A waiter who "treats every customer as a friend" is the first person from outside London to win a major Indian restaurant award.
To regulars at Kipling's Restaurant, in Greengates, he is simply known as Raz.
But to judges from the Real Curry Restaurant Guide, he is known as the best "Front of House" waiter in Britain.
Eleven years at the popular restaurant were made worthwhile for Mohammed Rafiq when he won his category of the Best in Britain Awards - the industry's equivalent of the Oscars - this week.
Raz, aged 38, was presented with his prize at the National Theatre, in London, during the 13th annual awards ceremony.
He said: "I'm chuffed to bits and I still can't believe this has happened to me. If the regular customers had not taken a few minutes to nominate me, this just wouldn't have happened."
Raz puts his success down to his ability to make every customer feel comfortable and welcome as soon as they walk in.
The awards were judged by mystery callers from the Real Curry Restaurant Guide, who visited Kipling's and saw Raz in action. Raz, born in Leeds of Pakistani origin, said: "My secret is to make a perfect stranger feel like he is an important part of the business.
"I can always tell if someone is enjoying a meal and, if they are not, I will change it for them. Any customer who makes a sudden movement needs something and it's a waiter's job to get over there and find out what."
The greatly-prized awards feature the top 30 Indian restaurants in the UK from a narrowed-down list of nominations plucked from more than 8,500 Indian restaurants in Britain.
"We were chosen ahead of the top Indian restaurants in the country, which is a massive accolade and I was the first person out of London to win the competition in the 13 years it has been running," said Raz.
The restaurant was also nominated for the Grove Award for Charity, finishing sixth.
The award comes as a further boost for Kipling's because chef Tariq Mahmood was crowned Curry King of Britain in 2004.
His speciality dish will become the official Olympic Curry Dish for 2012, should Britain's bid be successful ahead of Paris.
"With Tariq in the kitchen and me at the front of the house, we have found a winning combination that can't easily be matched," said Raz.
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