CULINARY pioneer Winston Stona and businessman Derrick Mahfood will be this year’s recipients of the Jamaica Observer Lifetime Achievement Award and Chairman’s Award 2006, respectively.

Both men will be presented with their award today at the Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards on the Devon House East Lawns in Kingston.

Stona, managing director of Busha Browne’s Company in St Catherine, was instrumental in the development of Jamaica’s food industry. He served in the 1960s as an executive at the Jamaica Tourist Board, then later as director of the Caribbean Culinary Federation. He is one of the great minds behind many of Jamaica’s more famous brands and is dedicated to the prosperity and development of the Jamaican small farmer.

Mahfood last year introduced another tranquil dining spot to the Corporate Area when he established a gourmet hub at the Market Place on Constant Spring Road. The new space dubbed the ‘Courtyard’ is home to East Japanese restaurant, China Express, Habibi Latino, Café Aubergine and Jewel of India.