Last night saw the winners of the inaugural GulfHost Innovation Awards – the region's first event to recognise food and beverage companies' industry innovations – announced at a glittering ceremony at the Armani Hotel on the opening day of leading trade exhibition GulfHost.

Organised by Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), the awards were judged by an independent panel of industry leaders and experts, and endorsed by GulfHost’s Strategic Partner, the International Centre for Culinary Arts (ICCA).  

The importance of the awards was reflected in the guest list on the evening which included leading personalities in the industry and a number of world-renowned celebrity chefs, including Heinz Beck.

Trixie LohMirmand, senior vice president, Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), said: “This year marked a new milestone for the F&B industry with the launch this week of GulfHost, the first dedicated food services and hospitality exhibition to support the development of the fast growing industry across the region. The inaugural GulfHost Innovation Awards add another dimension by spotlighting those companies innovating and helping to progress the industry even further. Through this recognition we hope to inspire even more pioneering excellence across the spectrum of products and services in F&B.”

The evening event also included a dynamic display of culinary excellence in the form of a competitive cook-off between celebrity chefs; Silvena Rowe: British chef, food writer and television personality, whose latest flagship is Dubai’s design-led Omnia restaurant; Colin Clague, a chef who was part of the pre-opening team of the prestigious Burj Al Arab and now pioneers Dubai’s Roya restaurant at Grosvenor House; Jason Atherton, award-winning Michelin-starred chef and restauranteur, whose current concepts include Dubai’s Marina Social; and Robert Nilsson, previous Swedish Chef of the Year, whose latest role is as executive chef at the Viceroy Palm Jumeirah. Silvena Rowe was crowned the final champion with her winning signature dish.

GulfHost Innovation Award Winners 2017 include:  
• Best Back of House Equipment Innovation (Hot) – Rational Kitchen and Catering Equipment Trading FZCO – for Connected Cooking, a solution to connect and control kitchen appliances remotely
• Best Back of House Equipment Innovation (Other) – Gebr. Echtermann GmbH & Co. KG – for Stainless Steel Sensor Tap, allowing kitchen users to wash their hands without a need to touch the tap
• Best Bar or Coffee Equipment Innovation – Santos – for The NutriSantos #65, an easy-to-use cold press juicer
• Best Front of House Equipment Innovation –  La Marquise International – for Gelato Popapp, an innovative gelato dispenser
• Best Green or Eco-Friendly Equipment Innovation –  Heko – for Energy Manager, a smart kitchen solution to manage energy efficiencies

GulfHost 2017 is one of six co-located trade shows taking place until 20th September, as part of Dubai International Hospitality Week. - TradeArabia News Service