Winners at the Bradford Curry Awards 2022

The Bradford Curry Awards returned last night, with the best of the business in attendance. After a two year hiatus through the pandemic, it was great to be back celebrating the local food scene. Bradford’s reputation for curry is hardly a secret; It’s been named the ‘Capital of Curry’ nearly as many times as I’ve eaten Minal’s cooking. There’s no shortage of talent when it comes to the kitchen along the curry trail and plenty of fierce competition to be named the best restaurant in Bradford.

This year’s Bradford Curry Awards were even bigger and better than before, with a two day Mela leading up the main event. Hosted across Centenary Square, visitors had a chance to try out some seriously tasty dishes, and watch masterclasses from a variety of incredible chefs. Our good friend and Masterchef finalist, Radha, was amongst them, wowing the crowds with her skills.

The nominations were released early in July, and it was brilliant to hear we were up for four awards: Best Restaurant People’s Choice, Best Restaurant Judge’s Choice, Most Innovative, and Chef of the Year. What an honour to be up for all four, and in such incredible company too!

At Prashad, our focus has never been on winning awards. We care about sharing our culture and our wonderful food with all of you. To show everyone that vegetables aren’t just something you should eat, but ingredients to fall absolutely in love with. To eat Gujarati food with our community, sharing our table with you.

But one award felt particularly special; the People’s Choice award for Best Restaurant. And with your support, we’ve only gone and won it. With over 3,000 votes, we’re absolutely blown away, and want to say a huge thank you for choosing us. That you all love and treasure what we do at Prashad, there’s just no better feeling. 

Our team celebrated the win for us, so thank you for giving them this wonderful opportunity. They’re family to us, with many of them having worked at Prashad for over ten years. That’s not something you hear everyday in the hospitality industry! Toqeer, our General Manager, is practically part of the furniture, and we wouldn’t be without him. Suited and booted, he and the team anxiously waited to hear the winner’s names called. But Toqeer had a good feeling. He knows, better than most, just how wonderful our customers are. And he was right. After a fantastic night of celebrations, the award will be going proudly on display in the restaurant.

The good news doesn’t stop there though. We’ve had quite the track record in past years at the Bradford Curry Awards, after taking home Best Restaurant Judge’s Choice, Best Vegetarian, Best Customer Service, and Chef of the Year (known as Best Chef in 2018 and 2019). But Prashad wouldn’t be the restaurant it is today without our most important women, who run the show. It was an emotional moment at the very first awards ceremony, when mum was celebrated with special recognition award for her contributions to the hospitality industry. And then there’s our brilliant Head Chef Minal Patel, also known as my wonderful wife.

Stepping into mum’s shoes back in 2004 was a daunting task, but she took it in her stride. With Minal at the helm of Prashad, we’ve flourished. She works tirelessly to create new dishes and menu concepts, putting her unique, fine-dining twists on traditional Gujarati recipes. She’s the soul of Prashad, and it’s a joy to see her named Chef of the Year again, for 2022. The pride I feel in watching Minal lead her team, in her element, always striving for more… I can hardly put it into words. But what I can say is this: to Minal, Toqeer, and the whole team, you do the Prashad name proud every day. It’s my absolute pleasure to work alongside you.

And to the customers that continue to support us: through voting for us, through recommending us to your friends, through booking tables at the restaurant, it really does mean everything. You make all the hard work that comes with running a restaurant so worth it, a hundred times over.

Thank you all, truly.
Bobby.