A BRADFORD curry house has been named the best in the region at the British Curry Awards – for the second year in a row.
Mumtaz, on Great Horton Road, was once again the winner of the Best Spice Restaurant in the North East award at the prestigious British Curry Awards.
The restaurant was up against Aagrah Midpoint for the prize, but it was Mumtaz that triumphed at the ceremony, held in London recently.
The awards, which are known as the Oscars of the industry, are in their 15th year and start annually with a nationwide nomination process.
This allows diners to nominate their favourite curry houses and takeaways, which are then vetted by an independent panel of judges.
British Curry Awards Founder, Enam Ali, has been promoting the British curry industry globally for the past 40 years. Speaking at the award ceremony he said: “British curry has expanded all over the world and we are very proud to be able to recognise that talent and success through the British Curry Awards.
“We are regarded as the Oscars of the curry industry but with that status comes responsibility. The British Curry Awards is your campaign organisation.
“We are a £4.5 billion success story but our curry restaurants have been closing their doors at the rate of two or three a day. But that has changed and it is thanks to all the media and politicians who have supported our campaign over the year.
“For a year, we have called for more sensible and flexible immigration rules to fix our industry skill crisis. And at last the government has listened and acted and we are seeing the result now.
“This month, the first ‘vindaloo visa’ has been granted. We have therefore achieved the political consensus that will benefit all restaurants, customers and most importantly you all my friends who have joined us this evening. Let us all enjoy this political success tonight.
“These awards are not just glitz and glamour, they are awards uniting the British curry industry.”
The business, which has a restaurant in Leeds as well as Bradford, is headquartered in Bradford, and provides a ready-meal range stocked in Asda, Co-op, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s.
It began life as a street stall in 1979, and in the last 40 years has grown from stall to restaurant to one of the UK’s largest ethnic ready meal suppliers.
Mumtaz were thrilled to win the award last year, with director Maryam Mumtaz saying of the firm’s journey at the time:
“There’s been ups and downs on the way but the outcome has been good and we’ve given a lot back to Bradford, we’ve put Bradford on the map and are representing Yorkshire.
“The industry has changed a lot, but we’ve adapted and made changes to the menu ourselves. It all comes down to good customer service.”
