Ajay Kumar, owner and executive chef of Swadish in Glasgow, was last night crowned the Scottish Curry Champion at the sparkling gala final of the SPICE Awards.
At a glittering awards ceremony held at the Glasgow Marriot and attended by the great and good of the Scottish curry industry, the top honour went to Glasgow’s first fresh fish and vegan-focused Indian restaurant.
Following a hotly-contested cook-off with more than 30 of Scotland’s top restaurant chefs competing, Ajay’s dishes were judged as winners ahead of some of the most familiar household restaurant names.
Ajay said: ‘This is an amazing achievement and I am so pleased that our hard work has been recognised and awarded in this way.
‘There were so many fantastic chefs taking part and the competition was tough and that’s what makes winning this all the sweeter. I look forward to serving up the award-winning dishes to our customers!’
Swadish also won the Best Special menu category for its innovative menu and was highly recommended in the Fine Dining category.
Created to showcase the talent and hard work of Scotland’s ethnic cuisines, founded by Warren Paul and Michael Allan of Paramount Creative in association with Goldstar Chefs, the hotly contested SPICE Awards attracts entries from hundreds of restaurants from across the length and breadth of Scotland and thousands of votes from diners keen to share their hot tips about where to sample the best ethnic cuisine in Scotland.
The recognition is all the more remarkable given that Swadish only opened its doors this summer. Its award-winning menu showcases an innovative blend of traditional authentic Indian cooking methodologies with premium quality seasonal Scottish produce and ingredients to offer a uniquely modern cuisine to suit the contemporary, sophisticated palate.
This recognition means that Swadish (its name is a play on the Indian word ‘Swad’ (delicious) to mean ‘delicious dish’) has already carved out a place for itself in Glasgow’s cut-throat dining scene.
Located in a former fire station in the heart of Glasgow’s Merchant City, Swadish is owned and operated by husband and wife team Ajay and Jas Kumar (daughter of renowned ‘Curry King’ Charan Gill MBE).
Feature dishes on the menu include: whole tandoori seabass; banana leaf sea bream; monkfish curry and many more. As the only Indian restaurant to specialise in fish, all Swadish’s fish is sourced daily from the local market. And, as a vegan herself, proprietor Jas presents her own favourite dishes on an extensive vegan menu – another first for an Indian restaurant in Glasgow.
In addition, Swadish’s meat, poultry and game recipes are exclusive and full of flavour. All Kumar’s sauces, marinades and masalas are made in his kitchen from the freshest and finest ingredients.
For more details visit www.swadish.co.uk.
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