Winners of The Big F Awards | Gurgaon 2015

 ‘The Big F Awards 2015’~ Indian Food Freak presents Gurgaon’s very own Food Awards ~

IMG_8586September 18th 2015: The second edition of Gurgaon’s biggest Food Awards – The Big F Awards” Gurgaon 2015 as conceived and organised by Indian Food Freak (www.indianfoodfreak.com)- was held over the course of a star studded evening at The Westin, Gurgaon. This first of its kind “Gurgaon-Centric” food awards serenaded and felicitated restaurants and people associated with food, who are majorly contributing to Gurgaon rapidly becoming a foodie destination. The audience for the awards comprised of esteemed members of Indian Food Freak and its sister group Gurgaon Food Freak, the award nominees and titans of the food industry such as Celebrity Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, the pioneer of modern Indian food innovation – Chef Manish Mehrotra, the much awarded Chef Saby Gorai, Chef Saransh Goirala, Chef Davinder Kumar and Masterchef Australia top contestant Sarah Todd. IMG_8654The evening started off with a bang with a stand-up comedy act by Vasu Primlani (who was also the emcee of the award ceremony) followed by the award announcements interspersed with enthralling performances by belly dancer Priyanka Valecha and psychological illusionist Karan Singh. The phantasmagoric evening culminated in a mingling of all the attendees with bonhomie while partaking of the varied buffet generously laid out by The Westin.

IMG_8728Commenting on the event, international guest Sarah Todd said, “I am delighted to be a part of this event and am wowed by the amazing talent people possess here. It is so heartening to see these awards giving recognition and encouragement not just to the biggest names but also to the smaller names and individuals as well.”

IMG_8516Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, who had specially flown in for the awards from Mumbai, stated that “It is indeed an honour and a privilege to be a part of this event. I am delighted to see how much Gurgaon has evolved into a foodie destination on its own. I wish all the winners the very best of success in life and even more accolades to come. Kudos to the Big F Awards for bringing so much talent under one roof.”

Pawan Soni and Sabyasachi GoraiPawan Soni, Founder and CEO of Indian Food Freak and The Big F Awards, while acknowledging the efforts of all who had made this event a success, observed that “It has been a great delight to put together these awards for the people who are truly making a difference to Gurgaon’s culinary landscape. We have tried to include all sorts of brands and even home bakers and home caterers because we feel that talent is not about size but about the joy it brings us all. I am humbled by the support extended to this event by our partners, our eminent jury and guests. It has truly been an enriching experience and given such an enthusiastic response, we will soon announce the next edition of these awards in Delhi and Mumbai.”

The Big F Awards had winners across various categories within two award segments :

  • DSC_0476The Jury’s Choice Awards where the jury comprising of Chefs Manjit Gill, Kunal Kapur and Sabyasachi Gorai and food critics Sourish Bhattacharya, Pawan Soni and Osama Jalali selected their own winners in each category with each jury member having one vote.
  • The Popular Choice Awards where the nominated contenders were awarded through a public voting system.

Winners :     

Categories Popular Jury Jury (If Tie)
World Cuisine –
All day dining in a Five star hotel Spectra (The Leela Ambience) Latest Recipe (Le Meridien)
American Smokey’s BBQ & Grill Smokey’s BBQ & Grill
Cafe Café Delhi Heights Di Ghent Café
Chinese Monk China Club
European Cuisine The Wine Company Pintxo
Italian Prego (The Westin) Zanotta (The Leela Ambience)
Japanese / Korean Gung – (Korean) Eest (The Westin) – (Japanese)
Mediterranean Olive Bistro Olive Bistro
Multi-cuisine The California Boulevard Drift
Pan Asian Wokamama Wokamama
Others –
Biryani Biryani Blues Biryani Blues
Kebabs & Street food Quereshi Tikka Town
Pizza Fat Lulu NYC Pie Pizza Express
Gurgaon Special –
Best Mixologist Aman Dua (Farzi Café) Sandeep Verma (Sandy’s)
Aahata Machaan Area 69
Bakery Angels in my Kitchen Baker Street
Home Baker Soneeka Kannan (Love at First Bite) Soneeka Kannan (Love at First Bite) Sonica Singh (Healthy Bakers)
Home Caterers Smita Sabharwal (From My Kitchen) Abhilasha Jain (Marwadi Khana) Gul Ali (Gul’s Kitchen)
Nightlife –
Best Stocked Wine Bar The Wine Company Rubicon Bar (The Leela Ambience)
Micro Brewery Soi 7 – Pub & Brewery 7 Degreees Brauhaus
Pub/Bar Café Delhi Heights Story (The Westin)
Indian Cuisines –
North Indian Dhaba by Claridges Punjab Grill
Indian Regional Cuisine Soda Bottle Openerwala Khyen Chyen
Food Freak Special –
Best Restaurant Blogger (Name with blog URL) RK Geetha (Indian Food Freak) Mr. X (Yummraj)
Debut of the year Farzi Café Farzi Café
Best Inhouse PR Sonali Priy Kapoor (The Farzi Café) Sonali Priy Kapoor (The Farzi Café)
pawansoni

Food Critic and a Marketing Wizz who had a high profile career with leading MNC’s like HSBC, GE Capital etc, Pawan Soni comes across as a quintessential corporate employee. He left behind his successful career as the Vice President of an MNC... all for his love for food. He a WSET Level II wine connoisseur and a foodie who loves to eat anything under the sun. Besides being a food and travel writer for various food forums and magazines, he is the Founder and CEO of Indian Food Freak. As one of the initial bloggers who started his blog over a decade ago, his website www.indianfoodfreak.com is currently one of the biggest food and travel blogs in the country. Pawan also conducts highly successful restaurant awards and recently concluded the 9th edition of The Big F restaurant awards. He has also won the best influencer awards in India by BBC Food Food Awards in 2018

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