Prashad named Best Restaurant at the Bradford Curry Awards
By Bobby Patel.
The judges had some seriously tough decisions to make, ahead of the 4th annual Bradford Curry Awards.
After taking home Restaurant of the Year (People’s Choice) and Chef of the Year for Minal last year, we crossed our fingers and counted down the days to this year’s awards. We had absolutely no idea how it would go… So we’re incredibly proud to share we took home not just one, but two awards at the Bradford Curry Awards 2023!
We didn’t think much could top the joy we felt last year, after celebrating 30 years in business with our family, friends and fantastic customers. But we’ve been happily proved wrong. 2023 has been a truly wonderful year so far. There’s just been so much to be grateful for.
A look back at 2023 so far
First up was the Hairy Bikers Go Local back in January, where Dave and Si joined Minal in the Prashad kitchen, calling her an artist as they tucked into her tasting menu, before polishing off every last morsel. They also introduced us to the great guys behind Yorkshire Mushroom Emporium, who’ve become not only regular suppliers for us, but firm friends too. Minal has been demonstrating how to cook delicious dishes featuring their amazing oyster mushrooms at food festivals like Taste: Bradford back in May, and more recently, the Great Yorkshire Show and Bradford Curry Awards Mela.
We were completely blown away when Prashad was shortlisted for four awards at the Oliver Awards in March, and even more so when we were named Leeds’ Restaurant of the Year. What an honour! Even better, we got to share the stage with our (not so) little brother Bundobust, who were awarded best dog friendly venue earlier in the night.
Then July rolls around, and with it, the Bradford Curry Awards. Mum and Dad got dressed up to join us and the team for what turned out to be a brilliant night for all involved (no surprises there). We shared fantastic food and plenty of laughs, enjoying the talented performances throughout the night. Until it was finally time for the main event; the awards themselves.
The winners are announced…
We congratulated fellow restauranteurs and their talented teams as the first few were announced. Then the award for Best Marketing came up. And we only went and won! It means so much to us, because so much of what we post is Minal sharing her love for our heritage through food. Getting to feed all of our wonderful customers means everything to us. And we’re lucky enough to have friends in all corners of the globe, so even when you can’t get to the restaurant, you can still enjoy a little bit of Prashad from wherever you are.
The night continued in a buzz of excitement, and the final awards of the night came around all too quickly. The judges made their way to the stage to announce the Restaurant of the Year (Judge’s Choice), and highlighted the brilliant standard of the restaurants on their shortlist. We were up against stiff competition, so I had to double check the big screen to be sure I’d heard them correctly when they announced Prashad as the winner.
WOW. Just wow.
The awards for Best Restaurant & Best Marketing go to Prashad
For Prashad to be awarded both Best Restaurant in Leeds and Best Restaurant in Bradford… There aren’t words that can describe how full our hearts are! None of this would be possible without our incredible team, who go above and beyond, or our wonderful customers who bring more love and joy into the restaurant each and every day (well, except Mondays, because we’re closed!).
We just want to say a HUGE thank you to Fatima and the team for organising the Bradford Curry Awards and Mela. The celebrations just get get bigger and better every year. And a huge congratulations to all of the other winners and shortlisted restaurants. After the last few years we’ve all had, every business deserves a big pat on the back for what they’ve achieved.
And just before I sign off, if you’re wondering how we can be in Bradford and Leeds at the same time… Well, our postcode says Bradford, our area code says Leeds, and we say none of that matters, because we’re beyond proud to be both!
Love from Bobby, Minal and the Prashad Team