Izah Azahari
Forty-six restaurants and 63 of their Best Dishes were feted during the Brunei Food Awards (BFA) 2021 Presentation of Award Certificates at the De Hayat Café at Soto Pabo in Kampong Pintu Malim yesterday.
Their best dishes were uncovered through a judging process conducted by the BFA.
The event is a follow-up of the virtual BFA 2021 ceremony in conjunction with the Brunei December Festival 2021 on December 23, 2021.
Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Ali bin Apong presented the awards.
Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) Haji Mohd Yusree bin Haji Junaidi, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the MPRT Hajah Dahliana binti Haji Aliakbar, senior officials from the ministry as well as high commissioners and ambassadors who participated as special judges in 2021 were also present.
BFA CEO Haji Nasir bin Dato Paduka Latif, BFA Director Pengiran Hassanuddin Pengiran Haji Damit, BFA Director Hamidah Ismail and Awards Manager Laila Nikman received the guests.
The BFA is conducted annually to promote food tourism and acknowledge the Sultanate’s best dishes. The year 2021 saw the participation of 225 restaurants across Brunei.
The BFA follows the EAT Methodology covering three components of the dishes – execution, appearance and taste. The EAT Methodology was established by the World Food Championship in the judging processes.
Each judging session involves four official judges – three certified by the World Food Championship and one appointed as the special judge. The special judges comprised heads of missions in Brunei and leaders of the private sector.
The year 2021 also saw the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognises the restaurants’ contributions, and the new Outstanding Person Award, which recognises an individual’s contributions to the food and beverage industry, the community and the country.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Excapade Restaurant and Ayamku Restaurant, while Thanis Lim received the Outstanding Person Award with special mentions to Aminggunawan and Brunei Food Diary.
This year, the BFA will launch their flagship mobile application BALI – a food mobile application where restaurants can have a digital branch and upload their menu. The app also acts as a payment gateway for diners to place an order for dine-in, takeaway, delivery and venue booking.
