Taj Mahal wins Tiffin Cup Contest

London: Indian food restaurant Taj Mahal has won the inaugural Tiffin Cup over 39 restaurants throughout Britain.

Taj Mahal was nominated for the nationwide contest showcasing the best of the South Asian cuisines by their local MPs.

Of the 40 nominated for the Tiffin Cup contest, only 14 restaurants were shortlisted for the finals which was held at the House of Commons on Wednesday Night.

The Tiffin Cup was launched in 2006 by MPs Keith Vaz, Michael Fabricant and John Barrett in recognition of the contribution of South Asian restaurants to British cuisine and to raise money for charity.

Jack Straw, leader of the House of Commons, was the chief guest at the event.

Birmingham's 'Royal Al Faisal', which specialises in Kashmiri cuisine, was placed second in the gastronomic contest followed by 'B Raj Tandoori' in Fraserburgh in Scotland.

'Bombay Dreams' in the Brent South constituency and 'The Tandoori Parlour' in Castle Point also featured as highly commended restaurants.

"UK's love affair with curry has come a long way" Vaz said, pointing to over 9,500 South Asian restaurants that have changed British eating habits and contributed to the country's economy.

Preseli Pembrokeshire MP Stephen Crabb, who had nominated Taj Mahal for the contest, said, "UK has a love affair with curry and Pembrokeshire is no exception. I am delighted that our local Indian restaurant has emerged as the Curry King on a national stage."

The judges for the evening were celebrity chefs and presenters Lloyd Grossman and Ainsley Harriott, actor Saeed Jaffrey and Nina Wadia from the British television show 'Goodness Gracious Me'.

A raffle organised on the occasion raised over £1,500 for two charities - the Roko Cancer Appeal and TB Alert.

Roko Cancer Appeal was established by entrepreneur A P S Chawla five years ago to raise funds for the fight against breast cancer.

The charity introduced the first mobile breast cancer detection unit in Amritsar last year. TB Alert is the only charity organisation helping fight the disease both in India and the UK.