Whitley Bay restaurant wins another award

The Shampan Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge won the “Curry Life Magazine best editor’s choice” category at the annual National Curry Life Awards held in central London, attended by more than 800 people.

Owner Kamrul Hussain started out with a takeaway but fulfilled his dream of becoming a restaurant owner when he opened Shampan in Whitley Road in 2016.

Kamrul says a solid working relationship with his chef is key to the business’s success, adding: “He’s got more than 20 years’ experience in the kitchen and the dishes have been evolving for many years with an emphasis on remaining authentic and close to the way meals are prepared in typical homes.”

Andrew Kenny, UK managing director of Just Eat, said: “The Curry Life Awards is an incredibly important event, recognising and celebrating the hard-working restaurants all across the country dedicated to serving fantastic food to their customers each and every day.

“We’re thrilled to support Curry Life and the excellent work the whole team does to promote the interests of this vibrant industry, which contributes so much to Britain’s culinary culture.

“A massive congratulation to all of the nominees and winners on your achievements – you truly are the best of the best.”

Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer and vice president of the Confederation of British Industry, added: “I congratulate all the nominees and winners of the curry life awards 2019.

“They are an inspiration to us all and, in particular, to the young members of the curry industry family, who I am sure will be inspired by these awards and will aspire to achieve themselves in the future.”

The Curry Life Awards was held in partnership with Just Eat and were also supported by Cobra Beer, Unisoft Solutions, Greater than Gin, Print Today and Travel Links Worldwide.