The Curry Awards is an award given to curry restaurants in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, which have achieved "total excellence" in all departments by The Curry Club in association with its publication, The Good Curry Guide. The Good Curry Guide Awards

ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secula ...

was established in May 1991 by Pat Chapman and was the first

awards An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award ...

ceremony of any

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

sector.

History

Pat Chapman’s first Good Curry Guide was published in 1984. About 600

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

restaurants were selected for entry (out of the 4,000 that existed then) and it carried little critical information. The next edition (1987) addressed this by having critical entries from correspondents. No one restaurant was rated higher than any other. In other words neither of these editions named the ‘Best in Class’; Chapman considered that since only the top percentage achieved entry, all entries were ‘Good Curry Guide Restaurants’. The publication attracted considerable media attention. However journalists and food writers from such publications as The Evening Standard,

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

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, and BBC Good Food Magazine pressured Chapman to name the best. Chapman asked his correspondents which restaurants could qualify into a TOP 30 category (which became TOP 100 in 1995), and which could be best regionally and best in UK. The results were duly published in the 1991 Guide and to launch it Chapman decided to hold an Awards Ceremony for the winners. Unlike today, it was a time when there were few such ceremonies. Chapman modelled it on the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, by commencing with a formal presentation of a certificate to each winner in turn before a group of their peers and media, and following with a luncheon to emphasise the event's social side. On that first ceremony, there were eight winners, including Chutney Mary Indian restaurant

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, SW10 as Best in UK, where the event was held. Media and public response to this was enormous. So by the time the next GCG was due for publication, the TOP 30 was increased to the new TOP 100 category, and from that no less than 18 ‘Best in Category were to be awarded. It was clear a bigger venue was needed, and one which was divorced from winning restaurants. Chapman had been to an Asian wedding at a Heathrow Hotel where the catering was by Madhu’s. Chapman suggested they did his catering and the

Park Lane Hotel The Sheraton Grand London Park Lane is a 5 Star hotel on Piccadilly, London. The hotel opened in 1927 as The Park Lane Hotel to designs by architects Adie, Button and Partners, in a grand Art Deco style, and was constructed by the developer ...

was chosen with a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile tha ...

of 330 seats. It was the first time Madhu’s had catered for any event other than Asian weddings. Chapman organised the entire event. Of the 300 seats, 80 were taken by media.

Present

Between 18 and 20 Awards are given before an audience of restaurant personnel and their guests, sponsors, media, press and others, totalling some 800. The luncheon is a major feature of the event.

Catering Catering is the business of providing food service at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, pub, aircraft, cruise ship, park, festival, filming location or film studio. History of catering The earliest account of major servi ...

for any event attended by others in the catering trade is a challenge; Chapman's Awards the more so. Being an Indian Restaurant event, the restaurateurs are from all countries of the subcontinent so it is no mean task for the caterer to satisfy 800 of his international peers, and one few caterers would attempt. The event is widely reported in the UK and in the subcontinent, and it is televised by

Sony Entertainment Television Asia Sony Entertainment Television (SET) is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel, that was launched on 30 September 1995, and is owned by Culver Max Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese Sony. SET India's ...

and is screened and repeated in

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, the

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, the

and the

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to millions of viewers.

The Achievement

Of the 9,000 Indian restaurants in Britain, each of which are scrupulously examined, only seventy restaurants become shortlisted with four to each of the eighteen Award categories. Of these only eighteen win the Awards. That is one-in-500 or 0.2% (zero-point two) percentage of the total.

Timescale

The Good Curry Guide Awards ceremony has been held each time a Good Curry Guide is published as follows:

Past and present winners of "Best in the UK" award

The chief Award is the Best in the UK. *1991/4 ~ Chutney Mary, SW10 *1995/7 ~ Bombay Brasserie, SW7 *1998/9 ~ La Porte des Indes, W1 *1999/2001 ~ Chutney Mary, SW10 *2002/3 ~ Quilon Restaurant, SW1 *2004/6 ~ Madhu's, Southall *2007/8 ~ Ithiaas, Birmingham *2009/10 ~ Masala World Group, London: Amaya, Chutney Mary, Veerswamys, Masala Zone (8) *2013 ~ Painted Heron, SW1

Good Curry Guide Awards Categories, 2013

Regional Awards These 25 restaurants (and one group of 11) are located all over the UK, and are considered to be the best in their region. Each of these winners, has been visited by Pat Chapman during 2012/3 and presented with their Award Certificate. *Best in the

North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

2013 BEST UK GROUP ~ Akbars (11 restaurants): Bradford (2), Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds (2), Manchester, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Rotherham & York. BEST IN YORKSHIRE ~ Ashoka Sheffield BEST IN MERSEYSIDE ~ Gulshan Liverpool BEST IN NORTH EAST ~ Valley 397 Newcastle *Best in the

Midlands, England The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in th ...

2013 BEST IN MIDLANDS ~ Anoki Burton, Derby, Nottingham BEST IN EAST MIDLANDS ~ Curry Fever Leicester Leics BEST IN WEST MIDLANDS ~ Maharaja Birmingham West Midlands BEST IN CENTRAL ENGLAND ~ Calcutta Brasserie Milton Keynes Bucks *Best in

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshi ...

2013 (''alphabetical)'' BEST IN the SOUTH EAST ~ The Ambrette Margate Kent & Rye Sussex BEST ON SOUTH COAST ~ Bombay Bay, Southsea Hants BEST IN OUTER LONDON, WEST ~ Brilliant Southall, Middlesex BEST IN HOME COUNTIES, NORTH ~ Chez Mumtaj St Albans, Herts BEST IN SURREY ~ India Dining, Warlingham, Surrey BEST IN SOUTH ENGLAND ~ Massala, Cobham, Surrey BEST IN HOME COUNTIES, WEST ~ Mango Lounge Windsor Berks BEST IN OUTER LONDON, SOUTH ~ Sesame New Malden *Best in

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities ...

2013 BEST IN THE WEST COUNTRY ~ Viceroy, Yeovil, Somerset BEST IN THE SOUTH WEST ~ Mysterica, Bristol BEST IN CORNWALL ~ Rajdoot, St Ives, Cornwall *Best in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

2013 BEST OVERALL in SCOTLAND ~ Verandah Edinburgh BEST IN NORTH SCOTLAND ~ Balaka St Andrews Fife BEST IN EAST SCOTLAND ~ Mya, Edinburgh, Lothian *Best in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

2013' BEST IN WALES ~ Moksh Cardiff Glamorgan BEST IN NORTH WALES ~ Bengal Dynasty Shotton & Llandudno Cuisine Awards ''(Not Awarded in 2012/3)'' *Best

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...

*Best Nepalese *Best

*Best Pakistani *Best Sri Lankan *Best

South East Asian Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

Speciality Awards ''(Not Awarded in 2012/3)'' *Best

Chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a ki ...

*Best

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*Best Newcomer Lifetime Achievement Award ''(Not Awarded in 2012/3)'' Awarded 2007 to Satish Arora, Chef Culinaire, Taj Group

Bibliography

• 1984 Good Curry Guide, Curry Club — • 1987 Good Curry Guide, Piatkus, London — • 1991 Cobra Good Curry Guide, Piatkus, London — • 1995 Cobra Good Curry Guide, Piatkus, London — • 1998 Cobra Good Curry Guide, Hodder & Stoughton, London — • 1999 Cobra Good Curry Guide, Hodder & Stoughton, London — • 2000 Cobra Curryholics’ Directory, John Blake Publishing, London — • 2001 Cobra Good Curry Guide, Simon & Schuster, London — • 2004 Cobra Good Curry Guide, Curry Club, Haslemere — • 2007 Cobra Good Curry Guide, John Blake Publishing, London — • 2009 Cobra Good Curry Guide, John Blake Publishing, London — • 2010 Cobra Good Curry Guide, John Blake Publishing, London — New cover same text as 2009. • 2013 Cobra Good Curry Guide, Curry Club Publisher, Haslemere — Complete rewrite.

DVD

• Good Curry Guide Award Ceremony 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20090105192355/http://www.patchapman.co.uk/catalogue/product/914/2461

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20110929175920/http://globalmalaysians.com/feature/story.asp?file=%2F2006%2F4%2F21%2Ffeature%2F13970739&sec=feature *https://web.archive.org/web/20100410135959/http://www.patchapman.co.uk/page/cobra-good-curry-guide *http://www.curryhouse.co.uk/scene/gcg2004.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20110520033239/http://londoneats.com/news/default.asp?PressID=75 *https://web.archive.org/web/20100823215756/http://www.victoriasindia.co.uk/news.htm

*https://web.archive.org/web/20110710204551/http://www.ethnicnow.com/channels/food-drink/press-release/11/947/itihaas-scoops -top-honours-at-2007-cobra-good-curry-awards.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20110707151940/http://aphrohead.com/Product.aspx?pid=11927505 *http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article453496.ece *http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/restaurants/article-10796583-details/Britain%27s+best+curry/article.do *https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2007/nov/11/shopping *https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/mar/24/foodanddrink

{dead link, date=August 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes *https://web.archive.org/web/20090105192355/http://www.patchapman.co.uk/catalogue/product/914/2461
International Chef Award-1International Chef Award-2
Food and drink awards British cuisine Restaurant guides 1991 establishments in the United Kingdom