The British Kebab Awards were held in the ballroom at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel, with an audience of over 1,200 guests including more than 110 MPs and Lords. Guests were treated to a cocktail reception with a three-course Anatolian-style meal.
Labour Party Leader, Jeremy Corbyn; Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan; and Conservative Business Minister, Nadhim Zahawi MP, attended and addressed the event. Amongst over 100 MPs and Lords, were Shadow Home Secretary, Diane Abbot MP; Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, Dawn Butler MP; Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Angela Rayner MP; Caroline Nokes MP; Mark Francois MP; Shadow SNP Leader of the House of Commons, Tommy Sheppard MP; Shadow SNP Spokesperson for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Drew Hendry MP; and Lord Falconer of Thoroton. Also in attendance were the Deputy Mayor for London Joanne McCartney AM and Jennette Arnold AM.
Winners took to the stage triumphing in 16 categories, including Booker Makro’s Chef of the Year, Ace4Kebabs Kebab Van of the Year, Just Eat Best Delivery, and eight regional awards for recognising the best kebab restaurants across the UK.
Thousands of members of the public voted for the 150 finalists to face the judges who included the Labour MP Carolyn Harris; Conservative MP David Warburton; British journalist, Ash Sarkar; and Cobra Beer Sales Director, Samson Sohail.
Andrew Kenny, UK Managing Director of awards headline sponsor Just Eat, said: "It’s a great honour to have once again sponsored the British Kebab Awards. These awards quite rightly shine the spotlight on the thousands of independent Turkish, Kurdish and Kebab restaurants that are making an invaluable contribution to both their local communities and the UK economy. Congratulations again to all finalists and winners of this year, it’s truly a huge achievement"
Ibrahim Dogus, Lambeth-based restaurateur and founder of the Kebab Awards said: “The kebab is an unsung cornerstone of high streets across the country, and the simply superb quality of this year’s entries shows that British small businesses can more than compete on a world stage of cuisine. What is also just as important is that we must not let Brexit hinder the UK’s flourishing restaurant and takeaway industries, which employ so many people often from migrant backgrounds.”
The British Kebab Awards is the only one of its kind to recognise the British kebab industry, which supports 200,000 jobs across restaurants, suppliers and the food industry. Every day, more than 1.3m kebabs are sold across Britain.
The full list of winners and runners-up:
Just Eat Best Delivery
Winner: BBQ Grill Chatham
Winner: Millennium Pizza and Kebab
Highly Commended: Batman Grill
Ben and Jerry’s Customer Satisfaction
Winner: Mount Nemrut Turkish Restaurant
Highly Commended: Uni Kebab
Highly Commended: Ruyam Turkish Restaurant
Alton & Co Best Value Restaurant
Winner: Turknaz Restaurant
Highly Commended: Melo Persian Restaurant
Cobra Beer Fine Dining Restaurant
Winner: The Mantl
Best Kebab Restaurant in North and West London
Winner: Kabul City Restaurant
Highly Commended: Divan Restaurant Ocakbasi
Best Kebab Restaurant in South and East London
Winner: Cappadocia Restaurant
Highly Commended: The Ottoman Doner
Big K Best Kebab Restaurant Regional
Winner: Mosaic Grill
Best Takeaway in London
Winner: What The Pitta (Shoreditch)
Highly Commended: The Charcoal Grill Plumstead
Just Eat Best Takeaway Regional
Winner: Alim-Et Takeaway
Highly Commended: Irmak BBQ Dunstable
Ace4Kebabs Kebab Van of the Year
Winner: Atalay's Kebab Van
Highly Commended: Ahmed's Bar B-Q
Best Newcomer Restaurant
Winner: German Doner Kebab (West Bromwich)
Highly Commended: I Am Doner (Leeds City Centre)
Best Kebab House in Scotland
Winner: Best Kebab and Pizza House (Arbroath)
Highly Commended: The Frying Scotsman
Best Kebab House in Northern Ireland
Winner: Grab a Kebab
Highly Commended: Chaska Enniskillen
Best Kebab House in Wales
Winner: Sam's Grill House
Booker Makro Chef of the Year
Winner: Hamza Yalcin / Batman Grill