Just Eat and the10th Annual British Curry Awards Honors Excellence in the UK Curry Industry

United Kingdom’s favorite cuisine was celebrated at the milestone, tenth-anniversary British Curry Awards, in association with Just Eat on Monday, December 1st. Established by British entrepreneur and restaurateur Enam Ali MBE in 2005, The British Curry Awards seeks to honor the dignitaries who bring flavor into the lives of the common man. Food lovers, celebrities, MP’s and dignitaries paid homage to the nation’s finest curry restaurants amid the grandiose of Battersea Evolution, London.

Among the high profile guest list were: Chief Guest, Rt Hon Teresa May MP, Home Secretary; business figure, Dr Vijay Mallya, Chairman, UB Group; MP’s Chris Grayling, Andrew Rosindell, Nicky Morgan, Keith Vaz; footballer David Seaman MBE; Paralympian David Weir CBE; broadcasters Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Maxine Mawhinney, Rageh Omaar; actors Adil Ray, Shobu Kapoor, Shobna Gulati; Sgt Johnson Beharry; TV presenters Lizzie Cundy and Pat Sharp; Nancy Dell’Olio; Neil and Christine Hamilton. The event hosts were broadcasters Kate Silverton and Hardeep Kohli.

In a special video message played at the event, Prime Minister David Cameron said,

“I’m delighted to pay tribute to all that you’ve achieved. These awards are a great night for this country. When I think of what makes me proud to be British, I think of the way we have built a multiracial democracy – a country that is a welcoming home for people of different histories and regions. The curry industry is a great example of the incredible contribution of different communities. It is a great example of our whole country coming together. You can see it from the ‘Balti Triangle’ in Birmingham’ to the Manchester’s ‘Curry Mile’ to London’s Brick Lane, recently crowned our Curry Capital. Curry is one of our country’s greatest achievements and one of our most exciting exports too.”

Of the phenomenal 206,378 public nominations a select few emerged as winners.

British Curry Awards 2014 Winners:

Best Spice Restaurant in London Central & City: The Cinnamon Club, Westminster

Best Spice Restaurant in London Outer & Suburbs: Shampan Welling, Kent

Best Spice Restaurant in South East: Maliks Restaurant, Maidenhead, Berkshire

Best Spice Restaurant in South West: Myristica, Bristol

Best Spice Restaurant in North East: Aagrah Midpoint, Thornbury, West Yorkshire

Best Spice Restaurant in North West: Blue Tiffin, Oldham

Best Spice Restaurant in Midlands: Mem Saab, Nottingham

Best Spice Restaurant in Wales: Rasoi Indian Kitchen, Swansea

Best Spice Restaurant in Scotland: Light of Bengal, Aberdeen

Best Casual Dining: Dishoom Covent Garden

Newcomer of the Year: Five Rivers A La Carte, Walsall

Best Delivery Restaurant/ Takeaway by Justeat.com: The Chilli Pickle, Brighton

This year’s Special Recognition Award was presented to one of the UK’s founding curry restaurateurs, Shams Uddin Khan of Maharani Restaurant, Clapham.