Korma off it: Doncaster in the North West?

North, er West, winner: Dower House in Doncaster

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Regional argy-bhaji sees Oldham restaurant pipped to North-West title
...AND the North-West’s winning curry house is in... DONCASTER!

Organisers created a right curry-on after hailing a south Yorkshire restaurant the North-West’s winner of the British Curry Awards.

The £1.5million showcase awards saw hundreds of restaurateurs, VIP guests and celebrities including Yorkshire chef James Martin and London’s Mayor Boris Johnson, gather in the capital for the seventh presentation of Britain’s “Curry Oscars”.

Blue Tiffin, in Royton, had been tipped as hot favourites to storm the North-West category, but Dower House restaurant, 63 miles away on the other side of the Pennines, emerged as winners.

Blue Tiffin staff generously said they were pleased to have come in the top 100 curry houses in Britain and would compete again next year.

Muzahid Khan, who helped with the relaunch of the Blue Tiffin said: “I worked for the Yorkshire Regional Forum so it’s my job to know where the regions are! When they announced the winner, it was just one of those things — everyone was being merry with the entertainment and the great food that no one really noticed. It was only when I texted my mate and keyed in Doncaster that I thought... hang on a minute...”

Over 68,000 people nominated 2,700 restaurants for the awards, reduced to 100 shortlisted winners who would battle it out to win one of nine regional awards or that for newcomer of the year.

The British Curry Awards — which PM David Cameron dubbed the Curry Oscars when he attended the awards dinner in 2009 — remains the biggest night of the year for the near 100,000 people involved in the industry.

Enam Ali, awards founder and editor of Spice Business, said: “We can’t always exactly fit everyone in the right region. It used to be just the North, now it is the North-West and North-East regions. I don’t have any idea at all where Doncaster is. In hindsight we recognise that it would have been more appropriate and geographically accurate to put it in the North-East region, but we are far more concerned with finding the best and most deserving regional curry restaurants than adhering to strict boundaries.

“We will make sure next year that the Dower House and any others from your area are correctly located.”

One person pleased with the result was Peter Davies, Mayor of Doncaster, who said: “It is no surprise that Yorkshire has beaten Lancashire once again. Can I suggest that people in Oldham make the trip over the hills to sample some top class Indian cuisine, Doncaster-style.”

Jimmy Ali, from Dower House said: “We were a bit confused when they read out the North-West category and heard Dower House. I think next year they should have a Yorkshire region but obviously that’s up to the organisers.”