High street giant Tesco marked another step in its successful relationship with multicultural Britain, as it walked away with two gongs at the third annual World Food Awards, which took place on Saturday 1 October.Tesco received the East End Foods Best National Retailer award, beating competitor Asda for the top spot. The company also walked away with Product of the Year for its newly launched African-Caribbean soft drinks brand Jammin’, which was created as a direct result of feedback and input from Tesco customers.
The Awards, now in their third year have been created by the World Foods Association and recognise not only the incredible growth within this sector, but also the diversity of cultures and communities that the industry is inspired by.
Leading Mayfair-based oriental eatery Hakkasan beat off stiff competition from Jamie Oliver’s ‘Italian’ and F-Word semi-finalists The Curry Corner for the highly coveted Restaurant of the Year Award, whilst reggae legend inspired philanthropic drinks brand Marley’s Mellow Moods received an accolade for its iconic, powerful and vibrant packaging.
Leading drinks brand Rubicon and its creative agency Minimart received recognition for their ground-breaking campaign to ‘make Britain more exotic’ during the Rubicon Summer of Cricket., by walking away with the Jaguar Marketing Campaign of the Year Award.
The indomitable ‘ethnic work ethic’ was also celebrated with accolades for Turkish restaurateur Huseyin Ozer, who received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award and Chinese food magnate Stanley Tse, Chairman of the SeeWoo Group who received the Patak’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition for his services to the world food industry. Both individuals are a true reflection of true determination, commitment and hard work, with their rags to riches stories that have inspired many to following their footsteps.
30 years ago Hüseyin Özer was sleeping rough on the streets of Ankara, Turkey. After years of hard work and exceptional business acumen, today the multi-millionaire restaurateur is the proud owner of a chain of Central London restaurants, renowned as some of the best Turkish restaurants in the country and turning over a fortune in profits each year.
Mr Stanley Kwai Tsun Tse, Chairman and Founder of Chinese oriental food supplier SeeWoo, received the ultimate accolade of the evening with the Patak’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr Tse, who started out as a mere kitchen hand in a Chinese restaurant, has risen to become a true heavyweight of the Chinese food industry. With a career spanning more than 50 years, he now sits at the helm of one of UK’s leading oriental food specialists, operating across wholesale, retail and manufacturer with stores, distribution centres and restaurants throughout the UK and Europe.
Mr Tse, who picked up the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to developing the ethnic food sector said: “It is an honour to receive the Patak’s Lifetime Achievement Award as it recognises not just my efforts but the hard work and dedication of everyone working in the World Foods sector to bring it up to its current standard. I have been incredibly lucky to have a team of staff at See Woo that are as committed as I am, and it makes me very proud that Chinese brands and companies are being acknowledged and celebrated within the industry.”
Hosted by comedy legend Lenny Henry, the Awards featured a glittering array of celebrity guests including chefs Ken Hom, Rob Billington, Anjum Anand and Ravinder Bhogal, as well as Reggae Reggae Sauce creator Levi Roots, actor Nitin Ganatra, director Gurinder Chadha, singers Simon Webbe and Mica Paris and sporting legends Amir Khan, Denise Lewis and Chris Eubank.
The World Food Awards are open exclusively to companies specialising, promoting or stocking products from the following countries: Asian, Oriental, African, Afro-Caribbean, European, East-European, Middle Eastern, South American and Mediterranean.
The event was filmed by Star Plus and will be broadcast to over 1 million viewers globally in November 2011. Retailer Morrisons will be the broadcast sponsor for the awards.
The full list of winners for the 3rd Annual Food Awards are:
ASDA Product of the Year: Jammin by Tesco
Morrisons Best Packaging of the Year: Marley’s Mellow Moods
Wholesaler of the Year: Elbrook Cash & Carry
Jaguar Marketing Campaign of the Year: Rubicon – Summer of Cricket
Madhu’s Catering Supplier of the Year: JJ Food Service
Rajah Independent Retailer of the Year: Quality Foods
East End Foods National Retailer of the Year: Tesco
Chak 89 Restaurant of the Year: Hakkasan
Entrepreneur of the Year: Huseyin Ozer, Ozer Restaurants
Patak’s Lifetime Achievement Award: Mr Stanley Kwai Tsun Tse, See Woo Group
World Food Awards PR: Anjna Raheja +44 7976 44 30 40
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