India’s First Star Rating System For Restaurants Culinary Culture Ultimate Restaurant Ratings 2024

Mumbai, 31st January 2024 – Culinary Culture, a trailblazer in the world of gastronomy, proudly unveils the 'Culinary Culture Ultimate Restaurant Ratings', a pioneering restaurant star rating system that sets a new standard for culinary excellence in India. This innovative rating system is the first of its kind in the country, showcasing a commitment to recognizing and celebrating the finest culinary establishments without any form of outside influence making it India’s only authoritative, definitive and credible rating platform.

Ultimate Restaurant Ratings has been supported by Lavazza and aims to provide diners with a comprehensive guide to outstanding dining experiences, spotlighting restaurants that consistently deliver exceptional quality, creativity, and passion on every plate. The platform has been in the works for the past 3 years and employs a meticulous, impartial and completely anonymous multi-tier evaluation process, ensuring that the awarded stars truly represent the pinnacle of culinary achievement. Unlike existing restaurant awards in India, the platform does not accept any form of fees or advertising from restaurants or hotels, completely eliminating any form of bias.

The first edition of Ultimate Restaurant Ratings will cover six of India’s leading F&B cities, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai and Goa covering the length and breadth of the country. Each following edition will see the addition of new cities that will be covered by the ratings. Over the last 1095 days Culinary Culture’s anonymous inspectors have visited Over 3000 restaurants, tasting over 12,000 dishes spanning various cuisines and encompassing both stand-alone restaurants and hotel restaurants ensuring a holistic representation of the culinary landscape across the country.

Vir Sanghvi, Chairman, Culinary Culture says, “Culinary Culture is known for creating pioneering initiatives that shape India's F&B industry such as the first ever ratings for Street Food and the first Food Delivery awards or the first Chef ranking platform. Ultimate restaurant ratings is another first for India,

there has been nothing like this in the past that brings restaurants to the forefront, delivering honest, genuine and unbiased ratings, free from external influences. We take pride in our ongoing commitment to celebrating the excellence that defines India's diverse culinary landscape.”

Key features of the Culinary Culture Ultimate Restaurant Ratings include:

1. Rigorous Evaluation: Our team of experienced and discerning anonymous culinary food referees conducts thorough evaluations, considering factors such as taste, technique, presentation, service and consistency

2. Unbiased Selection Process: Restaurants are assessed anonymously to maintain objectivity, and the ratings are determined solely based on the merit of the dining experience. The inspectors do not reveal their identities to the restaurants they evaluate and they pay for their own meals.

3. Prestige: Restaurants that are deemed worthy will be bestowed with either 3, 4 or 5 Ultimate Stars and an accompanying plaque that they can proudly mount outside their restaurants to distinguish themselves.

4. Comprehensive Coverage: Ultimate Restaurant Ratings covers a diverse range of cuisines across various price points ensuring exceptional establishments across Indian cities are recognized.

To celebrate the launch of the ratings, Culinary Culture will host an exclusive by-invite-only event on 1st February 2024 in Mumbai, where the inaugural stars will be revealed, recognizing the outstanding restaurants that have set benchmarks for culinary excellence in India.

“We have been working on the Ultimate Restaurant Ratings for over 3 years and are confident that the platform will address the existing gap for a singular, definitive, credible, authoritative and independent restaurant rating platform in India and become the ultimate authority on restaurants. We are grateful for the support from our partners Lavazza and Diageo who share our vision and have come on board to support India's F&B industry." said Raaj Sanghvi, CEO, Culinary Culture.

Rating Scale: The Culinary Culture Ultimate Restaurant Rating adopts a three-tier rating scale:

· 3 Stars – Very Good

· 4 Stars – Excellent

· 5 Stars – The Ultimate

Multi-Tier Rating Process: The ratings go through an exacting process and are reviewed and updated annually. If a restaurant that previously received stars experiences a drop in quality or consistency, it may lose its stars in the following year. Similarly, a restaurant may improve its rating and be awarded an additional star in the future.

STEP 1: NOMINATION

A panel of over forty Culinary Culture Academy members from across the country dine at restaurants in each major city and draw up a detailed list of places they regard as extraordinary.

STEP 2: SCREENING

Culinary Culture's inspectors known as Food Referees cross-check the recommendations and visit the restaurants to ensure they are worthy of being awarded Stars. The referees remain anonymous at all times and pay for their own meals.

STEP 3: DEBATE

Once a short-list of restaurants that can be considered is established, the Referees engage in in-depth discussions and debates to finalize their decisions. In cases of disagreements, additional visits to the restaurants in question are conducted for a reevaluation.

STEP 4: DISTILLATION

The short-listed restaurants undergo further scrutiny, leading to a meticulous distillation process that culminates in the selection of the final recipients of the coveted Ultimate Stars.

Culinary Culture Ultimate Restaurant Ratings promises to transform India’s culinary landscape and become the first and only credible, independent and authoritative rating that restaurants in India respect.

About Culinary Culture

Culinary Culture stands tall as India’s definitive voice in food. Co-founded by Vir Sanghvi and Sameer Sain, it represents a comprehensive movement that encompasses every facet of the culinary landscape in India. Distinguished as the country’s only authoritative and independent rating organization, Culinary Culture bestows stars upon restaurants, honors India's most exceptional chefs and pays tribute to the country's vibrant street food vendors. Culinary Culture is renowned for its global Culinary Exchanges, where it invites the world's most celebrated chefs such as Massimo Bottura, Mauro Colagreco, Alain Ducasse, Heston Blumenthal etc to showcase their talents in India while sending talented Indian chefs to cook at the world's finest restaurants. An integral part of Culinary Culture is its esteemed academy of FoodHunters, comprising over 40 of India's most prominent food experts, strategically located throughout the country. Culinary Culture also offers a plethora of popular intellectual properties including FoodSuperstars, Culinary Conve

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