District's delight over third curry capital title (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Bradford chefs and restaurant owners celebrate as they beat Glasgow to title

7:00am Tuesday 30th October 2012 in News By Jo Winrow, City Hall Reporter

Bradford has retained its Curry Capital of Britain title by the “narrowest of margins”, making it the third time the district has held the honour.

The 2012 competition saw both Bradford and four-time winner Glasgow finish with the same number of points from the judges. But the title went to Bradford on a tie break due to it receiving the highest number of votes in the public poll.

Organisers said that the tenth year of the competition was its “greatest ever” and they described Bradford as a city that “seems to eat, breathe and even export curry”.

Bradford has now held the honour three times, first in 2004, then last year and now has the title again in 2012.

This year’s entry took the form of a film highlighting the success of Bradford’s curry industry. The four restaurants chosen by the public to represent Bradford this time were Aagrah, Akbar’s, Shimla Spice, and Zouk.

Glasgow still holds the record for the most wins and was equal on points with 83 out of 100 with Wolverhampton third just two points behind.

Lord Mayor of Bradford Councillor Dale Smith said: “It is magical and it shows that there is a wide variety of restaurants in the Bradford district, enough to provide something for everyone. I’d like to thank those members of the public who voted for Bradford, as this was a major factor in us retaining the title “My highlight of this year’s competition was seeing everyone getting together and enjoying themselves. I have enjoyed learning how to make a curry in a pop-up restaurant. Hopefully by the end of my civic year my wife will enjoy curry as much as I do.”

Tricia Tillotson, the Council’s visitor economy manager, said: “Everyone knows Bradford has the best curries in the country but it’s still great to get the official title once again. This win comes on top of our recent wins at the English Curry Awards and our hosting the World Curry Festival in the City Park this year.

“There are a whole range of eateries to try from humble cafes to restaurants with the royal seal of approval and winning the title will be a boon for these businesses throughout the district.”

The presentation of the trophy to the city will be made at a later date.