Press Release

Dazzling British Curry Awards  get the message across


The achievements of the British curry industry were celebrated in grand style at the second annual British Curry Awards - organised by Spice Business magazine in conjunction with Lloyds TSB Cardnet - which were held at London 's Grosvenor House on Sunday 17th September. TV news presenter Alastair Stewart OBE hosted the glamorous and glittering occasion, which was attended by almost 1100 people, including stars from the worlds of entertainment, fashion, sport, and cuisine, as well leading political figures.

While the main purpose of the event was to showcase and pay tribute to the country's leading curry restaurants, the awards also provided the industry with a platform from which to engage the Government in debate over its controversial immigration policy.

Addressing the audience, British Curry Awards founder, and Spice Business editor, Enam Ali, drew attention to the 'very real problem, of securing low-skilled staff with the cultural understanding that a tandoori kitchen requires.'  Mr Ali said, “Quite simply, the future of the British curry does not depend on our ability to only employ highly qualified chefs who are already working in curry restaurants throughout Asia . However, the sustainability of British curry restaurants throughout the UK does depend on our ability to employ non-qualified people with a unique understanding of the cuisine who will fit into the existing tandoori kitchen culture and grow within the workplace to become the British curry chefs of tomorrow.”

Acknowledging there is a need for immigration rules and controls, Mr Ali went on to plead for governments, present and future, not to resort to standardised answers to the problem. “Our sector is unique within the hospitality industry in the UK and we require particular solutions to our very particular concerns and difficulties,” he stated.

Mr Ali's words drew strong support from senior Labour and Conservative MPs present.  Keith Vaz MP paid tribute to the effectiveness of the campaign on the staffing crisis issue, and suggested that the Government was still 'persuadable' that greater flexibility is required. In addition, Damian Green MP, the Conservative immigration spokesman, pledged that an incoming Conservative Government would adopt 'different policies' to the Labour party and said he 'looked forward to working with the curry industry' to ensure that its staffing needs were met.

One of the high points of the evening was the presentation to Madhur Jaffrey, writer and broadcaster, of a special Lifetime Achievement award. This was in recognition of her long-standing and unique track record of promoting the art of spice cooking to the British public. In presenting her with the award, Enam Ali said, “Madhur Jaffrey is someone who has done so much for the spice industry in this country. It is about time that her contribution should be recognised and the British Curry Awards is proud to honour her.” Others who has helped the £3.2 billion industry celebrate its biggest night of the year included TV personalities  ROLF HARRIS  and ULRIKA JOHNSON,  entrepreneur PETER JONES  from the Dragons' Den, Liberty X singer MICHELLE HEATON , celebrity stylist GARY COCKERILL , ITV sports presenter JIM ROSENTHAL , TONY HICKS , singer with The Hollies, and cookery writer, actress and presenter MADHUR JAFFREY .

Awards were presented on a regional basis for the UK 's  best curry  restaurants and the winners were: Britannia Spice ( Scotland ), Vujon (North), Rajnagar Tandoori ( Midlands ), Juboraj Rhiwbina ( Wales ), Maliks (South), Tamarind (London West) and Mehek (London East). In addition, The Valley, Spice Merchant and The  Cinammon Club were named as Most Innovative restaurants of the year. The Newcomer of the Year Award went to Ithihaas, and there were also awards given to Waitrose (Best Starter),  Asda (Main Dish), Sainsburys (Accompaniment)  and Morrisons (Side Dish) in  a new best Supermarket Curry of the Year category. Yorkshire-based Aagrah won the award for Best Restaurant Group.

The British Curry Awards are open to all restaurants serving primarily Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Nepalese or modern fusion cuisine.  Around 20,000 nominations from the public were received this year, and these were the basis on which an initial shortlist of 100 restaurants were drawn up. From this list, 30 top restaurants were selected and evaluated by an independent panel of  expert judges selected by Spice Busine ss magazine.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

•  Sponsor details: Lloyds TSB Cardnet, Kingfisher Beer, Barket Mortgage, Kansaras Chocolates, Star Group, Euro Foods, Western Union , Bangla TV and ATN

•  Enam Ali is one of the most prominent Asian personalities in the UK and is known for his leadership and passionate concern for the interests of the restaurant industry and of British Bangladeshis. He launched the British Curry Awards with the intention of generating positive publicity for the best in local curry restaurants throughout the UK .

Enam also founded the award-winning restaurant, Le Raj, situated in Epsom, Surrey , which has attracted politicians, show-business celebrities and media. He has been lobbying at the House of Parliament to ensure fairness in the UK government's treatment of legitimate migrant workers.
In 1998, Enam launched ‘Spice Business', a top quality quarterly trade magazine and Bible for the Curry Industry, featuring articles in English and Bengali, combining up-to-the-minute information on the restaurant sector and Asian community news.
Today it boasts a quarterly readership of over 100,000 and, as Enam points out, “Spice business magazine has succeeded in opening new channels of communication for the Asian restaurant community to give our needs the authority they deserve.”

•  The curry restaurant industry has taken Britain by storm, as nearly two-thirds of the nations diners choose to eat curry, with more spice restaurants in London alone to choose from than in Delhi and Bombay combined. Furthermore, just 30 years ago, there were fewer than 500 curry restaurants in the UK , while today there are more than 9,000 employing approximately 72,000 people and turning over £3.2 billion a year.

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