Airport Chef of the Year
Michelangelo Citino
With a stellar background in hotels and starred restaurants, Michelangelo Citino took on the challenge of adapting to commercial airport catering
Winner: Michelangelo Citino, Areas Italy
Highly commended: Raymond Cash – American Express Centurion Lounge, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
Highly commended: Murali Murthy Gantashala – HMSHost International India
Highly commended: Jeff Steelman – HMSHost North America
Highly commended: Peter Brennan – Marqette
Highly commended: Sergio Reyes – Midway Partnership, Chicago International Midway Airport
Highly commended: Paul George – OTG Paul George, Toronto Pearson International Airport
Highly commended: Judith Hernandez – Paradies Lagardère, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
Highly commended: Renata DeGeorge – SSP America
Highly commended: Luca Sangiuliano – SSP Frabel, Lyon Airport
Highly commended: Rajesh Shetty – TFS, Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport
Airport Chef of the Year was a new award for 2019: We wanted to recognise those individuals who ultimately make the dining experience what it is; those who create the food that will determine how we feel about a restaurant and those who bring to life dishes and cuisines from around the world.
There are of course a vast number of remarkable chefs working in our industry and we received many outstanding nominations. All of our worthy finalists received Highly Commended awards.
However, Areas Italy’s Michelangelo Citino stood out. Michelangelo is the first chef in Italy from the world of traditional catering, accustomed to large hotels and starred restaurants, to accept the challenge of entering the world of commercial catering at the airport. He developed the time menus to meet the needs of all travellers, both in Milan Linate and Rome Fiumicino airports.
He is a versatile and innovative chef who has managed to move from classic to commercial catering, bringing gourmet cuisine to unusual places such as airports with the same passion and professionalism of the starred restaurant where he worked. He bears the name of a master and he, too, is a master.
Raymond Cash
“Chef Raymond has created a positive work environment in the kitchen, consistently offering high-quality, chef-focused menu selections, constantly training the staff, and elevating cooks into managerial positions”
Murali Murthy Gantashala
“Chef Murali excels in reliability, and performs the promised service dependably and accurately. He is committed and ensures that each task is completed with enthusiasm. Above all, Murali is responsible, he owns up to things well and he truly surpasses expectations.”
“Chef Murali excels in reliability, and performs the promised service dependably and accurately. He is committed and ensures that each task is completed with enthusiasm. Above all, Murali is responsible, he owns up to things well and he truly surpasses expectations.”
Jeff Steelman
“Jeff brings an unprecedented energy to the industry with an infectious zeal for sharing his knowledge and an inspiring passion for food”
Peter Brennan
“Peter brought a wealth of experience in fine dining to the Marqette kitchen and it’s from that experience that he founded Marqette’s ethos – ‘Exceptional food, exceptional service, every day’. Peter and his team deliver on that ethos every day.”
Sergio Reyes
“Chef Reyes and the culinary art of his talents not only contributes to the concessions modernisation programme’s goal to create a Sense of Place through local Chicago superstar chefs, but he also embodies the spirit of Chicago and its communities with the family history and storytelling he brings into the physical design of his restaurant and his dishes.”
Paul George
“Chef George’s passion in the space, his compassion with his crew members, the lengths he goes to ensure quality – Chef George is a true embodiment of the OTG values in action”
Judith Hernandez
“Judith has extensive knowledge in dining and airport restaurant management. She takes this and goes above and beyond in her position – she is not just an executive chef, Judith is tapped as a subject expert by the media and the airport.”
Renate DeGeorge
“What makes Renate unique isn’t just her skill set—it’s her sheer dedication to quality. It’s her passion for excellence. It’s her desire to always have the best food on each and every plate served. It’s her dedication to pleasing every one of our guests—to strive for their enjoyment of our food and to make them feel our SSP hospitality through our great food.”
Luca Sangiuliano
“Luca is hugely creative and genuinely enjoys finding, sampling, and developing new menus. Never one to settle, he continues to push himself constantly and feed his enduring passion for cooking. Luca has good organizational and planning skills, and an unrelenting eye for detail.”
Rajesh Shetty
“Chef Rajesh Shetty has made a major contribution in not only getting awards and accolades at national and international forums, but also creating an absolute delight for the guests at the lounges”
July 2019
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