2012 VanMag Restaurant Awards – The Return of the King

(Image by: epSos.de)

Once in a while you watch an awards show – and somebody sweeps all the big prizes. This year at the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards saw the return of David Hawksworth to a Vancouver dining scene that was pining away for him like a love sick 16 year old. But let’s be fair, it was not a gimme – competition is too tough from rooms like L’Abattoir, La Quercia, or any one of the stellar Top Table restaurants. There are no freebies in the hyper competitive Vancouver restaurant scene.

So kudos are in order to all the competitors. Looking over the list of nominated restaurants and you get a sense of just how good we have it. So the big winner? That’s us – the diners.

Here are the list of award winners. Congratulations to all.

Restaurant of the Year
Hawksworth

Best Upscale Restaurant
Hawksworth

Best Casual
L’Abattoir

Chef of the Year
David Hawksworth

Best New Restaurant
Hawksworth

Lifetime Achievement Award
Kimble Chan, Nelson Yeung, Kirin Restaurant Group

Mentorship Award
Julian Bond

Green Award
Trafalgars

Best New Design
Hawksworth

Pastry Chef of the Year
Theirry Busset

Bartender of the Year
Danielle Tatarin – Keefer Bar