Media Contact: Melanie Ramsey

30 June 2010

THE FRED TIBBITTS & ASSOCIATES FIRST ANNUAL

?A Summer Evening at Mumbai with very Special Friends?

The Westin Mumbai Garden City

Tuesday 29 June 2010 

Mumbai-The First Annual FTA ?A Summer Evening at Mumbai with very Special Friends? proved to be a memorable event for the fifty-three guests, who included hotel executives, managing directors, GMs, industry VIPs, press and sponsors.

The reception was hosted by Diageo and Brown-Forman with a variety of their most popular luxury cocktails prepared to perfection by their celebrity mixologists and served by their elegant smart hostesses; while Phillips Foods Asia provided the best quality crab meat for the The Westin Mumbai?s culinary team?s mouth-watering assortment of canapés and hors d?ouvres.  All guests were personally greeted by Paridhi Bhushan, Team Leader-Front Office; formally announced by Nikarika Rawal and gonged by Stanford D?Souza, both Assistant Managers at Prego, the Italian restaurant, and all associates at The Westin Mumbai Garden City.

The opening of the four-course gala dinner brought Fred Tibbitts to the podium, who reminded the assembled hospitality industry elite that ?Service is the highest calling?.  Tibbitts then asked The Venerable Acharya Guru Gyaltsen, Executive Director, Pema Tsa?l School at Mundgod-Karnatka, India to take the podium to deliver a Tibetan Buddhist Prayer, chanted in Tibetan.

Tibbitts then called for the eleven ?Loyalty Toasts?, a Tibbitts dinner grand tradition by several of the dinner VIP?s, including the host General Manager, Jan Bundgaard, The Westin Mumbai Garden City; Ajay Kumar Jha, Market Manager-West, Brown-Forman (who donated the Korbel Natural Russian River Valley champagne for the toasts); Rajeev Menon, Area Vice President, India, Malaysia, Maldives & Pakistan, Marriott International; Neeraj Chadha, Regional General Manager, Hilton Worldwide; Conrad Egbert, Editor, Hotelier India; Paul Lawlass, Global Corporate Accounts Director, South East Asia, Ecolab; Anurag Bhatnagar, General Manager, Le Royal Meridien, Mumbai; Visheshwar Raj Singh, General Manager, Trident Bandra Kurla, Mumbai; Biswajit Chakraborty, General Manager, The Leela Kempinski; Salil Fadnis, Executive Chef, Hotel Sahara Star; and Paul Kinny, Executive Chef, InterContinental Marine Drive.

Tibbitts next announced that a portion of the proceeds from the FTA Summer Dinner at Mumbai would go to the Vikramasila Foundation to benefit the Pema Tsa?l School.  Tibbitts called forward Acharya Guru Gyaltsen to accept the cash donation to his school and to say a few words of genuine appreciation.  One of the recipients of previous FTA dinner donations to the Foundation was present in the person of Tenzin Chodon, now a Registered Nurse, whose education was made possible by the FTA contributions.

Tibbitts announced that the recipient of the 2010 FTA Hospitality Award for Literary Excellence is going to Richard Xu, Editor-in-Chief of New Western Cuisine (China) Magazine.  Tibbitts continued that the 2010 FTA Hospitality Award for Excellence as an Operator?Asia Pacific is Martin Rinck, President ? Asia Pacific, Hilton Worldwide.  As Rinck could not attend the dinner, Neeraj Chadha, Regional General Manager-India, Hilton Worldwide came to the podium to accept the recognition and spoke eloquently as to his personal observations on why Rinck richly deserves the recognition.

Tibbitts next announced that the 2010 FTA Hospitality Awards for Excellence as a Humanitarian are going to Rudolf Muller, Executive Chef, Hong Kong Disneyland and Otto Weibel, Director of Kitchens, Swissotel The Stamford & Fairmont Singapore. 

At the close of the cheese and wine service, Jan Bundgaard, General Manager, The Westin Mumbai Garden City Summoned the Brigade to unanimous ovation.  The Parade of the Brigade was well-rehearsed and led by Executive Chef Robert Conte, Banquet Chef Hershal Tamhaney, Food & Beverage Manager Amit Kumar and Banquet Manager Surajit Chatterjee.  The Parade culminated on stage with Bundgaard for a Brigade family portrait of all 46 associates who worked the dinner.  The service was flawless, the food and beverage the best and a feeling of warm, inviting hospitality filled the room from start to finish.  The Westin Mumbai Garden City Catering Sales Manager, Rida Paul was the project coordinator from start to finish, while Director of Marketing Communications, Anjali Mehra arranged for some of the market?s top press to attend and cover the event, for which all may be most grateful for their very meaningful contributions to the success of the evening.

Fred Tibbitts & Associates is the leading global wine, spirits and related services consulting agency for National Account chain hotels and restaurants and event management, based at Menands, New York for the United States and Bangkok, Thailand for Asia Pacific.

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10mumbaisummer_0479 Paridhi Bhushan, Team Leader-Front Office personally greets all guests arriving at the reception for the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0480 (L-R) Stanford D'Souza, Assistant Manager, Prego and Nikrika Rawal, Assistant Manager, Prego gong and announce all guests on arrival at the reception of the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0484 The Jack-Daniel's-Finlandia specialty bar by Brown-Forman at the reception of the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0487 The Ketel One-Johnny Walker-Talisker specialty bar by Diageo India at the reception of the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0542 (L-R) Tenzin Chodon, Registered Nurse; Kunchok Dolma, Registered Nurse; The Venerable Acharya Guru Gyaltsen, Executive Director, Pema Ts?al School, Mundgod, India at the reception of the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0581 A Group Photo of the Kitchen Staff who prepared the food for the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City: (L-R Front Row) Krishna Chaitanya, Chef de Partie; Avinash Ayare, Chef de Partie; Francis Vaz, Sous Chef; Akbar Patel, Chef de Partie (L-R Back Row) Rajesh Moolchandani, Chef de Partie; Jenny Mooken, Sous Chef; Jasbir Saini, Chef de Partie

10mumbaisummer_0586 (L-R) Vijayan Gangadharan, Director of Food & Beverage, Grand Hyatt Mumbai; Thomas Abraham, Resident Manager, Grand Hyatt Mumbai; Jan Bundgaard, General Manager, The Westin Mumbai Garden City at the reception of the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0588 (L-R) Lee Kanbur, Hotel Manager, The Westin Mumbai Garden City; Visheshwar Raj Singh, General Manager, Trident Bandra Kurla, Mumbai; Sanaya Raj Singe, Trident Bandra Kurla, Mumbai at the reception of the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0592 (L-R) Ramesh Mohan, Head-Strategic Planning & Marketing, Hotel Sahara Star; Salil Fadnis, Executive Chef, Hotel Sahara Star; Kishor Chandra Joshi, Food & Beverage Manager, Hotel Sarah Star at the reception of the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0637 (L-R) Parul Thakur, Director of Operations, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Center Hotel; Rajeev Menon, Area Vice President, India, Malaysia, Maldives & Pakistan, Marriott International; Vineet Mishra, Director of Operations, JW Marriott Mumbai (Facing the camera but top of his head only visible); Pankaj Birla, General Manager, Jaipur Marriott Hotel (Back to the camera); Neeraj Chadha, Regional General Manager-India, Hilton Worldwide at the reception of the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0694 (L-R) Neeraj Chadha, Regional General Manager-India, Hilton Worldwide; Kuldeep Bhartee, General Manager, ITC Grand Central, Mumbai; Rajeev Menon, Area Vice President, India, Malaysia, Maldives & Pakistan, Marriott International at the reception of the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0697 (L-R) Rini Mazumder, Grand Hyatt Mumbai; Rajib Mazumder, Executive Sous Chef, Grand Hyatt Mumbai; Vikram Bhatia, Deputy General Manager, Retail Store Solutions, IBM India at the reception of the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0708 (L-R) Faiek El Saadani, Director of Food & Beverage, JW Marriott Mumbai; Rida Paul, Catering Sales Manager, The Westin Mumbai Garden City; Manish Garg, Director of Food & Beverage, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Center Hotel; Sanne Emborg, General Manager, Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai International Airport arriving the dining room from the reception at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0765 The Venerable Acharya Guru Gyaltsen, Executive Director, Pema Ts?al School, Mundgod, India chants in Tibetan a Buddhist prayer at the start of the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0790 Jan Bundgaard, General Manager, The Westin Mumbai Garden City proposes his dinner toast at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0797 Ajay Kumar Jha, Market Manager-West, Brown-Forman proposes his dinner toast, having donated the Korbel Natural Russian River Valley champagne for all the dinner ?Loyalty Toasts? at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0807 Rajeev Menon, Area Vice President, India, Malaysia, Maldives & Pakistan, Marriott International proposes his dinner toast at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0816 Neeraj Chadha, Regional General Manager-India, Hilton Worldwide proposes his dinner toast at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0824 Conrad Egbert, Editor, Hotelier India proposes his dinner toast at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0830 Paul Lawlass, Global Accounts Director, South East Asia, Ecolab proposes his toast at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0839 Anurag Bhatnagar, General Manager, Le Royal Meridien, Mumbai proposes his dinner toast at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0846 Visheshwar Raj Singh, General Manager, Trident Bandra Kurla, Mumbai proposes his dinner toast at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0855 Biswajit Chakraborty, General Manager, The Leela Kempinski proposes his dinner toast at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0861 Salil Fadnis, Executive Chef, Hotel Sahara Star proposes his dinner toast at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0865 Paul Kinny, Executive Chef, InterContinental Marine Drive proposes his dinner toast at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0913 (L-R) The Venerable Acharya Guru Gyaltsen, Executive Director, Pema Ts?al School, Mundgod, India accepts a cash donation from Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc. (?FTA?), which represented a portion of the dinner proceeds at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City. The Pema Ts?al School is sponsored by the Vikramasila Foundation, Founder & Executive Director being Khenpo Lama Pema Wangdak

10mumbaisummer_0925 (L-R) The Venerable Acharya Guru Gyaltsen, Executive Director, Pema Ts?al School, Mundgod, India presents two blessed Tibetan Buddhist katas and a small, carved, wooden image of The Buddha to Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc. (?FTA?) in appreciation of the FTA donation to the School and the Vikramasila Foundation, which sponsors the school, the Founder & Executive Director being Khenpo Lama Pema Wangdak at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0935 The Venerable Acharya Guru Gyaltsen, Executive Director, Pema Ts?al School, Mundgod, India expresses his appreciation for the FTA dinner portion of proceeds donation to his school and the good works the donation will make possible at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0941 (L-R) The Venerable Acharya Guru Gyaltsen, Executive Director, Pema Ts?al School, Mundgod, India with Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc., after presenting Tibbitts with two blessed katas in appreciation of the FTA dinner donation for the Pema Ts?al School at Mundgod, India, which is sponsored by the Vikramasila Foundation, the Founder & Executive Director being Khenpo Lama Pema Wangduk at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0970 (L-R) Kuldeep Bhartee, General Manager, ITC Grand Central, Mumbai; Paresh Gadhai, Corporate Accounts Manager, Ecolab; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Uday Thakkar, Divisional Sales Manager, Ecolab at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0975 (L-R) Jan Bundgaard, General Manager, The Westin Mumbai Garden City; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Zainab B, Managing Editor, Liquid Magazine at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0981 (L-R) Rahul Sequeira, Relationship Manager, Travel Trends Today; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Raynah Coutinho, Assistant Editor, Travel Trends Today at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0987 (L-R) Kunchok Dolma, Registered Nurse; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Tenzin Chodon, Registered Nurse at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0990 (L-R) Viveka Rawal, Director, S.V. Distributors Pvt. Ltd.; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Lee Kanbur, Hotel Manager, The Westin Mumbai Garden City at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0991 (L-R) Santosh Jori, Executive Chef, Le Royal Meridien Mumbai; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Anurag Bhatnagar, General Manager, Le Royal Meridien Mumbai at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0994 (L-R) Visheshwar Raj Singh, General Manager, Trident Bandra Kurla, Mumbai; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & associates, Inc.; Sanya Raj Singh, Trident Bandra Kurla, Mumbai at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0995 (L-R) Parul Thakur, Director of Operations, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Center Hotel; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Sanne Emborg, General Manager, Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai International Airport at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_0999 (L-R) Rajeev Menon, Area Vice President, India, Malaysia, Maldives & Pakistan, Marriott International; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Rohan Rakendath, Director of Food & Beverage, Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai International Airport at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_1004 (L-R) Vineet Mishra, Director of Operations, JW Marriott Mumbai; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Faiek El Saadani, Director of Food & Beverage, JW Marriott Mumbai at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_1006 (L-R) Manish Garg, Director of Food & Beverage, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Center Hotel; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Parul Thakur, Director of Operations, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Center Hotel at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_1008 (L-R) Paul Kinny, Executive Chef, InterContinental Marine Drive; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Thomas Abraham, Resident Manager, Grand Hyatt Mumbai at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_1010 Salil Fadnis, Executive Chef, Hotel Sahara Star; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Ramesh Mohan, Head-Strategic Planning & Marketing, Hotel Sahara Star at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_1012 (L-R) Kishor Chandra Joshi, Food & Beverage Manager, Hotel Sahara Star; Fred Tibbitts, Jr,; President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Vijayan Gangadharan, Director of Food & Beverage, Grand Hyatt Mumbai at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_1018 (L-R) Sitaram Mewati, Consultant, DNA ?Main Paper; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Shishir Shetty, DNA at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_1022 (L-R) Devashish Dasgupta, Corporate Relations Director-India, Diageo India; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Shubhranshu Singh, Head-Customer Marketing, Diageo India at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_1024 (L-R) Ajay Kumar Jha, Market Manager-West, Brown-Forman; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Rashmi Pradhan, Senior Reporter, Hospitality Biz at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_1026 (L-R) Sayoni Bhaduri, Correspondent, Express Hospitality; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Reema Sisodia, Editor, Express Hospitality at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_1028 (L-R) Rodrigues, Rajesh, Editor, Hospitality biz.com; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Anjali Mehra, Director of Marketing Communications, The Westin Mumbai Garden City at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_1042 (L-R) Nasir Shaikh, Director of Food & Beverage, The Westin Pune Koregaon Park; Fred Tibbitts, Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Fareen Belgaumwala, The Westin Pune Koreganon Park at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_1055 The Marriott International attendees at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City: (L-R) Faiek El Saadani, Director of Food & Beverage, JW Marriott Mumbai; Parul Thakur, Director of Operations, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Center Hotel; Sanne Emborg, General Manager, Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai International Airport; Rajeev Menon, Area Vice President, India, Malaysia, Maldives & Pakistan, Marriott International; Fred Tibbitts , Jr., President & CEO, Fred Tibbitts & Associates, Inc.; Manish Garg, Director of Food & Beverage, Renaissance Mumbai Convention Center Hotel; Pankaj Birla, General Manager, Jaipur Marriott Hotel; Vineet Mishra, Director of Operations, JW Marriott Mumbai; Rohan Rakendath, Director of Food & Beverage, Courtyard by Marriott Mumbai International Airport

10mumbaisummer_1059 Neeraj Chadha, Regional General Manager-India, Hilton Worldwide accepts the recognition on behalf of Martin Rinck, President ? Asia Pacific, Hilton Worldwide at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Garden City, Rinck having been announced as the Recipient of the 2010 FTA Hospitality Award for Excellence as an Operator-Asia Pacific. The Award and a $5,000.00 USD scholarship in Rinck?s name will be presented to Rinck at the 2010 FTA Fall Dinner at Hong Kong on 7 October at the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui. Rinck?s scholarship will benefit worthy students at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

10mumbaisummer_1075 Jan Bundgaard, General Manager, The Westin Mumbai Garden City takes the stage to Summons the Brigade at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_1090 The Brigade of The Westin Mumbai Garden City with (CENTER Second Row) Jan Bundgaard, General Manager and (CENTER Front Row L-R) Surajit Chatterjee, Banquet Manager; Robert Conte, Executive Chef; Amit Kumar, Food & Beverage Manager; and Harshal Tamhaney, Banquet Chef at the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City

10mumbaisummer_1101 Group photo of all those who stayed until the very end of the First Annual FTA Summer Dinner at The Westin Mumbai Garden City