Taking place on 21 October at London’s M Threadneedle Street, the awards celebrate the achievements of both hospitality industry professionals and individuals and are designed to ‘amplify the exceptional achievements of individuals and businesses from Black, Asian, and ethnic minority backgrounds working within the hospitality, food, and drink sectors’.
Previous winners of the awards include Jimi Famurewa, Rahel Stephanie, Manju Patel, Ahmed Abdalla and West African restaurant Akoko.
Be Inclusive Hospitality says this year is set to be ‘bigger and better’, supported by returning sponsors Decanter, Deliveroo, OpenTable and Caterer.com.
Employers and employees are invited to actively participate in the awards process by submitting nominations across all categories (listed below). Self-nominations are also welcomed.
The judging panel will include Nitisha Patel, Monica Berg, Peter Martin, Akwasi Brenya Mensah and Joanne Sullivan.
“I am extremely proud and privileged to bring these awards back for a third time,” says Be Inclusive Hospitality founder Lorraine Copes. “We all recognise the importance of being seen and celebrated; these awards are designed to do just that. I also emphasise the power of career role models within this industry, and our awards improve the visibility of our industry’s best from ethnically diverse backgrounds.”
Nomination submissions will close on 22 July 2024 with the finalists set to be revealed on 2 September.
Nominations can be submitted here.
The 2024 BIH Spotlight Awards categories in full
Individual
Chef of the Year
Pastry Chef of the Year
Rising Star
Writer of the Year
Drinks Professional of the Year
Head Office Impact
Cuisine
African Food
Caribbean Food
East and Southeast Asian Food
South Asian Food
Middle Eastern Food
Business
Bar/Pub of the Year
Brand of the Year
In addition, two People’s Choice awards will be decided upon by calculating the most votes received for the person and restaurant, respectively: The Peoples’ Choice Person of the Year AND and Peoples’ Choice Restaurant of the Year
