At the 2011 VESTA Awards, Hilton Malta (in the accommodation category) was among eleven winners selected as outstanding examples to showcase best practices in Europe.

The Visions/DestiNet European Sustainable Tourism Awards (VESTAS) were created by Vision on Sustainable Tourism in collaboration with the Destinet Sustainable Tourism Information and Communications Portal to showcase, consolidate and highlight the enormous potential of sustainable tourism.

As a VESTAS winner, Hilton Malta is highlighted to a network of 7,000 specialist European travel agencies and also brought to the attention of the UN, WTO, and UNEP as one of Europe’s best of the best practice examples.

In culinary competitions, Hilton Malta has garnered accolades also. Its restaurants were again recipients of a wide variety of awards at the Restaurant Awards Gala last December. This is an annual ceremony organized by The Definitive(ly) Good Guide to Restaurants, a comprehensive guide to the best restaurants in Malta and Gozo. The awards are a direct result of the Malta and Gozo Restaurant Survey, which reviews over 1,000 establishments on the Maltese islands with the aim to pinpoint the best 150 restaurants.

Big winners were The Gazebo Restaurant, The Blue Elephant, Oceana and Bottega del Vino. Hilton Malta has often been recognized by connoisseurs and lauded for its excellence, testament to its continuous striving for quality and perfection.

Hilton Malta’s culinary team competed in the Malta Culinary Competition in May at the Institute for Tourism Studies. Steve Mallia, Senior Sous Chef assisted by Clint Buhagiar, Demi Chef De Partie, won the competition in the Global Chef’s challenge. Ryan Marmara Demi Chef de Partie competed in the Hans Bueschken Challenge and won this competition. Ryan was assisted by Max Brincat, Demi Chef de Partie. Both Hilton Malta team members will be representing Malta in the European qualifiers that will be held in Slovenia in January 2012.

The Hilton Malta chefs competed under the guidance of Executive Chef Joe Vella.

Hilton Hotels & Resort, www.hilton.com