Developing a taxonomy of 'award-winning' restaurants: what are they actually?

This article aims to clarify the term 'award-winning restaurants,' by conducting a literature review focussed on answering six broad questions. The questions posed relate to what awards are; who are judged; who decides on awards; what are being judged; why do awards exist; and what awards are available? The paper is compiled with a set of definitions and categories to illuminate, in comparable terms, what is required of a restaurant to become award-winning. This paper has no empirical component; it creates a foundation for studies which can be used to ensure that quality assurance, rather than marketing objectives, is at the forefront when restaurant awards are in question.