Surinder Arora

Surinder Arora is a Punjabi English businessman whose hotel business is believed to make him worth £225 million. He concentrates on hotels near airports, making a specialty of providing rooms for aircrew, and has close links with British Airways and a strong personal interest in aviation. In 2009 he was ranked at 388 in The Times list of the richest people in the UK with a net worth of £140 million.

In 2004 Arora won the franchise for the upmarket Accor Sofitel brand and bought the 500-bedroom Le Meridien London Gatwick hotel to rebrand as the Sofitel London Gatwick. Sofitel London Heathrow, a £180m 600-bedroom sister hotel was announced in the same year. Today Arrora owns hotels that provide a total of over 5500 bedrooms including franchises from Hilton and Holiday Inn. Arora has a reputation for valuing long-term business relationships. He stresses that he has consistenly used the same lawyers and a single bank, the Allied Irish Bank, throughout his career.

Arora also has a reputation for being extremely people oriented and tends to refer to members of his business as "being like family". Turn over of staff, especially maids, is much lower than the high hotel industry average.

Bob Fox, Managing Director of Nationwide Caterers Association

Bob has been involved in the catering industry for over 20 years both as a caterer and as a director of two of the county's leading food trade associations. He has vast experience in just about all aspects of the catering business particularly the mobile and outside sector and is often called upon to give opinion to the media, government and standards authorities. In 2004 Bob established the Nationwide Caterers Association (NCASS) which now boasts 1600 members, growing weekly. Membership of NCASS extends right across the catering sector from major multiples to independents and some of the biggest names in the supply chain. Bob is an accomplished author of books and codes of practice, he edits a quarterly catering magazine and is passionate about the food industry, and in particular the independent sector which he still regards as his roots. He has been involved in several TV and radio broadcasts as well as writing features for trade magazines.

David Jago, Director of Innovation & Insight, Mintel

With around 20 years experience tracking and analysing new product trends, David Jago brings a unique perspective on the marketplace and future new product development. As Director of Innovation & Insight at Mintel he is responsible for providing expert research and analysis in the fields of product development, market appraisal and competitor evaluation, to a broad range of food & drink manufacturers and agencies in Europe and Asia. David has had numerous articles published in European trade press and professional journals, and is a regular speaker at conferences around the world, as well as industry groups and client-specific meetings in Europe, the USA, and Japan.

Simon Numphud FIH , Hotel Services Manager, The AA

Simon Numphud has been with AA Hotel Services since 1997 and been Hotel Services Manager since 2006. He is responsible for the AA Hotel Services Business which recognises over 10,000 establishments across various rating schemes, the annual AA Hotel and Restaurant awards and the Quality Standards. Simon is responsible for the relationships with external trade and tourism bodies and oversees a professional team of hotel and restaurant inspectors. The AA Hotel Services celebrated its Centenary Year in 2008. Simon and a team of AA inspectors have this year taken over exclusively judging the World Food Awards – Restaurant of the Year category. “World food is a thriving industry that already fills the pages of our AA guides and it is exciting to be applying our expertise and knowledge specifically to this sector.”

Adam Leyland, Editor of The Grocer

Adam Leyland is editor of The Grocer, the bible of the food and drink industry. A lifelong 'foodie' and 'winophile', he’s a passionate campaigner on behalf of healthy, natural food, while promoting the merits of a balanced diet and common sense in the ongoing debate around obesity. But in his regular appearances on the BBC, ITV, and other national media his expertise extends to consumer trends, food prices, alcohol promotions, the power of the supermarkets and more. Adam was voted the 2009 Editor of the Year by the British Society of Magazine Editors. In February 2010 a survey of the 500 leading Business Superbrands, conducted by the Centre for Brand Analytics, saw The Grocer rise 118 places, to 150th place, to become not only the No1 trade magazine business superbrand, but outscoring The Guardian, Yahoo, CNN, Weber Shandwick, Saatchi & Saatchi, JWT, Nielsen and The Spectator. In a 20-year business journalism career, Adam has also edited Press Gazette, PrintWeek and Real Business, and launched the US edition of PRWeek.

Sheel Gill of KPMG

Sheel Gill of KPMG is on board to oversee the judging process and verify this year's results to ensure complete transparency. Sheel has over 13 years of financial and accounting experience, having qualified as a UK Chartered Accountant in 1996. She has been responsible for a range of audits and transaction services projects to a diverse portfolio of clients. Sheel has been a senior member of the KPMG transactions services team since 1999 in London and Germany.

Sheel said: "In my opinion, credibility and recognition for Awards that provide support to furthering business have to be underpinned by independent adjudication. In my capacity as a qualified accountant - having worked for the Big 4 for the last 17 years - I will provide the independence required for this year's World Food Awards."

Ricci Obertelli, AA Inspector

Award-winning hotel consultant Ricci Obertelli has years of experience working at the world's top hotels, including the Dorchester Group, the Ritz, the Savoy in London and the Four Seasons Group. He now runs a consultancy company and is deputy chairman of Stoke Park country club and spa in Buckinghamshire. During a 30-year career, he has won many prestigious awards including Hotelier of the Year (1995 Caterer and Hotelkeeper Magazine); Personality of the Year 1995 for his contribution to the international hotel industry and Best independent Hotelier of the World (Hotels Magazine, USA). He also received the American Academy of Hospitality's Five Star Diamond Award for being "one of the finest corporate hoteliers in the world". Ricci is a Master of the Worshipful Company of Inn holders and a member of the AA Consultative Committee responsible for Five-Star Hotels and Rosettes.

Sandra Kerr, National Director of Race for Opportunity

Sandra Kerr is the national director of the Race for Opportunity (RfO) campaign, a national business-led network of private and public sector organisations working together to promote racial equality within their businesses. RfO was launched 10 years ago and is the quality benchmark of Business in the Community (BITC), a UK charity-based company with over 800 member organisations. Before joining RfO, Kerr worked in the cabinet office advising cabinet ministers on diversity and policies on race, disability, gender and work life balance across Whitehall. Prior to this, she worked for the Department of Work and Pensions delivering frontline services to 33,000 customers while managing a team of 140 staff over a five year period. She also spent four years as a personal development trainer and IT skills trainer.