The nominees for the CEEfood Best Restaurant Award are evaluated and compiled by United Publishers Ltd., which also organizes the annual ceremony that celebrates the award’s unveiling. No employees of any sponsors associated with the awards are allowed to vote or have any influence over the results.

• CEEfood is 100% independent
• CEEfood jury members visit anonymously, and pay for every meal

National Juries

The CEEfood TOP 10 Restaurants short-list selection is created by CEEfood national juries of the ten CEE countries, with each jury member selected for their expertise regarding the international restaurant scene. The juries are made up of food critics, chefs, restaurateurs, and highly regarded gastronomes, with each of them having three votes. Based on the compilation of the three votes from each member of a national jury, the best restaurant of the country is determined.

The deadline for submitting votes on the CEE countries’ best restaurants is the 20^th of April 2011.

The results are published online as soon as they have been announced at the Dining Guide Food Show in Budapest on the 5^th of June 2011.

The main rules of voting are:

• Voting is strictly confidential before the award announcement
• Jury members may vote for up to three restaurants within their country
• Voters must have eaten in the restaurants they nominate during the last 18 months
• Voters are not permitted to vote for restaurants they own or have an interest in
• Nominations must be made for the restaurant, not for the restaurateur or the chef
• Jury members submit their choices in order of preference (this information is used to decide on positions in the event of a tie)

On professional grounds the juries examine the quality and standards of the ingredients, technologies, and creativity of the kitchen, along with the ambiance of the restaurant and presentation (service). They also survey the consistency of the restaurant’s standards. According to these six criteria, the jury rates the restaurants on a ten-point scale.

• Quality of ingredients
• Professionalism of cuisine
• Harmony of flavors, creativity
• Ambiance
• Service
• Consistency

These criteria are designed to allow our jury members to vote from a wide range of locations and types of eateries. They can vote for a small, unknown restaurant in a secluded region, or select the best-known restaurants of the country – what matters is their opinion and the experiences that they have had.

CEEfood Awards Jury

The CEEfood Awards Jury members are selected for their expert knowledge of the international restaurant scene.

After the announcement of the CEE TOP 10 restaurants, the CEEfood Awards Jury starts testing the chosen eateries of the short list. By the end of the year they submit their votes, and based on these results the Best Restaurant of the CEE Region is determined.

Deadline for submitting votes on the CEE regions’ best restaurant is the 9^th of December 2011.

This method means that restaurants cannot apply to be on the list and cannot be nominated, and no external influences (from CEEfood or our sponsors) can influence the list. It also means that every restaurant in the CEE region is eligible, unless the restaurant is closed at the time of the announcement, or we receive notice that it will be closing in the near future after the results are published.

There are no criteria that a restaurant has to meet to qualify for eligibility. They certainly do not have to sell a certain product. They do not need to have been open for a minimum number of years, and they do not need to have won any other culinary accolades.

Countries in the CEEfood Awards program

• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Hungary
• Poland
• Romania
• Serbia
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Turkey