Comedy legend Lenny Henry will be the host at the 3rd Annual World Food Awards 2011.

Organisers of the highly coveted World Food Awards today confirmed that comedy legend Lenny Henry will be hosting the third annual gala event, which will take place on Saturday 1st October at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane.

Henry returns to host the awards after a hugely successful debut last year, when the World Food Awards 2010 saw Madonna's favourite Vita Coco scoop Best New Product, the widely acclaimed Japanese eatery Zuma named Restaurant of the Year and Pataks walk away with the gong for Best Marketing Campaign.

The World Food Awards have quickly established themselves as a focal point of the UK world food calendar, attracting the cream of the industry and showcasing the very best the sector has to offer.

Speaking about last year's event Lenny Henry said: "There was such an impressive range of nominees from Zuma restaurant and Levi Roots to Vita Coco and Pataks - and coming from a Jamaican background myself, I think it's fantastic how practically every ethnicity was represented in this unique celebration of world food. I had a fantastic experience last year, so am delighted to be back. It's one event that you can attend knowing that the food is going to be great!"

The World Food Awards are open exclusively to companies specialising, promoting or stocking products from the following countries: Asian, Oriental, African, Afro-Caribbean, European, East-European, Middle Eastern, South American and Mediterranean.

The event will again feature a glittering line-up of entertainment and glamour, including performances from leading artists and a host of celebrities, sports personalities and acclaimed chefs to present the awards.

This year's high-profile judging panel consists of some of the UK's most respected industry experts, including Adam Leyland, Editor of The Grocer, Simon Numphud, Head of AA inspectors and Mintel's Director of Innovation & Insight David Jago.

KPMG's Sheel Gill will again audit the judge's results to ensure complete confidence in the judging process.

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