SHEFFIELD is making a strong bid to become the curry capital of the north after city restaurants put up a strong showing in this year's British Curry Awards.
Aagrah in Leopold Square took the Newcomer of the Year award (for restaurants that opened within the last three years).
The restaurant, latest in a Bradford-based chain, beat nine other national finalists to the title – including the Saffron Club
in Glossop Road.
"It says a lot about Sheffield that we did so well, with two out of the nine best new restaurants from this city," says Naz Islam of the independent Saffron Club, which was a finalist last year, too.
The awards were something of a family coup for Naz: also honoured was Almas Indian Brasserie in Dore, run by his father Ala Uddin. Almas, which has just undergone major refurbishment, received a four-star rating as a regional finalist and a place in the national top 100.
The awards are the biggest event on the curry calendar and fiercely contested. This year's winners were chosen from a record 26,000 public nominations.
Saturday's glitzy dinner, at London's Grosvenor House Hotel, was hosted by comedian Jon Culshaw and attended by VIPs and celebrity guests – including chef Heston Blumenthal. "He's surprisingly down to earth," says Naz, who is now planning a visit to Blumenthal's three-star restaurant, the Fat Duck at Bray.
Both he and brother Bodrul were in London for the awards but Ala Uddin missed out on the occasion; he is back in their native Bangladesh on business.
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