Glasgow restaurant wins best in Scotland at ‘Curry Oscars’
The UK’S top curry restaurants, as voted for by the British public, were announced at The British Curry Awards in association with Just Eat – and one is in Glasgow.
Swadish by Ajay Kumar, located in the Merchant City in Glasgow, was crowned as ‘Best Restaurant in Scotland’ at the prestigious annual awards.
Other award winners, from throughout the rest of the UK, included Khai Khai Indian Restaurant in Newcastle as ‘Best Restaurant North East’, and Mowgli Street Food in Liverpool in the corresponding category for the North West.
The awards ceremony took place on Monday at Evolution London in Battersea Park.
The evening also paid tribute to the late Enam Ali MBE, the event’s founder and the UK’S leading spokesperson for the curry industry, who worked tirelessly to promote the curry industry globally for over 45 years.
Recognised globally as the original award ceremony in the UK curry industry – and also referred to as the ‘Curry Oscars’, as termed by former prime minister David Cameron – the British Curry Awards welcomed personalities from the worlds of politics, sport, showbiz and entertainment alongside celebrity chefs and curry restaurant owners and their staff from across the country.
TV personalities and celebrities in attendance included Chris Tarrant, Dr Ranj Singh and James Cosmo. The event was hosted by comedian, Hugh Dennis. In a video message of support, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “The thing I’ve learnt about being Prime Minister is that the best training I ever had was working in a curry house.
"I know how hard every one of you works, from the chefs to the waiters to the restaurant managers and the delivery drivers. And that experience gave me a huge appreciation of business, of the importance of treating people fairly and the value of this most iconic of British Asian industries. So I’m delighted to be supporting Britain’s ‘Curry Oscars’. I want to thank all of you for everything you do to fill our high streets and our homes with some of the best curry in the world.”
A nationwide nominations process is led by the local patrons of curry houses on the streets of Britain, annually invited to nominate their favourite curry restaurants and takeaways.
The award ceremony also marked the introduction of the Diners Choice Award – a new category that rewards curry establishments that are able to engage their customers through social media.
Any nominated establishment in Britain had a chance to win this award based on the highest number of live, public votes on the night, with Urban Tandoor in Bristol taking out the inaugural honour.
The UK curry industry, known for its resilience in weathering operational and business challenges such as staff shortages and the Covid pandemic, now faces further uncertainty with the energy and cost-of-living crises and amid rising inflation.
With spiralling costs, it is estimated the average price of a curry could reach as much as £30 and industry leaders fear it could lead to the closure of thousands of curry restaurants across the UK.
Curry restaurateurs have seen their shopping bills increase by an average of 40 per cent. The price of oil alone has increased by more than 100 per cent, while the cost of other curry house essentials such as a 25kg sack of onions has now doubled to more than £14.50.