Catering Circle's Annual Business Conference Gala Dinner (2023) @ The Meridian Grand

Sean and I were recently invited to the Catering Circle’s Business Conference Gala Dinner at the prestigious Meridian Grand, in London. This is an annual event held to discuss current challenges facing the Bangladesh catering industry, network with other businesses, and to hand out awards for their TV show on ‘Channel S’.

I was excited to visit, as I have never been to an event like this before. As we all probably know by now, I am very passionate about the Bangladeshi restaurant scene and I want to thank Syed from the Taj Tandoori for inviting me to learn more about it.

The starting time was 5pm. Sean and I had never visited before, so we had no idea what to expect. Being overly English and vigorously prompted by text messages reminding us of the importance of arriving at 5pm, we arrived at half 4pm, just to make sure we weren’t late or disrespectful. This meant that the venue was almost deserted at our time of arrival. This was no trouble mind, as it gave us a chance to muck about taking stupid photos like the one above and admire the building inside and out.

Upon entering, we were led past the beautiful hallway with a stunning staircase that led through to the hall. The building was full of glitz and glamour throughout with some of the most impressive chandeliers I have ever seen. I also enjoyed the copious amounts of mocktails and canopies being served.

As you can see, I had a rather cavalier approach with my intake of these.

The venue got very lively very quickly. It was a great place to be with bustling energy from numerous business owners from around the country networking and chatting. Everyone was really friendly and were keen to introduce themselves to us.

There were half a dozen businesses there with promotional displays, including one from our very own Ziaur (Montaz) promoting his new book ‘Going for an Indian’. In it, he writes about the history of the Anglo Bangladesh community in Cambridge and its success throughout the previous decades.

If this book interests you then click here to learn more.

I had been meaning to grab this book for some time, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do so. I am glad I waited too, as while I was there I even got the book signed by the man himself.

There was a large turn out from the Cambridgeshire restaurant crew, with restaurant owners from popular Cambridge restaurants across the board. It was great to see local Cambridgeshire businesses supporting each other despite the fact they are technically business rivals. It just goes to show the strength of the community in our county and is a massive credit to them all.

After catching up with some familiar faces, meeting some new people, and consuming half a bag of sugar in mocktails, it was time for the awards. We entered the main hall which hosted the stage and took a seat. We were treated to some traditional live music before the event started.

There were also guest appearances from TV personalities and politicians who sat down to discuss the industry and the challenges being faced. It was interesting to hear things from the other side and I learned a lot.

For those of you unaware, our boys Jools and Syed from The Taj Tandoori won last year’s Catering Circle event with their incredible take on Mackerel, with a dish called ‘Mackerel 3 Ways’. Please click here to check out my experience with this dish during my last visit to The Taj. Both Jools and Syed collected their humongous trophy and were quite rightly very proud of their accomplishment. Expect to see a brand new reinforced trophy cabinet in their restaurant in the future.

Later we sat down for some dinner. The starters consisted of lollipop chicken, masala cod, chilli paneer, and aloo papri chaat. I was expecting good things from a prestigious institution such as the Meridian Grand, especially since they were serving some of the biggest names in Bangladesh and Indian cuisine.

Thankfully, I was not disappointed as everything was delicious. I was particularly fond of the lollipop chicken and the masala cod which turned out to be my favourite dishes of the entire evening. Everything was served in large bowls on a Lazy Susan that encouraged us to socialise and share between us at the table.

The mains were also impressive. We were presented with lamb Rogan Josh, Karahi chicken, Patiala Shahi bengan, and tadka daal. The lamb was fantastic and was so tender. Easily my favourite dish out of the mains. I was also very fond of the daal which went really well with the biryani rice provided.

The Cambridgeshire representatives all got together to take a group photo to celebrate their success with the shiny new trophy. It is also worth noting that Montaz also got a certificate of achievement.

Syed clearly enjoys embarrassing me so he insisted I join them for some photos on stage. I was even trusted to hold their precious award. I have never held anything this heavy in my entire life but it was an honour to be included with everyone.