TORONTO — Close to 500 people came together on Friday, December 6 to celebrate the 35th edition of KML’s Pinnacle Awards. In addition to fêting the 2024 winners, the event offered a trip down memory lane as it highlighted past honourees dating back to the event’s inception in 1988 when Foodservice and Hospitality presented its first Man of the Year Award to George Cohon, founder and president of McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada.
“Although the Pinnacle Awards were born in 1988 and are technically 36 years old, we were not able to host an event due to the COVID pandemic, so this year’s event actually serves as the 35th edition,” said Rosanna Caira, editor and publisher of Kostuch Media at the event. She highlighted some of the past winners including George Cohon, (the first winner), Isadore Sharp, Janice Lotzkar, the first Woman of the Year in 1994 and even the infamous Taxman in 1990, for the introduction of the GST. Over its 35-year history, Kostuch Media has presented awards to approximately 350 individuals and companies that reflect the wide spectrum of the industry.
The 11 awards were presented at a gala luncheon at Toronto’s iconic Royal York Hotel, with F&H’s Company of the Year honours going to Redberry Restaurants, while InnVest Hotels was awarded Hotelier’s Company of the Year. Other category winners for Foodservice and Hospitality included Scale Hospitality for Regional Company of the Year; David Minicucci and Rob Rossi (owners of Giulietta & Osteria Giulia) for Independent Restaurateurs of the Year; Nuit Regular for Chef of the Year; and La Tablée des Chefs for Supplier of the Year.
On the hotel side, Regional Company of the Year honours went to Opal Hospitality; the Hotelier of the Year award was presented to Madone Pelan, GM of the Oak Bay Beach Hotel in Victoria; and the Supplier of the Year award for Hotelier magazine went home with DesignAgency.
In honour of the Pinnacle Awards reaching its milestone 35th edition, this year KML presented two Rosanna Caira Lifetime Achievement Awards. On the hotel side, Josef Ebner, regional VP, Canada & managing director at Langham Hospitality Group – Chelsea Hotel Toronto, was recognized for his illustrious career spanning more than 60 years. In the foodservice category, the second Lifetime Achievement Award winner was Franco Prevedello, a legendary restaurateur who was responsible for putting Italian restaurants on the map in Toronto and for mentoring several of Toronto’s most famed restaurateurs and chefs.
“Today’s winners represent touchpoints in the continued evolution of the hospitality industry,” said Caira, and “all these years later, the Pinnacles have taken on a special significance for so many people in the industry. They have come to personify peak performance, success and contributions to the community at large.” And, she added, the program has grown from one single award to a total of 11 awards now presented.
