An executive chef from a multi award-winning Northampton restaurant will be doing battle with the cream of the country’s curry industry, going head-to-head for the title of King or Queen of Spice for the East Midlands region.
Bodrul Islam, a chef at Saffron in Castilian Street, Northampton, is one of 65 curry chefs set to showcase their culinary skills in the Bangladesh Caterers Association Curry Chef of the Year competition.
The cook-off takes place in London on Tuesday, 17 September, at Hammersmith & Fulham College, with chefs given just an hour to prepare and cook for a panel of judges using a box of mystery ingredients supplied by the BCA.
Bodrul, who has worked as head chef at Saffron for the past two decades and has previously won several local and national awards, said:
“I will be competing against some of the finest chefs in our industry.
“Hopefully I can cook to the best of my potential on the day and impress the judges. It will be tough, the competition is fierce, but I’m really looking forward to showing them what I can do.”
A panel of expert judges will be on hand to rate the dishes on factors such as taste, aroma, presentation and hygiene
The finalists will then be shortlisted and the winner announced at the prestigious Bangladesh Caterers Association Awards 2024, taking place at the InterContinental London at The O2 on Monday, 28 October.
Oli Khan, BCA President, said:
“Being able to thrive and grow as an industry mean that we need to invest in the talent of the next generation of chefs. These awards help us to nurture young chefs and give them a platform to showcase their incredible flair and talent.
“The chefs will be given everything they need to create some truly stunning dishes. It will be an explosion of flavour with our guest judges enjoying the hottest ticket in town.”
Saffron owner Naz Islam added:
“The talents of British curry chefs are revered around the world and these awards are a celebration of the amazing talent we have in our sector. The competition will be fierce but fingers crossed Bodrul can come out on top.”
The Bangladesh Caterers Association was set up in 1960 and represents 12,000 restaurateurs across the UK. For more details on the competition and the association visit their website.
