Food and Nightlife Magazine announced the winners of Delhi’s Most Delicious and felicitated them at a grand award ceremony on September

3rd 2013 at Pullman Gurgaon Central Park, putting the age old battle of “my dish is the most delicious” to rest.

The gala evening was graced by stalwarts from the Food and Beverage industry and also witnessed known names from across the Delhi social circuit. The award ceremony included three live cooking demonstrations in the Fisher & Paykel Social Kitchen. The cook-offs started with a group of 15 young chefs from Olive Culinary Academy who demonstrated a 3 course meal live in 10 minutes followed by Celebrity Chef Tanveer Kwatra from Pullman Gurgaon Central Park who prepared a succulent Butter Chicken recipe using Nestle Maggi Base gravies and, finally, celebrity Chef Ritu Dalmia who prepared an Italian feast for the guests.

Delhiites and their love for food is nothing new and when we talk about Delhi food we can never miss the historical and cultural blend of myriad of cuisines and flavours that the capital endorses. Ranging from the mouth-watering street foods across Chandni Chowk, mughlai delicacies around Jama Masjid to the exquisite kitchens of five star hotels, Delhi simply serves to be a food paradise. And, to recognise and celebrate variants of Delhi food, Food and Nightlife Magazine, came up with the concept of Delhi’s Most Delicious, a culinary fiesta where ten of the most popular dishes were chosen and the places in Delhi serving them were pitted against each other in public platforms to determine the most delicious. This is a competition where Delhiites chose their favourite places by voting for them through a Facebook application and through other online live online tools.  https://apps.facebook.com/food_and_night_life

The hunt for Delhi’s Most Delicious started with online voting through an application on facebook with 10 nominations across 10 categories. The online poll continued for 15 days where close to 2,50,000 votes poured in. The majority of the votes were cast in Biryani, Caesar Salad and Burger categories. This was followed by live tasting where the jury panellists went anonymously to the nominated outlets and tasted the dishes. The results were then accumulated on the basis of the poll and tasting and the winners are:

1.            Burger – Hard Rock Café

2.            Mutton Rogan Josh – Chor Bizzare

3.            Dim Sum – Shiro

4.            Butter Chicken – Havemore, Pandara Road

5.            Thai Curry – Mamagoto

6.            Caesar Salad – Yellow Brick Road, Vivanta by Taj

7.            Pizza – Olive Bar & Kitchen, Mehrauli

8.            Dal Makhani – Pind Baluchi

9.            Pasta – Big Chill

10.          Biryani – Dum Pukht, ITC Maurya

On the occasion of Delhi’s Most Delicious Award, 2013, Mr. Sumit Goyal, Editor-in-Chief, Food and Nightlife Magazine said “We witnessed more than two lakh votes from across ten categories for 15 days. In a surprise revelation dishes like Biryani and Burger has seen most number of votes as compared to traditional North Indian fare like Dal Makhani and Butter Chicken. This initiative presented an opportunity for all food lovers to select their favourite dish and restaurant and find Delhi’s Most Delicious”.

Jagan Lacsher, General Manager – Pullman Gurgaon Central Park said, “We are delighted to be a part of this wonderful initiative that brings together food lovers from the city. Accor Hospitality has always considered food as a primary focus and ensured that we maintain international

standards, and Pullman Gurgaon Central Park abides by the same motto.”

Sanjeev Wadhwa, Country Manager – Fisher & Paykel Appliances, said, “At Fisher & Paykel, we advocate the Social Kitchen – make memories while you cook! Having renowned chefs like Ritu Dalmia, Tanveer Kwatra and budding chefs, alike, demonstrating that love for food reinforces our beliefs – Eat. Share. Live Life! ”

Gaurav Sekhri, Co-Promoter and Director, Fratelli Wines said, “Fratelli as a brand is extremely passionate about its wine and is trying to create a culture of excellence around Indian wines. It is a great opportunity to be associated with Delhi’s Most Delicious and it is important that we speak with the audience who appreciates good food and great wines”.

Matthias Milkereit, Nestlé Professional Head of Food, South Asia Region, based in Gurgaon/Delhi, India said “Delhi’s Most Delicious & Nestlé Professional is pleased to associate with Minerva Publishing and Media Ltd. in the first season of Delhi’s Most Delicious 2013 competition as a partner.

Nestlé Professional manufactures culinary base products that are developed for chefs in the hospitality channels. The same professional chefs will be addressed in Delhi’s Most Delicious, as the best restaurant teams in Delhi NCR are competing for the awards.

Nestlé Professional is in the middle of launching the new product range MAGGI Base Gravies. The third product variety MAGGI Kadhai Base Masala has recently been launched and the base gravies assist professional chefs and their teams in restaurants, hotels and event caterers in their ground work.

At the award ceremony night we will celebrate with the best restaurant teams and will share with the audience some innovative recipe applications with our MAGGI Base Gravies.”

The Indian food industry has been witnessing a steady growth in the past years with India being one of the forerunners placed after China in producing food. Delhi poses to be a hub of multi-cuisine restaurants with more and more restaurateurs investing in this industry. According to the “Indian Food Service Report 2013”, by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), the Indian food service industry is currently worth INR. 2, 47,680 crore and is expected to grow at a rate of 11 per cent by 2018.

Source : Khurram B. Aslam