Top national accolades went to Colonel Saab, Asian Restaurant of the Year, Barbur, Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year.   Individual cuisine awards went to Issa Sushi (Japanese) Tien Thai, Bournemouth. (Thai), Kasa & Kin, Soho (Filipino), Ottoman Kitchen, Southampton (Middle Eastern), MyMakan, Norwich (Malaysian). Balo Brasserie, Brighton (Asian Oriental), Grand Sapphire Event Venue of the Year.

Namaste Highgate was awarded Newcomer of the Year.

Michelin-starred Benares’s head chef Sameer Tanejar was presented with a Special Recognition award for his ‘outstanding contribution to the culinary arts’.  Chef awards also went to Nanu Miah of iNaga in Bromley and Sahil Ahmad of Sahil Ahmad of Spice I am in Worthing. Junior Rashid of Lala’s in Pudsey was named Curry King.

The full list of local and regional winners is available at www.asiancurryawards.com/2023winners/

Yawar Khan, chairman of the Asian Catering Federation which organises the event, acknowledged the economic, technological and social challenges faced by the sector, but was pleased to see some recovery across the hospitality industry.

However, Yawar Khan warned of a market increasingly dominated by fast, ready-made and mass-produced offerings.

“We are competing against quick food, which is often produced in factories and warehouses – without the personal attention, authentic skill and attention of our top chefs, then shipped out to customers eager to take advantage of the convenience of the click-to-order online buying phenomenon.

“Our winners tonight are the guardians of fresh food cooking – the vanguard protecting and promoting quality in Asian cuisine and in many ways, keeping the high streets alive,” he said.

To combat the adversities which hit independent local restaurants, lacking the resources of chains and multi-national chains, the ACF will be unveiling a unique initiative for which the top hundred venues shortlisted for these awards will be eligible to participate.  A nationwide roadshow will demonstrate how the curry sector – which is often notoriously slow to adopt the advantages of new technologies – can turbocharge their businesses.  Participants will be educated on how to use social media platforms, build and exploit invaluable customer databases, create marketing calendars, communicate new customer offerings, and increase footfall on what are mistakenly deemed slack trading periods.  Fully-functioning Individual order and table booking apps will also be offered.  The ACF will include the participants in a Top 100 Curry Restaurant Guide, initially published region-by-region online before 100,000 hard copies are produced.