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The British Curry Awards is an annual awards dinner dedicated to the British curry industry. It was established in 2005 by Enam Ali MBE, FIH ^[1] and has continued to this day, making the event over ten years old. Each individual award is split for geographic purposes-regional splits of Scotland, North West, North East, Midlands, Wales, South East, South West, North East, London Central and City, and London Suburbs-and expertise; the awards themselves are in association with Kukd.com, an online food delivery service. Categories for each award include Best Casual Dining, Best Delivery Restaurant and Best Newcomer. ^[2]

History

Enam Ali’s original purpose for creating the British Curry Awards was to open up new and national shopping opportunities to a new generation of restaurateurs. The original concept for the awards was initially frowned upon due to the public believing the event only catered to Indians and Bangladeshi. This mentality sparked legal debates of which Enam Ali fought to preserve the integrity of the new product. After realizing the birth of British-styled curry and its effect on the industry, the goal of the British Curry Awards became more refined and geared towards assisting those attempting to give the dish a new identity. ^[3]

Believing that the dish was refined and mastered within British influence, the British Curry Awards now exist to celebrate the British curry industry as well as variations of the dish around the world. Since its initial start in 2005, the British Curry Awards has welcomed celebrity and chef alike, including the Queen and David Cameron, who coined the event as “Britain’s curry ‘Oscars’.” To this day it continues to be broadcast live over media and held in London’s Battersea Evolution and hosted by a variety of people. Judges are often chosen through and sponsored through Kukd.com and range from food journalists and critics, to TV hosts and important officials.

British Influence Over Curry

The influence of India’s food over Britain is stark and great. The beginning of this transference of cultures was sparked about by British occupation of Indian territory. A deeper look into India’s society explains the clash of cultures when Britain first occupied. It was due to British occupation of India that curry was first carried over into British diets, the food serving as a strange but stable favorite among the Western world. Because of this embrace of India's natural cuisine, new variations of the original homeland recipe were created, sparking the British curry industry.

While the British Curry Awards did not create Britain's spin on the Indian dish, it did help to popularize and brand British-styled curry. It is a culmination of the long history Britain has had with India, be it through negative or positive aspects. Because of the many styles of curry that exist today, the British Curry Awards serve as a cultural blending spot to celebrate the dish in its entirety.

Charity

Over the years, the Enam Ali MBE founder British Curry Award and his Le Raj Restaurant have raised a significant amount of money £1.02 million for various charities, including the Queen Elizabeth Foundation, the Anthony Nolan Trust, Just a Drop, Bangladesh Flood Appeal, James Whale Kidney Cancer Fund, The Lord’s Taverners, BBC Children In Need, LBC radio, Help a London Child, Typhoon Haiyan Appeal, and the Weir Archer Academy.^[4] For its tenth anniversary, the British Curry Awards raised £31,800 with the Weir Archer Academy via a raffle with the special prize being a Mini Convertible. Every year funds are raised by charitable donations on the night of the British Curry Awards and go towards the charity of their choosing.

Winners

The winners for 2016's British Curry Awards are as follows ^[5] :

Best casual dining restaurant: Dishoom, Covent Garden, London
Best newcomer: Darbaar, Shoreditch, London
Best delivery service: The Chilli Pickle, Brighton
Best in the North West: Blue Tiffin, Royton, Oldham
Best in Wales: Sheesh Mahal, Llanelli
Best in the Midlands: Asha’s, Birmingham
Best of South East: Maliks, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire
Best in Scotland: Karma, Whitburn, Bathgate
Best in London Central and City: The Cinnamon Club, Westminster, London
Best in the North East: Aakash, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire
Best in London Suburbs: Shampan Welling, Bexley
Best in the South West: Prithvi, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

The winners for 2016's British Curry Awards are as follows ^[6]

Best casual dining restaurant: Dabbawal
Best newcomer: Calcutta Club
Best delivery service: The Chilli Pickle, Brighton
Best in the North West: The Viceroy In Carlisle
Best in Wales: Sheesh Mahal, Llanelli
Best in the Midlands: Pushkar
Best of South East: Shampan at The Spinning Wheel
Best in Scotland: Karma, Scotland
Best in London Central and City: The Cinnamon Club, Westminster, London
Best in the North East: Aagrah Leeds
Best in London Suburbs: Green Spice
Best in the South West: Spice Lodge

References

^ Leftly, Mark. "The restaurateur on a mission to save Britain's curry houses". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
^ Thompson, Hannah. "British Curry Awards announce winners amid immigration controversy". BigHospitality. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
^ Awards, British Curry. "History". British Curry Awards. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://britishcurryaward.co.uk/index.php/about/history/" ignored (help)
^ "Charity". The British Curry Awards. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
^ Table, Open. "The winners of the British Curry Awards 2016". OpenTable. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
^ "Award Winners 2015". The British Curry Awards. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://britishcurryaward.co.uk/index.php/award-winners-2015/" ignored (help)