WITH so many choices for takeaways in the North East, trying to stand out from the crowd can sometimes be difficult – but for one South Shields restaurant, they now have an Asian Curry Award to their name to put them above the rest.
Among hundreds of other nominees at an awards ceremony in Mayfair, London, on Sunday (November 21), Delhi 6 managed to land the Best Asian Restaurant in the region after what’s been a tough two years for the food industry.
This award for Delhi 6 isn’t the first time that the restaurant has hit headlines for all the right reasons.
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Since they opened in September 2018, they have managed to pick up several accolades, including local and regional curry awards, as well as their owner, Shah Lalong Amin, making it onto national TV on ‘Catering Circle’.
The Asian Curry Award is also a sentimental one for Shah after the restauranteur opened his business on 150 Ocean Road three years ago in the same premises as his dad had a similar restaurant over 30 years ago.
After landing the Best Asian Restaurant in the North East award, Shah said: “I am delighted and honoured that Delhi 6 has won the coveted Best Asian Restaurant North East of England Award at the Prestigious Asian Curry Awards.
“In a room full of MPs, ministers, lords, mayors and the elite of our industry, and a distinguished judging panel, we were honoured to be the ones that won the award.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank our passionate team, they are brilliant. We also couldn’t have done it without our loyal customers who nominated us, championed us.
“Our values are always of excellence, and to keep taking the customer experience further.”
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Alongside Delhi 6 winning their award on Sunday, more than 800 VIP guests attended the Asian Curry Awards.
Held at the Grosvenor House in London’s Mayfair, the evening was hosted by the BBC’s Kate Silverton and featured hundreds of impressive restaurants and chefs.
Newcastle’s My Delhi was named Street Food Restaurant of the Year, Hakkaland in Harrow won Asian Fusion Restaurant of the Year, while Anokha in Bromley landed Newcomer of the Year.
During the award, Yawar Khan, chairman of the Asian Catering Federation, which organises the Awards, used part of the London ceremony to acknowledge the generosity of Federation members, who donated thousands of takeaways to frontline NHS staff, key workers, the elderly and the vulnerable during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Khan spoke of the sector’s resilience and innovation in the face of such adversity, but predicted, “The days of the cheap Friday night curry are coming to end,” in the face of steeply rising costs and severe staff shortages,” but assured that, “There is no shortage of customers willing to pay for a superior product.”
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The chairman of the Asian Catering Federation also indicated that the sector would have to improve pay and conditions, enhance the overall dining experience, compete on quality, not price and upskill their staff with structured training programmes and career progression.
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