Winners announced for 2025 Be Inclusive Hospitality Spotlight Awards

Be Inclusive Hospitality (BIH) announced the winners for its 4th BIH Spotlight Awards during a memorable awards ceremony at Quaglino’s London last night, sponsored by OpenTable.

Founded by Lorraine Copes in 2020, BIH is a not-for-profit organisation that delivers skills development programmes and DEI services, while partnering with others to advance Equity and Inclusion across the hospitality industry.

The evening celebrated winners across a wide variety of categories, including Nina Matsunaga (The Black Bull Inn) for Chef of the Year, Hot ‘N’ Juicy Shrimp for Brand of the Year and Gina Knight, Head of People at Flat Iron Steak, for Head Office Impact.

Additional awards presented were Drinks Professional of the Year, Writer of the Year, Rising Star, Bar/Pub of the Year, African Food, Caribbean Food, East & Southeast Asian Food, Middle Eastern Food, South Asian Food, plus People’s Choice Restaurant of the Year and People’s Choice Person of the Year, which were decided by the public after over 2,000 votes were cast.

This year, BIH also introduced two new award categories, Wine Professional of the Year and Industry Icon.

As in previous years, the judging panel featured an extensive list of leading voices, including Chef and Author Shelina Permalloo, Founder & Executive Director of Peach 20/20 Peter Martin, Chief Executive of Umbrella Training Adele C. Oxberry, and BBQ Chef and Writer Melissa Thompson.

Founder & CEO of Be Inclusive Hospitality, Lorraine Copes, said, “These awards are the beating heart of our mission to celebrate and uplift hospitality talent across the UK. This year has shown just how powerful collaboration can be – from partners and sponsors to our wider community, all coming together to champion creativity, resilience, and innovation. We’re proud to shine a light on those making an impact today, while inspiring the next generation to shape an inclusive and thriving future for our industry.”

Sasha Shaker, UK and Ireland’s Senior Director at OpenTable, said:

“We are delighted to be headline sponsor of this year’s awards. Every nominee and winner truly reflects the remarkable talent in UK hospitality. Our industry is built on welcoming everyone and these awards showcase how fostering inclusion empowers teams and enriches the diner experience.”

Winners for all 15 categories are:

Individual Awards:

Chef of the Year – Sponsored by Caterer.com
Nina Matsunaga – The Black Bull Inn, Sedbergh

Rising Star – Sponsored by Ting
Eron Mibo – Tales and Tails UK

Writer of the Year – Sponsored by Eko Brewery
Angela Zaher – Food Writer 

Wine Professional of the Year – Sponsored by Decanter
Leona De Pasquale – Camellia and Vine

Beverage Innovator of the Year – Sponsored by Moët Hennessy
Sherwin Acebuche – Tarsier Southeast Asian Spirit

Head Office Impact – Sponsored by Umbrella Training Ltd
Gina Knight – Flat Iron Steak 

Industry Icon of the Year – Sponsored by Be Inclusive Hospitality
Tevin Tobun – Founder of ROUTD and GV Group

Cuisine Awards:

African Food – Sponsored by The Voice
Khadim Mane – Little Baobab

Caribbean Food – Sponsored by The Voice
Nikki Whyte – Patois

East and Southeast Asian Food – Sponsored by Tarsier Spirit
Kaneda Pen – Mamapen

South Asian Food
Kanthi Thamma – The Spice Circuit

Middle Eastern Food
Jad Youssef – Lebnani Restaurant

Business Awards:

Bar/Pub of the Year – Sponsored by OpenTable
Deano Moncrieffe – Hacha Bar

Brand of the Year – Sponsored by Deliveroo
Hot ‘N’ Juicy Shrimp LDN

People’s Choice:

People’s Choice Person of the Year – Sponsored by Bibendum
Emanuele Mensah – The Connaught Bar

People’s Choice Restaurant of the Year – Sponsored by OpenTable
Sham Mahabir – LIMIN SOUTHBANK

The BIH Spotlight Awards were established in 2022 to recognise outstanding talent from Black, Asian, and ethnic minority backgrounds in the hospitality, food, and drink sectors. The awards aim to recognise achievement while creating opportunities to connect, inspire, and shape the future of the industry. Each year, hundreds of nominations are received, with finalists being judged by leading industry voices.

For more information, visit www.bihospitality.co.uk or follow @beinclusivehospitality on social media.