Spice Boy

Curry favour-ite

Radhuni Restaurant Chef, Shumon Uddin has been voted the best curry chef of the year.

Situated in Church Street, Princess Risborough, Radhuni Restaurant now boasts the newly crowned king of curry. Chef Shumon Uddin, has been voted best curry chef of the year at the annual Curry Life Awards.

The 32 year-old collected his coveted award in front of an audience of more than 600 people at a gala event in London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel hosted by Journalist and Broadcaster, Michael Buerk.

Owner of Radhuni, Mr Akthoraz Miah said: “We’re all delighted for Shumon.He is a fantastic chef and produces consistently good food. It made a change for him to be sitting down and being waited on. It was great evening for everyone and the award will take pride of place in the restaurant.

Shumon, who has been at the Radhuni, for the past 15 years, started working in the curry industry as a teenager washing up and peeling potatoes.

A chef took him under his wing after seeing how interested he was in cooking and his favourite pastime in the kitchen is creating new dishes.

One of his specials is Zafroni, which is chicken marinated in cheese with green chilli, garlic and coriander and cooked on coconut milk.

Syed Belal Ahmed, Editor of Curry Life Magazine and organiser of the Curry Life Awards, said: “It’s a great accolade because the level of Indian cuisine in the UK has reached unprecedented heights, which includes several Michelin star restaurants.

“The British love their curry and that is inspiring chefs to be more creative pushing the boundaries of flavours and presentation. It’s not been an easy time for the industry in recent years with the recession and restriction of working visas but it has still managed to up its game in response to the public’s appetite.”

The Curry Life 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 recognised the best 13 best curry restaurants and 19 best curry chefs in the UK, 4 best curry takeaways, an European best curry restaurant, lifetime achievements award for a restaurateur providing dedicated services to the Curry Industry for over 50 years and International Honour Award for a successful female chef from India.

Chief Guest at the ceremony Sir Keir Starmer MP, Shadow BREXIT Secretary, said: “The curry industry makes a huge contribution to the economy and is an integral part of the UK dining experience. (l-r) Michael Buerk, Journalist and Broadcaster, Mr Paul Scully MP, Mr Graham Corfield, UK Managing Director of Just Eat, Mr Akthoraz Miah and Wining Chef Shumon Uddin from Radhuni and Sir Keir Starmer MP, Shadow BREXIT Secretary.

“It’s been through some tough times but has continued to grow and develop to meet the growing appetite for this cuisine.

“Its employees epitomise the ethos that hard work brings success and I’m delighted they are in the spotlight tonight and able to sit back and enjoy an evening off.”

Lord Karan Bilimoria, Founder and Chairman of Cobra Beer, said: “It’s wonderful to see the talent on show tonight. You have to be passionate to achieve anything in life and speaking to some of the winners tonight it is clear this is a vocation, not a job. I’ve worked alongside restaurateurs for many years and their dedication is something we could all learn from.”

Curry Life Awards and Gala Dinner was organised in association with the takeaway food ordering app, Just Eat.

Mr Graham Corfield, Managing Director of the Just Eat, said: “There is no doubt that curry is one of the nation’s favourite food and behind the great tastes of curry, are great craftsmen. We are all in an awe of what the chefs do and I applaud them for producing some of the most exotic food in the world at the cheapest prices.

“Those chefs and restaurants have been awarded by Curry Life, deserves to be congratulated for their hard work and achievements,” he added.

The Curry Life Awards celebrate the unique fusion cuisine of Indian food in the UK and is part of a wider organisation that organises the British Curry Festival around the world.

Other guests at the event included: Rushanara Ali MP, Matt Western MP, Wes Streeting MP and Paul Scully MP.

Over £3,000 was raised on the evening for the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) Myanmar Appeal. The DEC, which represents 13 of the UK’s leading charities, has been raising funds to support thousands of refugees fleeing torture and abuse and taking shelter in neighbouring Bangladesh.

You can read more articles like this one in the latest edition of Thame Out.