The seventh annual Leicestershire Curry Awards were a spectacular success, with the county’s top restauranteurs turning out for the occasion – dressed in their best and vying to see who took home 2024’s prestigious titles…
Following a lavish three course meal and some fabulous entertainment, awards were given in eight different categories at Leicester’s lavish Athena events venue on Monday (September 23).
After enjoying canapes, champagne and a red carpet entrance, guests settled in for the awards which were hosted brilliantly by Ady Dayman and Kevin Ncube of Radio Leicester. Esteemed guests included Leicester’s Lord Mayor and the Lady Mayoress, plus Colonel Murray Colville TD Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire and local celebrities like Sam Bailey.
The top awards of the night – the coveted ‘Restaurant of the Year’ awards were given to Chutney Ivy in the city and Spice of India in the county.
On receiving their awards, both owners of the esteemed establishments gave inspiring and emotional speeches, detailing the struggle that restaurants currently face, but also their passion for their respective businesses which keeps them going.
“For us it’s not just about business, the restaurant is a lifestyle for us and we thrive on giving everybody the best we can offer them,” said Atul Dawda, owner of Syston’s ‘Spice in India’.
“We’ve made so many great friends throughout the years and we do it out of the enjoyment of seeing people have a good time. We’ve seen kids grow up and we’ve seen their kids come to our restaurant and we’ve even seen their grandchildren as well. It’s been hard work, but it’s also been a fantastic journey…”
Upon In his acceptance speech, owner Shaf Islam said: “I did not expect this at all. When we won back in 2017, it seemed such a lifetime ago with Covid inbetween… It’s tough times at the moment with the cost of living – everyone suffering with energy bills and the cost of everything going through the roof, but we’re still here – continuing to serve the good people of Leicester.”
Other awards on the night were given to Sanjay Foods for ‘Best Catering’, whilst My Delhi took away the award for ‘Best Street Food’.
The ‘Best Takeaway’ award was presented to Aylestone Spice, by Bob Gill from John Lewis & Partners and Best Pub Restaurant went the way of Royal Leicesters. This award was presented by Frank John from Cobra Beer.
Tangoe Restaurant were crowned ‘Best Vegetarian Restaurant’ By Kings Real Estate, and ‘Best New Restaurant’ was given to ‘What a Shot’ for the second year running. BBC Leicester presented the award to owner Jay Patel.
“It’s an honour – a great pleasure to pick up this award two years in a row now. It’s been a great year for us and we’re hoping for even better next year,” he said.
‘Best New Restaurant’ in the county was given to Avatar Dining in Lutterworth. This was one of two awards given to owner Suresh Chhetri on the night, with his Market Harborough branch scooping the prestigious ‘Best Fine Dining’ award for Leicestershire.
In the city, this honour went to Heritage India. After being given the award by Rob Nixon, the owner took time to thank his loyal customers and hardworking team in his acceptance speech.
Celebrations continued with an after party hosted by Vallisa Chauhan. She served up a smorgasbord of Bollywood and Bangra hits to an appreciative crowd, who partied their way into the early hours.
For more photos from the night, keep an eye on the Leicestershire Curry Awards website at: https://leicestercurryawards.com/
