Loanhead restaurant cooks up another British Curry Award

The youngest restaurateur to win a British Curry ‘Oscar’ has received the Scottish award this year for outstanding service in the industry during the coronavirus pandemic.

Radhuni's Habibur Khan with his British Curry Award.

The Radhuni restaurant in Loanhead “has shown great initiative and community spirit”, judges of the British Curry Awards said. Among its contributions had been serving £10,000 worth of free meals to NHS and emergency workers and care home staff. It and its sister restaurant Itihaas in nearby Dalkeith raised money for national charity Children 1st this month by donating 25p from every takeaway.

The Bangladeshi-Indian restaurant’s Managing Partner, Habibur Khan, became the youngest person to take home one of the major British Curry Awards last year when Radhuni was named Scotland’s best curry restaurant.

Now 24, he dedicated his outstanding service award to NHS Scotland.

He commented: “Its staff have worked around the clock under enormous pressure and continue to strive to their utmost to tackle the dreadful effects of the virus. We owe each and every one of them a huge debt.”

This year the Awards, usually based on votes from the public and judges’ assessments, were dedicated to the ‘unsung heroes’ of the UK curry industry, reported to be worth around £5 billion a year. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic they were held by video, hosted by comedian Rory Bremner and streamed live on channels including YouTube.

Habibur Khan’s award was presented virtually by former UK Cabinet Minister Chris Grayling.

Habibur Khan added: “The NHS in Scotland has shown what a great team it can be. The least our small dedicated team at Radhuni can do is to try to emulate it by working together to serve our local communities.

“I’m grateful to our front of house and kitchen staff, suppliers, drivers and above all our loyal customers who are all part of the same collective effort.”