Nomination Process
● Restaurants and brands are nominated by a judging panel comprised of chefs, food critics, and food bloggers based in the GCC.
● Restaurants and brands can also submit a written application to our editorial team which is then passed to judges for consideration, submitting a written application does not guarantee entry into the awards process.
● Restaurants and brands cannot pay to be nominated.
● No financial cost to nominees is incurred for participation or success. Neither is any financial compensation, or any other benefit offered to the judging panel.
● Employees and representatives of BBC Good Food Middle East or CPI Media Group are not eligible to act as a judge for nominations or the Chef of the Year Competition.

Voting
● Voting is open to the public from 8th May until 8^th November 2018.
● To vote, you must either create a registration profile on our awards website or login to the website using Facebook.
● Voters can only cast 1 vote in each category.
● Voters are not required to cast a vote in every category.
● Voters can only register once per email ID.
● Votes are checked for any potential duplication or falsification via email ID and IP address. Any found to be false are to be deleted from our voting system and the Restaurant or Brand will be notified immediately.
● Voting is not open for the Chef of The Year category (more details on this can be found further down this page)
● Voting is not open for the Restaurant of the Year category. The winner will be chosen based on who receives the highest number of votes overall across all categories.
● Employees and representatives of BBC Good Food Middle East or CPI Media Group are not eligible to vote.

Voters Prize
● The prize is a three-night stay for two at the DoubleTree by Hilton Seychelles – Allamanda Resort & Spa worth Dhs10,000 valid until 9^th November 2019.
● The prize includes;
        ○ 3 nights’ accommodation for two people in a King Grand Deluxe room with Ocean View on a half board basis.
        ○ Return airport transfers.
        ○ Candlelit dinner for two.
        ○ Massage for two.
● All voters, if they follow the steps listed on the voting page are eligible to win the Seychelles holiday.
● The competition closes when voting for The BBC Good Food Middle East Awards closes, which is at 5pm on 8^th November 2018.
● One winner will be drawn at random and be announced on our social media channels the day after voting closes (9^th November 2018)
● If the winner is not contactable after 7 days, the prize will be allocated to the second person drawn.
● This competition is open to residents of GCC countries only.
● Employees, representatives and relatives of BBC Good Food Middle East and CPI Media Group are not eligible to win this prize.

Chef of The Year Competition and Award
● The four competing chefs are selected based on their restaurant having received the top four highest votes across our Fine Dining Restaurant Dubai and Abu Dhabi categories as of 1^st August.
● The four chefs will then take part in the competition on 4^th November at The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management.
● Competition Format: The competition is a mystery box cook-off followed by a blind tasting judged by a panel of industry experts. Chefs will be given 30 minutes to plan and 2.5 hours to prepare 3 courses (starter, main & dessert) using a minimum of 2 mystery box ingredients per course.
● Judging: This will be a blind tasting event; judges will not be aware which Chef has created which dishes. As such we will also have a kitchen moderator who will share their feedback with the judging panel based on their performance in the kitchen, which includes;
        ○ Kitchen conduct, respect for equipment and other chefs
        ○ Technique used in the kitchen
        ○ Health and safety
● Scoring: There is a maximum of 150 points to be obtained. For each recipe, the competing Chefs will be scored points out of 10 by each of the judges on the following criteria:
        ○ Creativity
        ○ Use of Ingredients
        ○ Technique
        ○ Presentation
        ○ Taste
The following penalty points will be deducted from scores if Chefs do not meet the below requirements:
        ○ 0.5 points per minute over the allotted time, per course
        ○ 10 points if the minimum number of mystery box ingredients requested are not met, per course
        ○ 25 points if the minimum number of portions requested are not met, per course
● Mobile phones are prohibited throughout the competition.
● Chefs can bring up to 3 specialty equipment items to use throughout the competition.
● Chefs will be doing the challenge alone. They are not permitted to bring along a cooking assistant, and venue representatives are not to assist with the cooking challenge.
● Any Chef caught cheating in any way may be disqualified from the competition.
● The winner is announced only on the night of the BBC Good Food ME awards.
● The winner of the BBC Good Food ME Chef of the Year competition will win a 3-night stay at the Mövenpick Resort & Spa Jimbaran Bali inclusive of breakfast and lunch to be used by 1^st November 2019.
● The winning chef will be required to be part of the judging panel at our 2019 Chef of the Year competition.
● The winning chef may be required to be involved in BBC Good Food ME events during 2019.
● Employees and representatives of BBC Good Food Middle East or CPI Media Group are not eligible to act as a judge for the Chef of the Year Competition.

Winner Selection
● Award winners are selected by receiving the highest number of votes in their category.
● Restaurants and brands cannot pay to win an award.
● Award winners will only be revealed at the awards ceremony itself.
● The Awards Ceremony is scheduled to take place on 27^th November 2018.
● The winners list will be published on our website on 28^th November 2018.