The NDTV Food Awards 2025 took place on March 21, 2025, at JW Marriott in Goa. The night brought together the country's finest chefs, restauranteurs, food content creators and enthusiasts to honour the country's culinary excellence. Whether it was fine dining, casual cafes, or sustainable food ventures, every corner of the food world was represented at the event. And 73 eminent tastemakers from across India hand-picked the best in 31 categories through a comprehensive evaluation process. The jury featured a blend of seasoned professionals, each bringing unique perspectives to the table. Let's meet the jury.
NDTV Food Awards 2025 Grand Jury:
The Grand Jury who selected the top restaurants and chefs from across India comprised Shubham Bhatnagar, the Editor at NDTV Food and Travel, Praerna Kartha, the Content Head at NDTV Food and Travel, food and travel writers Amit Dixit, Ruth Dsouza Prabhu and Sourish Bhattacharya, food writers Ananya Banerjee, Ashwin Rajagopalan, Bindu Gopal Rao, Gautam Anand, Karen Anand, Maria Goretti, Nita Mehta, Odette Mascarenhas, and Pallavi Pasricha, filmmaker Hansal Mehta, master chef Manjit Gill, chef and digital content creator Parth Bajaj, Sanjyot Keer and Tara Deshpande, lifestyle journalist Priya Pathiyan, TV show host and columnist Rashmi Uday Singh, food chronicler Rocky Mohan, and chef and TV host Zarine Khan.
NDTV Food Awards 2025 Regional Jury:
A panel comprising regional tastemakers evaluated eligible entries across North, East, West, Central and South India. The winners were shortlisted based on culinary innovation, quality and their overall contribution to the food and beverage industry.
From the North zone, the jury included food travel and lifestyle journalist Geetika Sachdeva, beverage consultant and luxury food writer Magandeep Singh, food and travel journalists Neha Grover and Sushmita Srivastav, luxury writer and editor Priya Rana, food content creator Rahul Prabhakar, food content creator and authors Rocky Singh and Shivesh Bhatia, author, culinary chronicler and consultant Rushina M Ghildiyal, food and travel writer Shibani Bawa, designer, artist and culinary consultant Tahir Sultan and content creator Uma Raghuraman, food writer and critic Pawan Soni.
From the Central and East zones, the jury included Ankita Chakraborty and Rishi Raj Ghosh - the co-founders of Calcutta Cacophony, chef consultant Farah Naaz Laskar, writer and food content creator Indrajit Lahiri, food and film writer Poorna Banerjee, journalist and author Pritisha Borthakur, food and culture writer Priyadarshini Chatterjee, F&B consultant, food writer and content creator Rukshana Kapadia, consultant chef and educator Sanjukta Das, content strategist and culinary explorer Sibendu Das, food columnist Subhajit Bhattacharya and author of the book 'Beyond Dalma' Sweta Biswal.
From the West zone, the jury included food and travel writer Aatish Nath, Prachi Joshi and Insia Lacewalla, entertainment and lifestyle journalist Deepali Dhingra, food writer and digital creator Kalyan Karmakar, architect Khushnu Panthaki Hoof, F&B writer and hospitality consultant Nikhil Merchant and Priyanko Sarkar, food and travel journalist Nivedita Jayaram Pawar and Rituparna Roy, journalist and author Noor Mayal Khanna, journalist and food writer Phorum Pandya, travel writer and photographer Rishad Saam Mehta, lifestyle writer Shilpa Madan, F&B journalist and content creator Smitha Menon and wine educator Sonal Holland.
From the South zone, the jury included the princess of Vijayanagaram Vidya Gajapathy Raju Singh, travel and lifestyle writer Anita Rao Kashi, writers Aslam Gafoor and Priya Bala, recipe curator and cookbook author Hina Gujral, food, travel and lifestyle writer Deepa Shri Rajan, culinary school director Nimmy Paul, marketing lead at Last9 Sahil Khan and food curator and researcher Yogita Uchil.
Click here for the complete list of NDTV Food Awards 2025 winners.