Winners are grinners at the ACT AHA Awards! Photo: Supplied, ACT AHA.
It’s officially awards season for the hospitality industry, with the latest prizes coming through thick and fast.
The Australian Hotels Association ACT held its industry awards night in late September. Important to note that ‘hotel’ in this context covers both accommodation and licensed venues – historically these were often one and the same (think of a classic corner pub with hotel rooms upstairs), but these days the awards cover everything from a standard hotel to a pub or bar in the city.
The clear winner is Canberra city’s Bar Beirut, which topped a stunning 6 categories, including Best Cocktail List, Best Casual Dining Experience, Best Unique Bar Experience and Best Vegetarian Meal.
They took out the top gong for Hotel of the Year (General Division), and Chef Halima Fouzia also won Chef of the Year (General Division).
Speaking to Region from Lebanon, Chantelle and Soumi Tannous said it felt especially meaningful to receive the awards while reconnecting with the place that inspired them.
“Bar Beirut exists because of Lebanon. The generosity. The noise. The joy of a table that keeps growing. It’s what Soumi grew up with, and what I fell for as a backpacker in 2011,” said Chantelle.
“We were home with family for the first time in three years, sitting by the Mediterranean with a beer, and the phone just kept pinging.
“Every one of those awards belongs to our team, to Halima, our Chef of the Year and, of course, to our muse, Lebanon.”
AHA ACT general manager Chris Gatfield told the crowd at the awards night that the local industry was second to none, and the overall quality was extremely high.
“The food categories like Best Burger and Best Parmi in particular were extremely close, and it was amazing to see thousands of people voting for their favourite venue with our second ever ‘People’s Choice’ award. Congratulations to all the finalists – you are all winners.”
While Soumi and Chantelle were away, their team was on hand to pick up the 6 awards that Bar Beirut won on the night. Photo: Supplied, ACT AHA.
Other notable winners were the newly opened Lager House, which won Best New or Redeveloped Venue, jointly won Best Draught Beer (with Bentspoke) and also took out the coveted Best Steak and Best Parmi. It’s a cluster of meaningful wins for Capital Brewing Co (the company behind Lager House), which opened Lager House with a focus on food service – with a wood-fired grill in the kitchen – and also installed high-quality side-pour beer taps from Europe.
The awards focus on both big achievements and small moments of perfection: yes, they DO give out an award for Best Chip, and this year it went to the Old Canberra Inn. (As something of a local chippie aficionado, I thoroughly agree.)
The Dock won the Heart of the Community Award, and on the hotel side of things, Sharath Singh from Hyatt Hotel Canberra took out Food & Beverage Talent of the Year.
Laurence Kain (centre) of Capital Brewing Co. was inducted into the ACT Hall of Fame. Photo: Supplied, ACT AHA.
Two locals were inducted into the Hall of Fame: Yula Russell of Belconnen Way Hotel & Serviced Apartments (Accommodation category) and Laurence Kain of Capital Brewing Co. (General category).
“Both Yula and Laurence are very well known in our sector. Their history of service and dedication to hospitality makes both very worthy inductees into the ACT Hall of Fame,” Mr Gatfield said.
The Australian Hotels Association is an industry association representing and advocating for the licensed hospitality and tourism sector across Australia. The AHA Awards are open to current financial members of the AHA who may nominate themselves for consideration for a fee. The national awards will be announced at an event on the Gold Coast in late November.
See the full list of winners on the AHA ACT website.
