Pastry Pioneer Anna Polyviou Recognised as One of Australia's Top Chefs

Anna Polyviou, executive pastry chef at Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney who is rolling in accolades from the culinary industry, recently won the 2014 Dish of the Year, Best Dessert award from Foodservice Australia. This prestigious title is awarded by the public and industry professionals who were delighted and surprised by Chef Anna's modern twist on a traditional Carrot Cake.

Last week, Anna's signature dish, Anna's Mess, was one of only four innovative dishes to be profiled in Sunday Style, a magazine published by NewsLifeMedia and read by 1.3 million Australians each week. The feature, titled Sweet Art, A Gastronomic Extravaganza, included dessert legends, such as Adriano Zumbo, Darren Purchese and the team from Gelato Messina.

As further recognition of Anna's rise to the top of the dessert scene in Sydney, her famous High Tea featured on the front cover of the Daily Telegraph's Taste supplement last month. As Sydney's leading newspaper, the publication is read by nearly 2 million people and for a popular food offering in Sydney like high tea, Chef Anna's was right at the top.

Since joining Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney in April 2013, Chef Anna has been regularly featured in some of Australia's top publications and continues to be recognised by her industry peers.

In 2013, Chef Anna was also one of only four Australian pastry chefs, and 37 globally, featured in The New Pâtissiers cookbook written by Olivier Dupon and distributed worldwide by publishing house Thames & Hudson.

“I'm absolutely thrilled with all this wonderful support from the industry. It is so encouraging to get genuine help and enthusiasm from my peers and, of course, my talented team here at Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney,” said Chef Anna, who leads a team of 10 pastry chefs at Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney.

Chef Anna has also previously won a number of prestigious awards, including the Nadell Trophy for the UK's Dessert of the Year and the Culinary Academy Award for Excellence for Pastry. She is also the chairman and one of the founders of the Sydney Pastry Chef Club, an industry-learning programme for executive pastry chefs launched in 2011.

For enquiries or information on upcoming food events, please contact Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney on (61 2) 9250 6000, e-mail slsn@shangri-la.com or visit www.shangri-la.com/sydney.

To engage with Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney online, please visit www.facebook.com/shangrilasydney, www.twitter.com/shangrilasydney and www.instagram.com/shangrilasydney.

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts currently owns and/or manages more than 80 hotels under the Shangri-La brand with a room inventory of over 34,000. Shangri‑La hotels are five-star deluxe properties featuring extensive luxury facilities and services. Shangri-La hotels are located in Australia, Canada, mainland China, Fiji, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Sultanate of Oman, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. The group has a substantial development pipeline with upcoming projects in mainland China, India, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Qatar and Sri Lanka. For more information and reservations, please contact a travel professional or access the website at www.shangri-la.com.