Leading Asian restaurateurs, VIPS and embassy dignitaries were in attendance
Over 800 leading Asian restaurateurs, VIPs and embassy dignitaries and celebrities gathered for a glittering gala dinner at the London Hilton to honour the winners of Asian Curry Awards 2015 on Sunday 15th November. The awards are a joint venture organised by the Asian Catering Federation and the Federation of Bangladeshi Caterers.
Designed to recognise excellence in the Asian catering industry, the awards encourage positive competition towards ever-higher standards in the industry.
In association with NOQU and the Asian Curry Club, the 5th Asian Curry Awards 2015 was hosted by TV presenter and Strictly Come Dancing winner, Natasha Kaplinsky.
The evening’s entertainment included the spectacular Shiamak’s dance troupe and the renowned musician Shahid Abbas Khan. Guests were treated to an exquisite menu from the award-winning caterers, Madhu’s caterers of Southall, London.
In his keynote speech, the Asian Curry Awards’ Chairman Yawar Khan described the event as a “truly momentous occasion” and reported that this year’s awards had attracted record numbers of public nominations.
Standing in for Pat Chapman, editor of the Cobra Good Curry Guide and chairman of the awards’ judging panel, who was unable to attend, fellow judge George Shaw reported “a strong industry trend towards more high quality, authentic, regional dishes, with a modern gastronomic twist and healthier, light options on menus.”
The top award for Best South Asian Restaurant (Central London) went to Vivek Singh’s Cinnamon Club, which reopened this year following a £1 million refit. Singh had to see off strong competition for the award whose short list included Cyrus Todiwala’s Café Spice Namaste and the Michelin starred Tamarind and Quilon restaurants.
Regional awards for Best South Asian Restaurant were presented to: Babur in Forest Hill (London Suburbs), Shozna in Rochester (South East), Bay Leaf in Bristol (South West), Indian Summer in Brighton (SouthCoast), Royal Tandoori in Corby (East Midlands), Ramadan in Cudworth (West Midlands), The Days of the Raj in Newcastle (North East), Royal Nawaab in Manchester (North West), Aagrah Restaurant in Sheffield (Yorkshire), Purple Poppadom, Cardiff (Wales), The Light of Bengal in Aberdeen (Scotland), Valley Connection, Bury St Edmunds (East of England).
Raj Bari in Yarm (North East), Charcoals in Glasgow (Scotland) were Highly Commended.
Regional Best Newcomer Awards went to: Royal Nawaab in Perivale (London), Curry Leaf Café in Brighton (South Coast), The Don in Welwyn Garden City (South East), Nurjenna in Southgate (London).
Navadhanya Restaurant in Cambridge (East of England) and Urban Tandoori in Bristol (South West), Shabir Hussain of Akbar’s Group of Restaurants in North of England and Scotland was named The Curry Champion 2015.
Frank Khalid, owner of Elbrook Wholesale, Chak 89 Restaurant and Banqueting in Mitcham and West London Film Studios in Hayes won the Life Time Achievement Award for his charity works.
Best Take Away awards went to: Alishan Tandoori in Camberley (South East Central), K2 in Wimbledon (London Suburbs), Curry Pot in Dunfermline (Scotland), Taj Cuisine in Lower Stoke (South East). The accolades for Best Thai went to Giggling Squid in Bristol (South West) and Lemongrass in Crawley (South East).
Best Malaysian was Ning in Manchester; Best Japanese – Poppy Hanain London; Best Singaporean was Singapore Garden in London; Best Indonesian -Wurung Tuijuh in Brighton; Best Sri Lankan – Ayubowan in West Glossop, Derbyshire; Best Chinese – Sanxia Renjia in London.
Best International Cuisine went to Chez Mumtaj in St Albans.
Shabir Hussain of Aakbar’s in Bradford was named Curry Champion 2015.
Chef Awards went to – Jiwan Lal of Babur in Forest Hill (London Suburbs) adding to his already impressive trophy cabinet; Abul Monsur of Taj Cuisine in Chatham (South East) Shanker Pandey, Everest Inn Ashford, Kent, (South East) Salim Siddique, Raj Bari in Yarm (North East); Abul Sobur, Zafran, Essex (East of England), Mohd Bilal Uddin, Bayleaf, Bristol (South West); Moinul Alom, Nahar, Newcastle Emlyn (Wales); Abdul Hamid, India on the Green (Scotland) and Nasser Awan, Sapna Caterers in Wembley (London).
Swedish Restaurant of the Year Awards went to Indian Garden Restaurant and Waipo Chinese Restaurant both in Stockholm, Sweden.
Restaurant Ho’s was the Highly Commended Chinese restaurant and Shanti Gossip was the Highly Commended South Asian Restaurant in Sweden.
In association with NOQU and the Asian Curry Club, sponsors were Square Mile Insurance and Kingfisher Beer Europe, Aroma Icecream, Cobra Beer Europe, Mohd Shah & Co and Hillside Travels.
For more details of the event and a complete list of winners, visit www.asiancurryawards.co.uk
