The judging panel for this year’s Asia Food Innovation Awards, taking place at Speciality & Fine Food Asia and Restaurant, Pub & Bar Asia 2019 at the Suntec Singapore on the 18 July 2019, has been announced.
They include two prominent chefs, a heritage cuisine champion, and the president and CEO of Nestlé Xiamen Yinlu Foods.
Between them, they will decide between all entries to this year’s Asia Food Innovation Awards. There are 15 trophies to be won in total, and being shortlisted provides a hallmark of success that will prevail long after the awards draw to a close. To find out more information, including how to enter, click here.
A list of this year’s judges can be seen below.
Mayank Trivedi, president and CEO of Nestle Xiamen Yinlu Foods
Mayank Trivedi is an Indian national and has worked with Nestlé for 23 years in different countries including India, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and other countries in the Middle East.
He has been in the Greater China Region for over five years, first as General Manager of Nestlé in Taiwan and, for the past two years, as the president and CEO of Nestlé Xiamen Yinlu Foods, a Nestlé company based in Xiamen, Fujian which is one of the largest ready to drink platforms in China. Trivedi held leadership positions in products such as Peanut Milk, Congee and RTD Coffee.
Click here for Mayanak’s LinkedIn profile.
Samantha Dumont, creative director, Cowan London
An award-winning creative director, Samantha Dumont heads up Cowan London’s design team, which has worked on some of the world’s biggest brands, including Heinz and Ribena, as well as premium brands such as Akashi-Tai, Japanese artisan sake.
Her 20 plus years as a brand and packaging designer, combined with her entrepreneurial spirit, gives Dumont the perfect mix of skills to lead the London team. She also has a wealth of experience in judging high-level industry awards.
She believes in promoting creativity and unearthing interesting innovation and design solutions for brands as well as keeping involved with the wider industry. Dumont has also launched her own brand, Atissu.
As one of a handful of top established female Creative Directors, she has won a number of awards including: ‘Best New Packaging Design” recently at IBA Drinks Japan for Akashi-Tai. She has also won ‘Junior’ and ‘Smallish’ awards (both children’s magazines) for her own lifestyle brand, Atissu.
Click here for Samantha’s LinkedIn profile.
Martyn Garrod, creative director, Carter Wong design
Garrod is the creative director of Carter Wong design, a world-renowned brand consultancy based in the creative hub of London: Soho. Having worked from global giants like Unilever and Nestle to start-ups, he has a deep understanding of companies’ challenges and a creative mind for problem-solving.
He builds and positions brands to make them memorable, timeless but more importantly, effective. His work has been widely recognised by several awarding bodies and published in articles and magazines.
Click here for Martyn’s LinkedIn profile.
Eric Low
Chef Eric Low is an award-winning cookbook author and heritage cuisine champion. With credentials in both culinary artistry and food science, Low’s multi-discipline culinary experience spans from food and beverage channels to running superyachts kitchens in Europe and product design for Nestlé as the research and development chef.
He has worked in many countries throughout his career curating culinary arts events and food science consultancy-related projects from Singapore to South East Asia, Middle East, India and China. With experience in product design for FMCG food companies, Low helps major food brands to redesign cost-saving recipes for manufacturing lines, and to conduct sensory engagement with customers, product launches and road-to-market support.
Certified as a WACS Judge in 2010, he is regularly invited as a jury member for professional chef competitions both local and abroad. Three of his six cookbooks have made it to the Gourmand International Cookbook Awards Winners listings for 2015 and 2016.
Click here for Eric’s LinkedIn profile.
Jason Yu, general manager of Kantar Worldpanel Greater China
Jason Yu specialises in consumer panel research with 20 years of substantial experience in serving both manufacturers and retailers in Asia and Europe. He started his current role as General Manager of Kantar Worldpanel in January 2008.
He is responsible for overall commercial and operations in mainland China and Taiwan, focusing on strategic development of the service and client satisfaction. Yu also sits on the Worldpanel Asia regional board. He joined TNS in 2002, and was responsible for key client development in China, the UK and Asia.
Click here for Jason’s LinkedIn profile.
Jeremy Nguee
Nguee is a prominent chef and culinary consultant in Singapore and is widely known as a keen evangelist of Singaporean cuisine in both its modern and traditional guises. As an industry practitioner, his inventive approach to Asian cuisine has taken him globally from St. Petersburg, Russia to Jakarta, Indonesia. He is also a familiar face in the media and has been featured in international media such as Monocle magazine, CNN Travel as well as in local television, newspapers and magazines.
He is the chef-owner of award-winning gourmet caterer Preparazzi, creator of Batu Lesung Spice Company and co-founder of Mrs Kueh. He has played culinary consultant to major food and beverage groups and continues to create platforms and programs to support the growth and development of Asian food in Singapore and across the region.
Click here for Jeremy’s LinkedIn profile.
Ben Ebbrell co-founder and chef for SORTEDfood
Ben Ebbrell is co-founder and chef for SORTEDfood. Built on 20 years of friendship, SORTEDfood’s social channels, including well over two million subscribers on YouTube sits at the heart of one of the longest-running, ongoing and most engaged food conversations online. A cross between entertainment, inspiration and education… together they explore and discuss some of the best food and associated trends out there, with and on behalf of their community.
Click here for Ben’s LinkedIn profile.
Damien Lee, founder and CEO of Mr Lee’s Pure Foods
By having a natural risk-reward mentality, Lee has always had an interest in running his own businesses. From Australia to Singapore, he’s built his companies with no experience from the ground up, carving new routes to market and never slowing down.
His addiction to business came to a halt in 2014 when he was diagnosed with stage four chest cancer and given weeks. After miraculously beating the disease. he decided to create a new business producing the healthiest instant noodle – Mr Lee’s Pure Foods Co.
2017 saw Mr Lee’s Pure Foods onboard airlines and national rail-lines. Since 2018, the brand launched in Ocado and over 1000 supermarkets across Australia with Woolworths, Metro, EzyMart and Harris Farm Markets.
Click here for Damien’s LinkedIn profile.
Christopher McCuin, managing director, Montgomery Asia
Christopher McCuin joined the Montgomery group of companies in 2010 to take over the Directorship of the group’s flagship show, The International Food & Drink Event (IFE) and to run the fast-growing processing & packaging show, Pro2Pac.
He comes from a solid international exhibition background having managed smaller launch events and some of the largest, most established exhibitions held in countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and China since 2003. Through extensive international business travel, he has established a strong and active global network of industry and government relationships.
In 2015, McCuin’s responsibilities were extended to cover global business development for the Group. Since then he has been instrumental in the acquisition and launch of new exhibitions across the world including the United Kingdom, South Africa and most recently Singapore, with the inaugural editions of Speciality & Fine Food Asia and Restaurant, Pub & Bar Asia.
McCuin assumed the position of Managing Director for Montgomery Asia in September 2017 to spearhead the Group’s growth efforts in Asia.
Click here for Christopher’s LinkedIn profile.
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