Supermarket Tesco a major winner at the World Food Awards 2011
3rd October

High street giant Tesco marked another step in its successful relationship with multicultural Britain, as it walked away with two gongs at the third annual World Food Awards, which took place this weekend. Tesco received the Best National Retailer award, beating competitor Asda for the top spot. The company also walked away with Product of the Year for its newly launched African-Caribbean soft drinks brand Jammin', which was created as a direct result of feedback and input from Tesco customers. The Awards, now in their third year have been created by the World Foods Association and recognise not only the incredible growth within this sector, but also the diversity of cultures and communities that the industry is inspired by.

Leading Mayfair-based oriental eatery Hakkasan, beat off stiff competition from Jamie Oliver's 'Italian' and F-Word semi-finalists The Curry Corner for the highly coveted Restaurant of the Year Award, whilst reggae legend inspired philanthropic drinks brand Marley's Mellow Moods received an accolade for its iconic, powerful and vibrant packaging. Leading drinks brand Rubicon and its creative agency Minimart received recognition for their ground-breaking campaign to 'make Britain more exotic' during the Rubicon Summer of Cricket by walking away with the Marketing Campaign of the Year Award.

The indomitable 'ethnic work ethic' was also celebrated with accolades for Turkish restaurateur Huseyin Ozer, who received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award. 30 years ago Hüseyin Özer was sleeping rough on the streets of Ankara, Turkey. After years of hard work and exceptional business acumen, today the multi-millionaire restaurateur is the proud owner of a chain of Central London restaurants, renowned as some of the best Turkish restaurants in the country and turning over a fortune in profits each year.

Mr Stanley Kwai Tsun Tse, Chairman and Founder of Chinese oriental food supplier SeeWoo, received the ultimate accolade of the evening with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr Tse, who started out as a mere kitchen hand in a Chinese restaurant, has risen to become a true heavyweight of the Chinese food industry. With a career spanning more than 50 years, he now sits at the helm of one of UK's leading oriental food specialists, operating across wholesale, retail and manufacturer with stores, distribution centres and restaurants throughout the UK and Europe.

Mr Tse, who picked up the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to developing the ethnic food sector said: "It is an honour to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award as it recognises not just my efforts but the hard work and dedication of everyone working in the World Foods sector to bring it up to its current standard. I have been incredibly lucky to have a team of staff at See Woo that are as committed as I am, and it makes me very proud that Chinese brands and companies are being acknowledged and celebrated within the industry."

Hosted by comedy legend Lenny Henry, the Awards featured an array of celebrity guests including chefs Ken Hom, Rob Billington, Anjum Anand and Ravinder Bhogal, as well as Reggae Reggae Sauce creator Levi Roots, actor Nitin Ganatra, director Gurinder Chadha, singers Simon Webbe and Mica Paris and sporting legends Amir Khan, Denise Lewis and Chris Eubank. The World Food Awards are open exclusively to companies specialising, promoting or stocking products from the following countries: Asian, Oriental, African, Afro-Caribbean, European, East-European, Middle Eastern, South American and Mediterranean.

The full list of winners for the 3rd Annual Food Awards are:

• ASDA Product of the Yr: Jammin by Tesco
• Morrisons Best Packaging of the Yr: Marley's Mellow Moods
• Wholesaler of the Yr: Elbrook Cash & Carry
• Jaguar Marketing Campaign of the Yr: Rubicon - Summer of Cricket
• Madhu's Catering Supplier of the Yr: JJ Food Service
• Rajah Independent Retailer of the Yr: Quality Foods
• East End Foods National Retailer of the Yr: Tesco
• Chak 89 Restaurant of the Yr: Hakkasan
• Entrepreneur of the Yr: Huseyin Ozer, Ozer Restaurants
• Patak's Lifetime Achievement Award: Mr Stanley Kwai Tsun Tse, See Woo Group

Top