2017 Dining Hall of Fame: Honoring the Best of Beijing’s F&B Businesses
We started our Dining Hall of Fame back in 2015 as a means to bring light to the unsung heroes of Beijing’s F&B scene. Sure, it’s likely that we are already familiar with the places being voted in, and we likely visit them frequently when looking for nourishment from food and service that we can trust, but how much do we know about the people behind the scenes, their backstories, and why they chose Beijing as the city to build their small culinary empire?
In order to dig a little deeper as well as honor some of our longstanding eateries and personalities, we asked F&B professionals – principal shareholders and investors, presidents, or operations managers – to vote once in an open ballot. Each voter, under the condition that they disclose their position, put forward 10 individuals and 10 venues that had been involved in Beijing’s F&B scene for the past seven years (since October 2010). Those people and venues that received 50 percent of the vote were elected, which this year only encompassed two venues and two individuals (read more about the lucky four in the adjacent pages).
Previous winners already include some of the best-regarded venues on the scene, including Beijing Duck maestros Da Dong Roast Duck; longtime Japanese standby Hatsune; Italian stalwarts Annie's; Nali Patio brunch aficionados Mosto; world-famous xiaolongbao makers Din Tai Fung; high-end French restaurant Maison FLO (formerly Brasserie FLO); café-by-day, rowdy pastiche-slingers-by-night Café de la Poste; and legendary Belgian beer bar and pizza pioneer The Tree (which was sadly a victim of the forced closures that swept through Sanlitun in mid-October).
Eight Beijing personalities also sit pretty as past recipients of our Dining Hall of Fame award, including Alan Wong, creator of Hatsune, Karaiya Spice House; Annie Lee, the founder of Annie’s; Ignace Lecleir, creator of the esteemed TRB Hospitality Group (TRB Hutong and TRB Forbidden City); Rich Akers, the marketing guru behind Lush, Pyro Pizza, and Gung Ho! Pizza; Avi Shabtai, the founder of Peking pita pioneers Biteapitta; Dong Zhenxiang, the larger-than-life brains behind Da Dong Roast Duck; Christophe Rovan, proprietor of the French-facing Café de la Poste and O'Steak; and both Alex Molina and Daniel Urdeneta, for their ongoing efforts as team Mosto.
A few notable leaps have been made by the aforementioned F&B lifers since their induction into our Hall of Fame; Alan Wong has gone on to launch Hana, a new Japanese dining concept with a focus on premium raw ingredients in China World Mall; Ignace Lecleir and co. will be making their first foray into Sanlitun dining with Hulu, which is due to take over Cantina Agave’s old space in early 2018; and a short three months after their induction, Alex Molina and Daniel Urdeneta opened up La Social, tucked just behind Mosto, and Beijing’s answer to a small slice of Colombia, complete with arepas, potent cocktails, and no-holds-barred dancing late into the night.
Such rapid advances demonstrate the continuing vigor and abundance of Beijing’s F&B scene, and for better or worse indicates a trend of success that is being molded by the drastic change elsewhere in the city. However, that’s not to say the small fish aren’t nominated for success either, which is just one part of what makes these awards so special.
Watch this space over the coming days as we announce which venues and personalities entered the Hall of Fame this year.
Image: the Beijinger