The Kingdom’s most celebrated catering house steps into one of 2026’s defining events
RIYADH — There are events that happen, and then there are events that leave a mark. The Global Excellence & Leadership Awards – Riyadh 2026 is firmly in the second category. And the name behind the hospitality is one that Saudi Arabia’s event world knows well: Crystals Catering.
The Riyadh-based catering company has confirmed its role as Co-Sponsor of the ceremony, a decision that reflects both the reach the organization has built over two decades and its instinct for attaching its name to moments that matter. For a company that has catered royal ceremonies, global brand launches, and high-profile government events since 2005, this is familiar ground, approached with fresh intent.
Twenty Years of Getting It Right
Crystals was founded by Mr. Bilal Bazzi and Mrs. Rania Alnajjar, two hospitality professionals with a combined 50 years of experience and a shared conviction that catering, done properly, is not a service but a statement. The company they built has catered to over 28,000 events. It has served more than 1.2 million guests. It’s a team of 150-plus culinary experts spanning nationalities and cuisines, and its in-house kitchen produces everything from fresh sourdough to handmade Japanese pastry daily.
Those numbers are earned, not inherited. Over the years, Crystals has built a client list that reads like a roll call of the region’s most influential institutions — KPMG, IBM, Oracle, Raytheon, Deutsche Bank, Al Rajhi Bank, NEOM, SDAIA, the Saudi Ministry of Culture, the Italian and Japanese Embassies, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Ferrari. The company operates across government, corporate, and private sectors, and its footprint extends from boardroom lunches to full-scale national events with thousands of attendees.
“Every event we take on, we treat as if it is the only one we have ever done. That mindset does not change whether we are catering fifty people or five thousand.” — Mr. Bilal Bazzi, Co-Founder, Crystals Catering
What Crystals Brings to the Awards?
For the Global Excellence & Leadership Awards, Crystals is bringing the full weight of its event offering, not a scaled-down, sponsor-grade presence, but a full deployment of what the company does at its best.
Guests can expect menus that go beyond region-appropriate and into genuinely interesting territory: Saudi heritage dishes prepared with the kind of precision usually reserved for fine dining; live cooking stations run by Crystals’ Executive Events Chef; international courses that draw on the team’s depth in Japanese, Mediterranean, and French cuisine. The table design and floral handled in-house will be consistent with the tone of the evening.
Behind the scenes, the company’s operational framework, developed and stress-tested across 28,000 events, ensures that what guests experience as effortless is the result of very deliberate planning. Every staffing rotation, every replenishment window, every timing cue has been worked out before the doors open.
“We are not here to blend into the background. We are here to make the evening feel complete — to make sure that when people remember the awards, the experience around them is part of what they remember.” — Mrs. Rania Alnajjar, Co-Founder, Crystals Catering
Recognition Built Over Time
Crystals holds ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 22000:2018 quality certifications, FSSC 22000:2018 food safety accreditation, and Bureau Veritas Certification 2024. In 2024, it was named Catering Company of the Year at the F&B KSA Awards. This year, it received the Luxury Lifestyle Award for Best Luxury Catering Services 2025.
These are not decorative credentials. They represent the company’s insistence on holding itself to external standards in an industry where it would be easy not to. For clients — and for event co-sponsors, they are proof that Crystals’ reputation for quality is backed by process, not just personality.
The company’s 5,500-plus repeat customers are perhaps the more telling figure. In a market where options multiply every year, clients keep returning. That loyalty is the result of consistency: the same attention to detail at the twentieth event as the first.
About The Global Excellence & Leadership Awards – Riyadh 2026
The ceremony will recognize individuals and organizations who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, impact, and innovation across industries. There is a purpose behind the event taking place in Riyadh. It will bring together senior figures from government, business, and civil society for an evening that honors achievement and sets the tone for the year ahead.
About Crystals Catering
Crystals Catering is a Riyadh-based luxury catering and hospitality company, established in 2005. The company provides private catering, corporate catering, restaurant and outlet management, and full-service event solutions to clients across the government, private, and public sectors.
With a team of over 150 culinary professionals and a track record spanning more than 28,000 events, Crystals is one of Saudi Arabia’s most recognized names in hospitality. The company operates from its headquarters in the Al Olaya District, Riyadh.
