10 restaurants win British Curry Awards '08
The British Curry Awards 2008 reached the dizzy new heights in the UK as the annual competition awarded 10 restaurants as winners -- one for each of its 10 regions.
The winning restaurants include Cinnamon Club, Aberdeen, Scotland, Last Days of the Raj, Gateshead, North East, Indian Ocean, Lancashire, North West, Mem Saab, Northampton, East Midlands, Lasan, Birmingham, West Midlands, Bokhara Brasserie, Bridgend, Wales, Maliks, Cookham, Berks, South East, Rajpoot, Bath, South West, Tamarind, Mayfair, London Central & City and Brilliant, Southall London Suburbs.
A special award 'Most Innovative Restaurant' went to Tiffin Bites which has four restaurants in London. Aagrah in Sheffield picked up the 'Newcomer of the Year Award' for establishments that have been open for less than three years.
More than 3,000 restaurants had started out as award hopefuls, having been put forward by a staggering 28,000 public nominations. An initial judging process produced a list of 100 finalists.
The awards were declared at a gala black suit dinner at London's famous Grosvenor House Hotel.
The evening was a triumph not only for the award-winning restaurateurs, but also for 17-year-old Justine Ali, daughter of British Curry Awards founder Enam Ali, who was making her debut as the producer and director of the glittering ceremony -- the biggest event of its kind in the world for the curry industry.
Justine told the 1,200-strong audience of restaurateurs, celebrity guests, peers, politicians and diplomats, her father has always taught her that the word 'impossible' is never found in the dictionary of food.
She said, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Enam Ali, not as my father, but for his tremendous contribution. He has religiously dedicated himself to the spice industry and is a role model to youngsters.”
Enam, owner of Le Raj restaurant in Epsom and publisher of Spice Business magazine, had earlier explained that one of the reasons he had founded the British Curry Awards was to provide the industry with a suitable showcase for its talents and, hopefully, inspire some of the new generation to come into the industry rather than follow other professional careers.
“We are now seeing the first signs that it's paying off. You've only got to look at the ages of some of our award winners to realise that we are beginning to attract younger people into the industry,” he added.
“It's all very encouraging. Now we've just got to hope that some of these younger people are able to persuade a few more of their peers to join the industry, only this time in the kitchens rather than at front of house. If they manage that, they'll do us all a favour. If not, they're likely eventually to face the same staffing problems as the rest of us, and that would be a huge shame.”
Enam said the industry faced dire consequences from the imminent introduction of the government's new points-based immigration system which would make it even harder for restaurateurs to recruit the skilled staff they need to fill the thousands of vacancies in their kitchens.
“Despite all our lobbying, our mass protest in Trafalgar Square earlier this year, and clear evidence that, for the first time, the industry is shrinking rather than growing, the government is still not listening to us,” he added.
“How many more restaurants are going to have to close before the politicians recognise we have a special case and grant us the small concessions we are seeking? Without action, the spiral of decline is certain to accelerate, with each closure having a knock-on effect to other businesses and suppliers. We must, and will, keep up the pressure to get things changed. There is no alternative,” he said.
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