Cosmo thanks staff and diners after picking up Golden Chopsticks

STAFF at world banqueting restaurant Cosmo have thanked customers in Derby for voting it the best restaurant chain in the UK for the second time.

Diners at Cosmo, in London Road, sent in their votes to help the company scoop the title at the prestigious Golden Chopsticks Awards, founded by TV personality Gok Wan.

The awards are designed to celebrate the achievements and contributions of the East and South East Asian community to the British food industry and champion the food heroes working within it.

Cosmo picked up the ‘best restaurant chain’ accolade in 2019 and was named a finalist in the 2020 awards, which were postponed until this year due to Covid-19.

The event, held at the London Marriott Hotel, in Mayfair, was attended by Scottish singer Talia Storm, comedian Suzi Ruffell, JLS star Oritse Williams and former Coronation Street actress Sally Lindsay.

Cosmo spokesman and director Kan Koo said: “It has been an exceptionally challenging time for everyone in the catering and restaurant industry and we doubtless face further challenges ahead.

“It makes receiving this award even more special, particularly since this category was voted for by members of the public who have returned to our restaurants in their droves.

“We can’t thank them enough for voting for us and we would like to extend our gratitude to all Cosmo staff across the UK and Ireland for their hard work in reopening our restaurants in a timely manner.

“They have all played a part in making the Cosmo brand such a successful one. We have plans to open new restaurants within the near future – so watch this space.”

Almost 50,000 diners voted in the prestigious awards with celebrity chef Ken Hom acting as head judge with celebrities including TV chef Simon Rimmer, Masterchef winner Ping Coombes and award-winning restaurant critic Tom Parker-Bowles also on the panel.

Co-founder of the awards and compere, Gok Wan, said: “Chinese culture and cuisine have been an integral part of the UK dining scene for the past 60 years with Chinese food voted one of the nation’s favourites year on year.

“Nowadays joining the wellestablished Japanese and Thai food scene we see Korean, Malaysian and Vietnamese dishes growing in popularity together with specialist regional Chinese offerings.

“As the only awards to recognise East and South East Asian cuisine, the event was extremely well received by the industry, and as our head judge Ken Hom said, “It has set the standard for food awards in this sector”.”