Salisbury takeaway shortlisted for Asian Curry Awards

Saffron Indian Takeaway has been shortlisted for the 2023 Asian Curry Awards.

The awards, which will take place in the Great Room of Grosvenor House in Mayfair, London on Sunday, November 19, feature a judging panel of renowned chefs, food critics and restaurateurs, including former BBC journalist George Shaw, Chef Steve Gomes and Master Chef Ken Wang.

In the lead-up to the awards ceremony, members of the public will vote online for their favourite curry restaurant or takeaway on the 200-restaurant shortlist to choose the top 100.

A new award wouldn’t be adorning a bare wall. Saffron has won previous recognition from the English Curry Awards, winning its category of Takeaway and Home Delivery of the Year South West in 2019.

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Saffron Indian Takeaway owner Afzal Rahman said the restaurant’s place on the Asian Curry Awards shortlist is down to customers, who answered the call when he put up a poster in the takeaway encouraging them to submit the nomination online.

He said: “We’ve always had a tight-knit bond with our customers. We’ve got regulars that come in, so once I heard about the awards I kind of put this poster up that they sent over, and then obviously a lot of our customers have noticed it and they wanted to support us.

“It’s quite a prestigious award. You see on their page they’ve got celebrities that attend the event and that sort of thing, so it’s obviously quite nice to be noticed by other people.”

Afzal said even the nomination itself is something to be celebrated, as the takeaway now takes a corner against well-known establishments, such as the Michelin-rated restaurants Amaya and Quilon in London.

Afzal said: “There are some big names on there as well, some that we’ve seen at previous awards so it’s always nice to be nominated.” 

You can see the full list of nominees and vote for your favourite restaurant or takeaway here.