Horden curry house boss hoping to '˜takeaway' prize at awards

Indian takeaway Saffron, in the Prospect Building, Sunderland Road, Horden, is up for North East Takeaway of the Year at the English Curry Awards.

They’ll find out if their spice is right at the ceremony in Manchester on Monday, August 22.

With England’s long-lasting love affair with curry, the awards aim to highlight the value of all those who work tirelessly to provide us with the perfect dish.

Thousands of curry lovers cast nominations for the awards, which include categories such as Restaurant of the Year, Chef of the Year and Healthy Curry Provider.

It’s the second time the curry house has been nominated for the prize, having come second in 2013.

But this time, owner Bablu Miah, who is originally from Bangladesh, is hoping to take the top prize.

He said: “We’re all really hoping we’re going to win this time, but we’re just delighted to have made it to the final four once more.

“That wouldn’t be possible without the support of our customers and we’re very thankful to those who voted for us.

“The support we’ve had from our customers since we opened in 2010 has been wonderful and we have a very good relationship with them all.

“There are great people around here, and Horden is a small village so it feels great to have made it into the finals at these awards. We really can’t thank everyone enough for their support.”

Mr Miah says it’s not just his good food that keeps his customers coming back.

He added: “We always provide a very good service to our customers and look after them the best we can.

“We do good food as well and our customers always keep coming back for more.”

Saffron faces competition from throughout the North East at the award ceremony, but also says it will be a good opportunity to meet people from other businesses from across the country.

He said: “Going to the awards is going to be great. Being there and meeting other people in the business will be a lot of fun and it will just feel so great to be there at the English Curry Awards. I really hope we can bring the prize back with us.

“It’s such a good thing for us to be part of and if we won, we would display our award proudly in the takeaway.

“We’re just so grateful to all of our customers for supporting us.”