The British Curry Awards is an annual awards dinner dedicated to the British curry industry. It was established in 2005 by Enam Ali MBE, FIH and has continued to this day. Each individual award is split for geographic purposes-regional splits of Scotland, North West, North East, Midlands, Wales, South East, South West, North East, London Central and City, and London Suburbs-and expertise; the awards themselves are in association with Kukd.com, an online food delivery service. Categories for each award include Best Casual Dining, Best Delivery Restaurant and Best Newcomer.
Enam Ali’s original purpose for creating the British Curry Awards was to open up new and national shopping opportunities to a new generation of restaurateurs. The original concept for the awards was initially frowned upon due to the public believing the event only catered to Indians and Bangladeshi. This mentality sparked legal debates of which Enam Ali fought to preserve the integrity of the new product. After realizing the birth of British-styled curry and its effect on the industry, the goal of the British Curry Awards became more refined and geared towards assisting those attempting to give the dish a new identity.
Believing that the dish was refined and mastered within British influence, the British Curry Awards now exist to celebrate the British curry industry as well as variations of the dish around the world. Since its initial start in 2005, the British Curry Awards has welcomed celebrity and chef alike, including the Queen and David Cameron, who coined the event as “Britain’s curry ‘Oscars’.†To this day it continues to be broadcast live over media and held in London’s Battersea Evolution and hosted by a variety of people. Judges are often chosen through and sponsored through Kukd.com and range from food journalists and critics, to TV hosts and important officials.
The influence of India’s food over Britain is stark and great. The beginning of this transference of cultures was sparked about by British occupation of Indian territory. A deeper look into India’s society explains the clash of cultures when Britain first occupied. It was due to British occupation of India that curry was first carried over into British diets, the food serving as a strange but stable favorite among the Western world. Because of this embrace of India's natural cuisine, new variations of the original homeland recipe were created, sparking the British curry industry.
While the British Curry Awards did not create Britain's spin on the Indian dish, it did help to popularize and brand British-styled curry. It is a culmination of the long history Britain has had with India, be it through negative or positive aspects. Because of the many styles of curry that exist today, the British Curry Awards serve as a cultural blending spot to celebrate the dish in its entirety.
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