Mumbai July 15, 2022: Godrej Vikhroli Cucina, a platform by Godrej Industries dedicated to food and culinary space, and the Food Bloggers Association of India (FBAI), hosted India Food & Beverage Awards 2022 (IFBA) ceremony at Nine Dine, Jio World Drive, Mumbai. Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and Chef Ranveer Brar were awarded the people’s choice – Culinary Icons of the Year at the recently held India Food & Beverage Awards 2022 (IFBA). Both experts were felicitated for their outstanding contribution to the food and culinary space.

Chef Sanjyot Keer, content creator and founder of Your Food Lab, was honoured as the Social Media Star of the Year. Curly Tales’ Founder Kamiya Jani won two awards – Instagram Star of the Year and Travel YouTuber of the Year. Apart from these 58 winners were announced at IFBA 2022. This list includes chefs, restaurants, content creators, bloggers, media houses, communities and TV personalities across India, who did commendable work in the year in the food space. They were recognized under 7 main award categories – Facebook, Instagram, Blog, YouTube, Media, Hospitality, and Celebrated Chefs. Furthermore, these awards were divided into 29 sub-categories.

Ernst & Young LLP are the Process Advisors for the jury evaluation process of IFBA 2022. A three-stage evaluation process was defined to determine the finalists and winners. The 6th edition of IFBA entries that were reviewed by a panel of experts in the food and beverage ecosystem. This year, entries came from over 32 cities. Apart from metros, the entries came from cities like Ranchi, Chiplun, Bhopal, Surat, Bhubaneshwar, Ahmedabad, Goa etc.

Commenting on the initiative, Sujit Patil, Vice President and Head – Corporate Brand and Communications, Godrej Industries Limited and Associate Companies, said, “Vikhroli Cucina is a first-of-its-kind brand agnostic platform by Godrej where brands operating in the food space, chefs, food bloggers, influencers and all food lovers engage and exchange ideas. We are very happy to associate with the Food Bloggers Association of India (FBAI) for the India Food & Beverage Awards 2022. The platform recognises the best work done in the food space. We believe that this recognition to the best talent in the industry can lead to even better work and raise the stature of this great industry. We wish the winners a great journey ahead in the food and beverage ecosystem”.

Speaking about the awards, Sameer Malkani, Co-Founder, the FBAI, said, “Unearthing new talent and encouraging entrepreneurship has always been one of the key objectives of #IFBA. The increase in the number of entries from across India showcases the need and interest levels for such recognitions. I would like to thank the participants, stakeholders and our Jury, who have been very supportive of our Initiative and deserve a special mention along with our co-host Godrej Industries and its brands which always add value to #IFBA.”

At IFBA 2022, Chef Vicky Ratnani even did a preview of his cookbook ‘Urban Desi Non-Vegetarian’ published by Om Books. The book shows just how easy it is to dish up mouth-watering meals in the comfort of one’s home and hearth, using great spice blends and interesting ways to experiment with your favourite meat, poultry, fish and seafood.

The glittering evening witnessed many popular chefs in attendance like Chef Ajay Chopra; Chef Rakhee Vaswani; Chef Varun Inamdar; Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi; Master Chef Shipra Khanna; Chef, Restaurateur and Food Stylist Nitin Tandon; Chef Sanjyot Keer; Chef Saransh Goila; Chef Nehal Karkera, among others.

Jio World Drive, Raymonds Made to Measure, Aspri Spirits, Baskin Robbins, The Brooklyn Creamery, Godrej Veg Oils, Godrej Yummiez, Godrej Protekt, Copter7 and Godrej Jersey; are the brand partners for India Food & Beverage Awards (IFBA) 2022.