By Michael Boyton michael.boyton@archant.co.uk A RESTAURANT has beaten off competition from 3000 others to be named in The British Curry Awards 2007. On Sunday, The Jalsa Ghar Indian restaurant on Stortford Road, Dunmow, was named as a Top 100 British Cur

By Michael Boyton

michael.boyton@archant.co.uk

A RESTAURANT has beaten off competition from 3000 others to be named in The British Curry Awards 2007.

On Sunday, The Jalsa Ghar Indian restaurant on Stortford Road, Dunmow, was named as a Top 100 British Curry Restaurant in the country - one of only two restaurants in Essex to receive the accolade.

Zia Chowdhury, who owns the restaurant with Omar Shorif; said: "I couldn't believe it when Chris Tarrant, who was hosting the event, read our name out. There were 3000 restaurants across the whole of the UK nominated for this.

"It is a fantastic award for us to win and I'm very proud of all my staff. Winning this is a team effort and without everyone doing their bit we would never have won it."

Talking about how he heard they had won, Mr Shorif said: "It was 2am, and I was in bed when the phone rang and it was Zia. I was very surprised and extremely happy."

Possibly more important to Messrs Chowdhury and Shorif is who nominated their restaurant.

"The award isn't just about the food we put on the table but also the service we give our customers." said Mr Chowdhury. "We are so pleased that our customers nominated us. I would like to thank them all.

"It is most important to us, when we receive feed back we always take note of it to try to improve ourselves,"

Waiter Saif Islam, said: "It's brilliant to win. We are a very family-orientated restaurant and we work really hard to give our customers the best we can.

"I think our difference is that we do things from the heart. We all care about the restaurant and all take great pride in our work."

Speaking about what he thinks made the Jalsa Ghar stand out Mr Chowdhury explained: "As I said, it's all down to team work. We have excellent staff at the front of house and in the kitchens.

"Our chefs use only the freshest ingredients, less colourings, and good sunflower oil, which is low in cholesterol."

Mr Shorif said that, although the restaurant has won several awards since it opened nine years ago, this is the most prestigious to date.

Next year he wants to be in the top 10 restaurants in the country.

Photos from the awards ceremony that took place at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London's Park Lane will soon be available to view on the Broadcast's website at www.dunmow-broadcast24.co.uk and the restaurant's site at www.jalsaghar.co.uk

Jalsa Ghar is open Monday to Saturday from noon until 2.30pm and from 6pm to 11pm. On Sundays it is open from noon to 10.30pm.

For more information call them on 01371 873330.