Curry Palace has won big at the prestigious AFTA awards!

By winning the “East Anglia Restaurant of the Year” award, the team are quite rightly very proud and decided to throw a big party to thank the local community and its customers for their support.

It is no secret that I have been a huge advocate of Curry Palace for well over a decade. In fact, it is one of the few restaurants I have reviewed 5 times!

Don’t believe me? Click here!

This isn’t the first time they have won an award either. Curry Palace has also had big success at the Bangladeshi Caterers Association (BCA) by winning “restaurant of the year in East Anglia” back in 2014. Not to mention being a runner up in the “Masterchef Promotions 2015 Cook-Off award”.

The event

I have been to many Indian restaurants to celebrate their success at award ceremonies, which are usually held in their own restaurant. The team at Curry Palace, however, decided to take it a step further and hire out a huge gazebo at the Cottenham village hall. This was on a scale I have never seen before for a local restaurant and they really went to town on it. Clearly, it shows how proud they are of their achievement but also how grateful they are to the community.

The event started off with speeches from the owner of Curry Palace and representatives from numerous local charities in the area that Curry Palace has been supporting. This was a firm reminder of all the great work they have been doing for the community. 

Next, came a variety of entertainment while our food was being prepared; Singers, dancers, a magician, and even a comedian. You name it!

No expense was spared and it was a lot of fun, especially the comedian who was great at getting everyone together and mingling with a few games.

The food

I was particularly excited about the food, as Curry Palace has a marvellous award-winning reputation when it comes to their cuisine. The staff had hundreds of people to serve at once and did a remarkable job of getting it out so quickly. I honestly don’t know how they managed it but it was one of the most organised catering operations I have seen.

Bravo!

Starters

• Chilli Paneer

• Papri Chaat

• Fish Pakora

• Green Salad and Chutneys

All the food was brought out in large bowls for the table to share between us. This encourages us to talk and spark conversations (though mostly, this forced everyone to sit there and wait while I took photos of all the food 🤣).

Everything from the starters was excellent. I genuinely couldn’t fault a thing. I was particularly fond of the chilli paneer but quite frankly, I loved it all!

Mains

• Chicken Kosha

• Staff Curry (Mutton)

• Mixed Vegetable

• Pilau Rice

• Naan

The staff curry was absolutely out of this world. It was full of flavour with a feisty spicy heat. The lamb was served on the bone that made it difficult to eat and a little messy but the meat was so tender and full of flavour. I loved their mixed vegetables that were reminiscent of a saag aloo.

Desserts

• Gulabjam with Icecream

• Karak Chai

The dessert was modest but considering we were given so much for starters and mains, I didn’t have much room left for anything else. The Gulabjam was absolutely superb with a sticky and sweet skin and a soft fluffy centre. I was disappointed we didn’t get any kulfi but instead regular ice cream but at this point we had been spoiled so much that I am really being unfair.

What a night!

Curry Palace pulled off a master stroke of an event tonight. Everything went off without a hitch, which was particularly impressive considering how much was going on with singers, dancers, magicians, and comedians. It was a testament to the team and showcases why they deserve the very award that was responsible for the celebration.

A big thank you to the Curry Palace team for inviting me. It fills me with great joy to see one of my favourite restaurants rewarded for the great work they do.

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