Last night Team MissMalini had the pleasure of attending TimeOut Magazine’s inaugural India Food Awards 2011, in the company of the country’s finest chefs and restaurateurs. Staged on the sprawling lawns of the Taj Lands End hotel in Bandra, the event featured live performances, free flowing spirits and of course, a gourmet dinner spanning various countries and cuisines. We were thrilled that friends of the blog Riyaaz Amlani (Saltwater, Smokehouse, Mocha) and Alex Sanchez (The Table) were awarded India’s Best Restauranter and Best Chef respectively – we couldn’t agree more! Taking home the prize for Best Restaurant in India, Critic’s Choice was *drumroll please*
Indian Accent located in the Manor Hotel in South Delhi!
Guests were treated to a clear starry night as hosts VJ Kamal Sidhu and VJ Yudhistir Urs introduced celebrity presenters such as Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin, Malaika Arora Khan, Poorna Jagannathan, Shahana Goswami, Neha Dhupia, Mahie Gill, Rohan Sippy, Shaan, Cyrus Sahukar, Lisa Haydon, Chetan Bhagat, Zoa Morani and celebrity Chef Sanjeev Kapoor.
Of course, no gala night would be complete in Bollywoodtown without the requisite celebrity quotient in the audience, and this evening saw the likes of Narayani Shastri, Ila Arun, Prahlad Kakkar, Shamita and Mashoom Singha, Shweta Salve, Shruti Seth, Angad Bedi, Anuradha Menon, Chetan Hansraj, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Sushma Reddy, Aditya Hitkari and Divya Palat, Lascelles Symonds, Adam Bedi and Nisha Harale.
India’s most celebrated restaurant personalities were also on hand, including Rahul Akerkar, A.D Singh, Kishore Bajaj, wine connoisseurs Andrew and Sonal Holland, and Chef Moshe Shek. Stealing the show, however, was the breathtaking performance by Nathan “Flutebox” Lee, who confided in us that he is actually half Malayali! All in all, a great start for an emerging voice in India’s blossoming food industry. What do you think of the winners? Let us know below!
