Four Edinburgh restaurants make 2018 Asian Curry Awards shortlist

Four Edinburgh restaurants have made the shortlist for this year's Asian Curry Awards.

BBC broadcaster Babita Sharman will present the Asian Curry Awards. Pic: supplied on behalf of Asian Curry Awards

Japanese bistro Harajuku Kitchen is joined by Mother India Cafe, Ignite Restaurant and Shri Bheema's and about 230 other UK contenders from an initial field of about 30,000.

A team of judges led by Pat Chapman, the editor and founder of the Cobra Good Curry Guide, is now touring the country visiting the short-listed restaurants.

Other Scottish restaurants making the shortlist include Charcoal in Glasgow, the Curry Pot in Dunfermline, Sanam in Falkirk, Heera in Renfrew, Multan Tandoori in Paisley, Mushtaqs in Hamilton, The Blue Elephant in Aberdeen, Rajpoot in Inverurie and Spice Tandoori in Elgin.

Some of the food on offer at Edinburgh's Harajuku Kitchen. Pic: Harajuku Kitchen Facebook

The short-list, which was determined by more than 100,000 votes from the curry-loving public, can be viewed here

Sixteen award categories

There are a total of 16 different categories at the awards...

- Asian Restaurant of the Year

- Healthy Eating Restaurant of the Year

- Best Restaurant of the Year

- Best Chain

- Newcomer of the Year

- Event Caterer of the Year

- Just Eat Best Takeaway

- Asian Hospitality Entrepreneur of the Year

- Best International Asian Restaurant

- Best Fine Dining

- Best Casual Dining Restaurant

- Asian Chef of the Year

- Curry King of the Year

- Best Buffet

- Best Maitre D’

- Lifetime Achievement Award

There are also 10 regional awards for the Best South Asian restaurants in London, London suburbs, South East, South West, East, South Coast, North, Midlands, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The winners will be revealed at a glittering awards-ceremony, hosted by BBC broadcaster Babita Sharman, at Grosvenor House, in Mayfair on Sunday November 18th.

Babita's work has included producing the BBC documentary Booze, Beans & Bhajis, a 5-episode documentary in which Babita explored the growing and shifting fortunes of the British corner shop over the past 70 years.

The Asian Curry Awards are organised by the Asian Catering Federation, which represents the nation’s 30,000 Asian and Oriental restaurants and takeaways. These are the only awards open to all cuisines from the entire Asian Continent stretching from Istanbul to Tokyo.

'Challenging times'

Asian Curry Awards chairman, Yawar Khan, said: "The demand for delicious, spicy food has never been greater - but competition is fierce and the industry faces many challenges, not the least of which is the uncertainty surrounding restaurateurs’ ability recruit oversea worker post-Brexit.

"These awards are designed to encourage our young people to embark on a career into the restaurant industry and recognise the efforts, creativity and skill of the pioneers who our driving standards ever higher."

Tickets for the awards are available via www.asiancurryawards.com

The Awards are a joint initiative from the Federation of Bangladeshi Caterers and the Asian Caterers Federation.

They are open to establishments which have been trading for at least 12 months and have a minimum 4-star hygiene rating, with a plan to boost this to 5 stars.