Celebrating a £3.6 billion industry

British Curry Awards

The ninth annual British Curry Awards were hosted in London on Monday 25th of November. The event has come a long way since its inception in 2005, now garnering support from leading restaurateurs, celebrities, politicians, dignitaries, business leaders and influencers. This year the Prime Minister, David Cameron, paid a visit to the kitchens to meet the chefs responsible for the catering, delivered a speech at the beginning of the ceremony and presented an award along with the event’s main organizer, Enam Ali MBE.

David Cameron was gracious in his speech about the curry industry and shared with the audience some impressive statistics including that the UK curry industry currently boasts 10,000 restaurants and 80,000 employees. The industry also contributes a staggering £3.6 billion annually to the economy.He also went on to pledge support for the development of talent for Asian and Spice chefs. This year has witnessed the launch of various initiatives such as the Asian Junior Chefs award started by Cyrus Todiwala. It was designed to raise awareness and interest in Asian cuisine among aspiring chefs. The video below provides a brief summary of the event.

The British Curry Awards received a staggering 236,000 public nominations to vote for ten different awards recognizing spice restaurants across the country. Winners from the event were as followsBest Spice Restaurant Scotland: Karma, WhitburnBest Spice Restaurant North East: Raval, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon TyneBest Spice Restaurant North West: The Viceroy, Carlisle, CumbriaBest Spice Restaurant Midlands: Mem Saab, LeicsesterBest Spice Restaurant Wales: Bokhara, Pen-y-Fai, BridgendBest Spice Restaurant South East: Chez Mumtaj, St Albans, HertsBest Spice Restaurant South West: Myristica, BristolBest Spice Restaurant Central London and City: Benares, Berkeley SquareBest Spice Restaurant London Outer and Suburbs: Indian Moment, BatterseaBest Newcomer: Shampan 4 at the Spinning Wheel, Westerham, KentA Special Recognition Award to an influential culinary personality was also presented to Mohammed Aslam MBE of Aagrah Group.

For more information on all of the initiatives run by EP or to get (more) involved with the community, please contact Nicole Thompson