40 Crowned as the best curry chefs for 2015 at the Curry Life Chef Awards

The foodie and Curry Industry professional, all gathered in one place on last Sunday, October 11, at the annual British Curry Life Chef Awards and gala dinner at the Lancaster London Hotel.

The UK may have a soft spot for old favourites like bangers and mash and fish and chips but the British appetite for curry remains unrivalled.

The Curry Life Chef Awards and Gala Dinner celebrated our ‘official’ national dish ‘Chicken Tikka Masala’ giving visitors the chance to find out more about an industry serving 2.5 million customers a week, generating revenue of £4.2 billion a year.

This year awards ceremony recognising the best 40 curry chefs in the UK and special recognition for a restaurant serving exemplary Indian cuisine.

The Brits have a long-standing love affair with curry dating back to 1809 when the first Indian restaurant opened in London. Curry has now become one of the most traded currencies in the culinary arena of Great Britain.

Guest of honour at the event, Lord Karan Bilimoria, Founder Chairman of Cobra Beer, said: “There is no doubt that curry is the nation’s favourite food and behind the great tastes of curry, are great craftsmen. Those chefs have been awarded by Curry Life, deserves to be congratulated for their hard work and achievements.”

The Cobra Beer tycoon launched a scathing attack on the government immigration policy and described Home Secretary Theresa May as “economically illiterate” when it comes to immigration and expressed serious concerns at the government’s treatment of curry chefs coming from abroad.

He said: “The Indian restaurant business is two-thirds run by Bangladeshis. Those restaurants need skilled chefs from South Asia and they can’t get them because of the immigration rules. Now how ridiculous is that—when you have a cuisine which is the nation’s favourite?”

MP Keith Vaz, who is the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, applauded the curry chefs for producing the best quality curries in Great Britain.

He also paid tribute to the organisers, Curry Life, for their tireless promotion of the curry industry over a decade and setting up the benchmark to promote the best talented chefs.

Syed Belal Ahmed, Editor of Curry Life Magazine, said: “It was a fantastic evening and a great way to recognise and celebrate the skills and talents of our Curry Industry. Events like this, illustrates the strength of our love as a nation for Curry.

I would like to congratulate much deserving winners of this year’s Curry Life Chef Awards.”

Other guests at the event included: Sadiq Khan, Labour Party’s London Mayoral Candidate, Paul Scully MP, Rupa Haq MP, Angela Rayner MP, Wes Streeting MP, Paula Sherriff MP and His Excellency Abdul Hannan, High Commissioner of Bangladesh.

Guests of the Curry Life Chef Awards were treated to some spectacular entertainment in a glittering awards ceremony, hosted by journalist and broadcaster Nina Hossain.

More then £3,000 pound was raised on the evening for Silver Star Charity, which raises awareness about the dangers of diabetes across UK and Indian Subcontinent.