A clutch of restaurants in Courier Country have been named finalists in the Scottish Curry Awards.
Prince of India in Pitlochry, Tulsi Indian and Thai restaurant in St Andrews, Jasmine Indian restaurant in Glenrothes and Alma Indian Restaurant and Bar in Laurencekirk have all been nominated as Restaurant of the Year as part of the 11th annual awards.
In addition, restaurants across Tayside and Fife have been included in other categories such as best dining experience and takeaway of the year. The Everest Inn at Perth has been nominated for Best Loved Restaurant.
Staff and management of restaurants and takeaways have also been nominated in various classes.
The black-tie ceremony will be held on April 16 at Glasgow’s Crowne Plaza and will include a three-course meal and entertainment.
Imam Hasan, co-owner of Tulsi, said: “It’s great to be nominated and to be able to show off the work that we do.
“We opened this restaurant three years ago, selling Indian and Thai cuisine, with a focus on fine dining.
“There are four of us, we opened the restaurant together after working in the industry previously.
“We’ve always been very busy since then and the business has been a success.
“We’ve had various famous people coming in – during the last Open, we had the privilege of having Ian Poulter, Justin Leonard, Kevin Streelman, Martin Kaymer and none other than the mother of Tiger Woods, Kultida Woods.”
The awards, which are being run by Oceanic Consulting, will help to raise funds for The Well Foundation, a charity with a vision to provide safe, clean drinking water for all.
The aim of the awards is to celebrate the best food and service in the Scottish curry industry, with restaurants from all over Scotland receiving nominations.
Ziya Iqbal, who runs Jasmine together with his brother, said: “We won Restaurant of the Year last year at the Scottish Curry Awards, and we have also been runners-up a number of times.
“It’s great to be nominated again, it shows how hard we work and how much effort we put into the business.
“It’s a family business that was originally founded by my father – we’ll be celebrating our 30th anniversary in September.
“Now my brother and I run it. We’re both main chefs and we also have great, hard-working staff who have helped us.”
