Cyrus Todiwala

The Education and Training award is now in its third year. Inaugural winner David Foskett, associate dean at Thames Valley University, set the bar in 2002 and chalked one up for the world of academia. Next came Hilton’s John Guthrie who had had the not inconsiderable task of moving from a human resources role to set up Hilton’s hugely ambitious e-learning initiative, Hilton University.

So it’s with genuine pleasure we announce Cyrus Todiwala as this year’s winner. A panel of his peers found him guilty of demonstrating an innovative approach to continuous learning; developing strong links within the industry; creating initiatives in training that have added value; displaying an ability to adapt to the changing needs of the market and making a contribution above his day job as Café Spice Namaste owner.

Chief executive Todiwala has two Café Spice Namastes in London as well as the Parsee restaurant – a long way to come for a man who started his career in hospitality as a waiter at the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai.

By 1991 he was undertaking an award-winning stint as head chef at Namaste restaurant before taking over as chef-director and changing the restaurant’s name in 1993. In 1999 he and two other entrepreneurs lobbied the Government for the money required to launch the Asian & Oriental School of Catering in London’s Hoxton, providing the often-marginalised Asian restaurant business a lifeline of young, well-trained talent.

Todiwala is a supporter of Springboard UK and does talks and cookery demonstrations around his job. He is a supporter of Investors in People and has an MBE for his contribution to education and training, which he received in 2000. He is also a member of the Restaurant Association Education and Training Committee.

Judge Robin Rowland, chief executive of Yo! Sushi, said of Cyrus: “He has certainly been innovative when it comes to chef training and is a brilliant candidate for the award.” 

While Conran’s Ian Horrox added: “Cyrus is doing it because he wants to, it’s certainly not part of his job. He has clearly gone over and above, which is unusual in the restaurant business where time is money.

Foskett highlighted that Cyrus was very much on the “kitchen floor” driving training initiatives through personally. “He’s always willing to give and is very passionate about what he does. He loves training.”

But it was Alison Hodgson from Sodexho who perhaps summed up Todiwala’s achievements best. “Cyrus has changed the Indian restaurant market from what it was to what it is now; a modern, forward-looking 21st-century employer.”

The judges

• Chris Dunn, talent manager, Whitbread Hotels (now transferred to Marriott)
• David Foskett, associate dean, Thames Valley University
• John Guthrie, head of international management development, Hilton International
• Alison Hodgson, resourcing officer, Sodexho
• Ian Horrox, human resources director, Conran Restaurants
• Robin Rowland, chief executive, Yo! Sushi

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