We all have
some kind of madness which we live for. And I am proud to say that my madness
lies in
Food. My
love for food was evident since childhood. From those after school chaats to
dinner parties
with
parents, I used to enjoy it all endlessly.
I
along with friends from IndianFoodFreak.com poured this passion together in the
form of 'Food Freak Awards' which I would describe as “the fantasy of all food buffs”.
The Food
Freak Awards has just passed and I have already started feeling nostalgic. For
me it
was a
glorious night with numerous stars studded in its crown.
There is a
not so long story behind this delectable Award show. I and some equally “Mad
for Food”
people made
this happen with their unbeatable enthusiasm and love for eating. We worked endlessly
for
the ‘Food Freak Awards’. Some believed in us whereas for some it was just
another pie-in-the-sky idea.
Hope was all
we had in abundance and an idea too which needed implementation. After endless
sleepless
nights resulting in half sleepy days, we were able to roll out the Food Freak
Awards, an initiative of SPAG Asia and Indianfoodfreak.com.
We
had no idea that this Award function will gain so much limelight with the whole
nation flocking together to vote for their favorite cuisines and eating joints
in Gurgaon. Even after months of voting, we came across people who wanted us to
re-open the voting lines so that they may make their favorites win. I was
floored by the fervor that locals of Gurgaon and people across the country
showed. This made me think, is food just a necessity today or has it become
more of an important activity which people love to pursue?
I would say
26th April, 2014 was a memorable date for all of us when the ‘Food
Freak Awards’ actually
happened.
With so many notable personalities around and obviously food for the heck of
which we
arranged
this Award was a big hit thanks to the Westin hospitality. We had some renowned list of jury including
names like Chef Sabyasachi Gorai, MasterChef Kunal Kapur, Anoothi Vishal, Osama
Jalali, Pawan Soni, Aalok Wadhwa and me.
The
introduction of this event can never be done without mentioning the
host Jeeveshu. The crazy jokes and madness that he sprinkled on the floor were
outstanding. I seriously hate you Jeeveshu for making my jaws hurt and my
mascara smudged due to laughter tears.
The
awards honored the finest eating outlets in Gurgaon which tickle the foodie
instinct of every person. Where Made in Punjab was voted as the Best Debut Restaurant
in the popular choice, the Parsi and Iranian cafe Soda Bottle Openerwala won
the heart of the jury and became the jury choice winner in the same category.
The
award for the best Microbrewery was given to 7 Degrees Brauhaus by jury whereas
Soi7 Pub & Brewery was the winner in the popular choice.
The
most enthusiastic category among all was the Home Baker who showed their zeal
for this event on the social media platforms. Also, we had an out of the box
category named “Aahata” which was adorned by numerous nominations each
signifying an unusual style.
Everyone
who witnessed this glorious award show stated that it has set a benchmark in
the world of food. The endless list of categories followed by huge number of
nominations was surprising for all. We gave equal platforms to both popular
choice and jury choice awards deciding upon which was a big task.
The guests had a whale of a time experiencing the overall entertainment
quotient including the hilarious host, dazzling dance performance by one of my
favourite dance troupe of Gurgaon ‘Urban Dance Center –UDC’ and rejuvenating
and very fresh handpan show.
The
idea behind the Food Freak Awards was to see the world from the eye of a foodie
who takes food as a beautiful canvas painted with multihued colors of cultures,
regions and lip smacking spices. Now I am looking forward to have more of such
Awards in future to give a platform to such an important part of our life.
I
would like to thank our sponsors The Westin Gurgoan, Artize, KhaugaliDeals.com,
Black Dog, QUA, Kingfisher, Aresa spa, Kingdom of Dreams, Comparetofly.com,
Cornitos Nacho Crisps, Food and Nightlife Magazine, Urban Dance Center and
Handpan for offering great support in making this Award happen.
We induced
our heart and soul in the Food Freak Awards and I can proudly say that it was
one of the best Awards eve based on the feedback and responses we got. We are
planning to take this craziness for food to some more cities in the future.
Keeping my fingers crossed!
To
know the winners in other categories, please go to the link http://awards.indianfoodfreak.com/winners.php
Here
is the story of Food Freak Awards in pictures. Keep enjoying and keep eating!
The
prestigious jury who took the task of picking the best out of all nominations
Chef
Kunal Kapoor, Chef Sabyasachi Gorai – Perfectly dressed
Very graceful and a lovely Person Anoothi Vishal along with the Food Critic Osama Jalali awarding 'Cocktails & Dreams - Speakeasy'
Chef Manjit Gill awarding the winner with our honorable jury - Pawan Soni and Aalok Wadhwa
Rocky Mohan in conversation with Sanjay Mathur of 7 Degrees Brauhaus
UDC
Dance Group rocked the stage with its pulsating performance. They were
fantastic, they were energetic and they were boneless too
The
guy who made us laugh like a drain - Jeeveshu
Awarding Home Baker category was really exciting as the smile on her made us feel great - with one of my favourites, Chef Saby and Editor in Chief of Food & Night Life, Sumit Goyal
A
smart click with Lalit Ahlawat, – Man who loves when others Party J owner Soi 7, won the Best Microbrewery award in Popoular Choice
This
duo has a bag full of humor which they never fail to pour on others – Rocky and
Mayur HOMP
We
took a moment while they were enjoying dinner- Ridhima Sawhney, Vineet Kochhar,
Shalini Kocchar, Sumit Sawhney
Last but not the Least - Team SPAG Asia without whom this would not have been possible..Few missing from the picture and specially Chinki who worked inspite being down with Typhoid...
