The second edition of the Taste Bar & Restaurant Awards in partnership with international premium beer brand Heineken was officially launched in style at the new Woodvale Garden at Sankara Nairobi hotel on Monday 17th November 2012. Restaurateurs, bar owners, hospitality industry experts and persona’s of note were all in attendance for an evening of good food, drinks by international premium beer brand Heineken to toast the end of another successful year and the kick-off of the Taste Awards. More than 100 establishments have been nominated in the upcoming awards, a reflection of the diversity of our vibrant industry. As with the inaugural awards in 2011, the public will have their chance to vote online for their favorite outlets in the People’s Choice categories.
The Taste Awards are graded in two categories, the Prestige Awards and the People’s Choice Awards.
• The People’s Choice Awards are open for public voting from Monday 7th January till Sunday 27th January 2013. All voting is conducted online through a secure portal accessed via the Taste website (www.taste.co.ke) and is monitored by auditing company BDO.
• The Prestige Awards include the: Taste Excellence 2013 list of Nairobi’s top 13 restaurants and bars as voted on by a panel of food connoisseurs, beverage experts and persona’s of note at a workshop held in November. The Prestige Awards also recognise the people behind the scenes as evaluated by the Taste judging team. A full list of categories can be found online at the Taste website.
Shreya Karia, Director of Taste noted. ”We are delighted to kick-off the second edition of the Taste Bar & Restaurant Awards. 2012 has been an immense year; we’ve seen new establishments open up as well as established ones introduce innovative concepts. Patrons have also become even more discerning. Last year we saw over 15,000 people log on to have their say, we anticipate it to be higher this time around.” She further noted, ”This year we are raising the Taste standards; introducing different categories such as the Taste Excellence 2013 list and expanding the voting to include coastal establishments within the People’s Choice Awards.”
Other partner’s for the Taste Awards include: Eat Out Kenya, Ciroc Premium Vodka, BDO, Brand Kenya, Nomadic Tents, Kiss 100 FM, XFM, UP Magazine, Kenya Buzz and Asian Weekly.
Each year, Taste nominates an initiative to emphasize. Taste’s cause for 2013 is highlighting child nutrition and healthy eating in partnership with the Gertrude’s Hospital Foundation.
Winners will be announced at the Taste Awards 2013 on the 31st of January 2013, which will be held at Karura Forest.
Tickets can be purchase via the Taste website.
Visit www.taste.co.ke to find out how you can get involved.
Here are some pics from the cocktail launch