at Manju's - Brighton

East & Southeast Asian Food - Sponsored by ESEA Eats

Charlene Liu and Liu Qian, Founders of Liu Xiaomian - London
Amy Poon, Founder of Poon's London & Poon's Wontoneria
Chao Zhang, Founder of Tofu Vegan - London
Nicole Ma & Ryan Leung, Founders of Hoko London

Middle Eastern Food - Sponsored by Persian Hospitality Network

Ayesha Kalaji, Head Chef at Queen of Cups - Glastonbury
Modern Persian Kitchen, Co-Founder of Modern Persian Kitchen - Durham
Imad's Syrian Kitchen, Founder of Imad's Syrian Kitchen - London

Writer of the Year - Sponsored by Decanter

Chetna Makan

Jimi Famurewa

Gurd Loyal

Rashmi Narayan

Head Office Impact - Sponsored by DesignMyNight

Olajide Alabi, Equality, Inclusion and Wellbeing Partner at Turtle Bay Hospitality
Brian Beaton, Employment Programme Manager for The House of St Barnabas
Ollie Stewart, Progression Manager for The House of St Barnabas
Vicky Ilankovan, Manager at Equal Measures UK

Bar or Pub of the Year - Sponsored by Campari UK/WSET School London

The Village People - London
Trailer Happiness - London
The White Horse Buckover - Wotton-under-Edge
Diogenes the Dog - London

Brand of the Year - Sponsored by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

Crazy Gin Ltd

Jamaican Rum Vibes

Tarsier Spirits

Cue Point Ltd

Rising Star - Sponsored by Umbrella Training

Chef and Food Writer, Rahel Stephanie
Senior Coffee Trainer at Well Grounded Jobs CIC, Aashifa Hussain
Co-Founder of Kromanti Rum, Danielle David
Commis Chef at The House of St Barnabas, Blossom Green

Peoples’ Choice Person of the Year - Sponsored by Deliveroo

Director of Human Resources at The Biltmore Mayfair, Sting Khumalo
Author and Bartender of Lyaness Bar, Emanuele Mensah

The Peoples’ Choice Restaurant of the Year - Sponsored by OpenTable

Gouqi

Akoko

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