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Nominees for the best Bulgarian restaurant 2008 announced

The holidays are about over, and a fine dining experience in a Bulgarian restaurant beckons. Nominees in the eighth Restaurant of the Year Bacchus-Chivas Regal competition were announced in late December 2008, and only go to prove that the country's gourmet scene is on the upswing.

According to a statement on the website of wine and gourmet magazine Bacchus, the originator of the contest, the aim is to stimulate even more restaurateurs, chefs and sommeliers in their ambitions to provide a truly high-class restaurant experience. Criteria used in evaluating locations were selection of wine and beverages, service, atmosphere, price-quality ratio, dedication to the craft and, of course, the food.

For the 2008 awards, the ceremony for which will be held on February 4 2009, five chefs were nominated for the Original Cuisine category. This is the first time that so many have been recognised.

Nominated for the grand prize Restaurant of the Year Bacchus-Chivas Regal 2008 were Chef's (the winner of the 2007 Readers' Choice award), Sommelier and Musala Palace (winer of the Best Selection of Drinks for 2007). In the Original Cuisine category, nominated were Velin Velikov of Musala Palace, Viktor Angelov of Chef's, Deyan Dimitrov of Urania, Petar Mihalchev of Sasa and Plamen Petrov of La Famiglia.

Restaurants nominated in the Debut category were Sasa, Nino and Club of the Architect (Клуб на архитекта), all of which are in Sofia. For the Best Selection of Drinks were nominated Nino, Hebros and Stara Sofia. This is the second consecutive year that Stara Sofia has been nominated in the category.

Nominees in the Readers' Choice set were not announced.

Tickets for the awards ceremony, taking place at Rainbow Palace in Sofia, are available at events@bacchus.bg
or 02/ 937 64 56. The price of 140 leva (until January 15) or 160 leva (until January 30) includes a six-course tasting menu and wine to accompany each dish.

Source: sofiaecho.com