Photographs supplied by Riaz Ahmed and Jenny@DilkashProductions

BRADFORD’S inaugural Curry Awards which celebrated the best of Asian cuisine in the city culminated in a ceremony for 300 guests on Tuesday.

Held at the Cedar Court Hotel, in Rooley Lane, the event had been organised by Bradford businesswoman Fatima Patel.

“Bradford already has the title of Curry Capital of the UK and holds the crown after six successive years, but I wanted to see a competition where local businesses could have a spotlight shone on them,” she said. “We have more than 200 curry houses in Bradford and each is deserving of praise. I also wanted to use the occasion to try and encourage more women to become head chefs and running their own curry business,” she added.

“I am very proud to see so many people here at our first ever wards. You are all winners through the wonderful food you produce in your restaurants.” Five establishments were shortlisted in each of the eight categories. A panel of judges visited each of the premises unannounced and awarded points. Two awards presented for best restaurant were decided by a judges’ choice and a people’s choice.

The people’s sest restaurant category attracted more than 6,500 votes. Bradford Council chief executive Kersten England who was a guest at the ceremony said she was proud of Bradford’s curry title. “I am an immigrant myself but I call myself a proud Bradfordian. “Curry is a massive industry and it is worth half a billion pounds to Bradford alone so you (restaurants) are a significant part of our community. “Curry has become a symbol of Bradford along with David Hockney, JB Priestley, the woollen mills.... “We absolutely deserve this accolade.”

Mrs England added that as there were so many curry houses in Bradford, the Curry Awards was likely to grow and suggested the NEC Odeon, when completed, would be a good venue to hold the ceremony in the future. The event’s charity partner, the Penny Appeal, raised £10,000 to fund a water tanker for Palestine through donations from the floor ranging from £100 to £2,000. Guests and award presenters during evening included Voice of Bradford winner for BBC Radio Leeds, Faisal Motin, and YouTube sensation Arjun, who was due to sing but was unwell, however he said he was delighted to attend to award a prize. Master of Ceremonies was comedian Salman Malik who kept the audience entertained while a blip with the audio system was corrected. The blip meant the girls and one male dancer from the Trishool Dance Academy had to wait before they could perform the first of three dances. Other guests included Lord Mayor of Bradford Councillor Abid Hussain, Palestinian chef and marathon runner Mohammad Alqadi and David Wilson, director of Bradford City of Film.

Despite the huge number of restaurants and eateries in Bradford, two main restaurants swept the board.

Prashed, which specialises in Gujarati and south Indian Food and is based in Drighlington, took top honours for its customers service, its vegetarian cuisine, and was joint winner for best chef.

The business was also picked out by the judges as the best restaurant.

Also taking home four prizes was MyLahore. The restaurant triumphed in outdoor catering, best manager, was joint winner of best chef and joint winner for the best take out meal, an accolade it shared with Sultan Restaurant, of Manningham Lane.

All of the judges were looking at the quality of the food, the ambience of the restaurant, the service they received during their visits and value for money.

The people’s choice for the first ever competition went to Café Akbars. Manager Dil Ahmed accepted the award and said he was “delighted”.

Another special appreciation award specially for Bradford’s female curry chefs was presented to Sabra Kader of Bombay Bites for Kaushy Patel of Prashad.

The full list of winners presented with their awards on the night were: Best Customer Service - Prashad. Best Takeaway - joint winners Sultan and MyLahore. Best Outdoor Caterer - MyLahore. Best Vegetarian Offer - Prashad. Best manager - MyLahore. Best Chef - joint winner: Minal Patel, of Prashad and Sami Ullah, of MyLahore. Best Restaurant (People’s Choice) - Cafe Akbar’s. Best Restaurant (Judges’ Choice) - Prashad. MyLahore was also awarded a special recognition for innovation award.