At the prestigious British Curry Awards in October 2007 Edinburgh restaurant Britannia Spice achieved the unique status of winning the “Best of” Award for its region for an unprecedented 3rd year in a row when it was awarded “Best in Scotland & N Ireland 2007”. To mark this achievement the British Curry Awards will make a special presentation to Britannia Spice at a Celebration Lunch on Tuesday 8th January. (more…)
First Minister Alex Salmond took a break from affairs of state yesterday – to scoff a curry at a top restaurant. Britannia Spice in Leith has been named best curry house in Scotland for the third year in a row. Salmond, above, was greeted at the door by flowergirls and a bagpipe. And he even put a on a chef’s hat to lend a helping hand in the kitchen.
Reproduced from the Daily Record 09/01/2008
A special lunch took place on Tues 8th Jan to celebrate Britannia Spice’s hat-trick of wins (Best in Scotland 2005, 2006 & 2007) at the British Curry Awards.
The event was attended by over 100 guests including the First Minister for Scotland and Edinburgh’s Lord Provost, the Consul Generals for India, Sweden and Denmark, representatives from Edinburgh’s Napier, Heriot Watt and Queen Margaret universities (each of whom have awarded Dr Uddin honorary degrees in the last year), Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, business colleagues, family, friends, regular customers and press. (more…)
It has been a great year for Edinburgh businessman Dr Wali Tasar Uddin MBE, JP. His flagship restaurant Britannia Spice was awarded “Best in Scotland & N Ireland” (for a remarkable 3rd year in a row) at the prestigious British Curry Awards. The Awards were announced at a glamorous ceremony, hosted by Chris Tarrant and attended by over 1,000 industry professionals, at Grosvenor House in London on 21st October. The restaurant also won 2007 Best in Scotland Award from BIBA earlier this year.
Dr Uddin said about the award:
“I am delighted to win this prestigious award for the third year in a row. It’s a wonderful recognition of our work and will inspire us to keep cooking up new ideas to keep our customers happy! I want to thank all my loyal customers and my dedicated and talented staff team for making this award possible.”
Britannia Spice has scooped top awards at the prestigious Best in Britain Awards. The “BIBAs” recognise the best ethnic restaurants each year and once again Britannia Spice was named in the Top 30 in the UK.
Scotland showed very well in the UK-wide awards and one of the top awards – BIBA Industry Personality of the Year – went to one of Scotland’s favourite adopted sons, Dr Wali Tasar Uddin, chairman and chief executive of Britannia Spice. He stepped up to accept the trophy for his tremendous achievements in British/Bangladeshi relationships, charity and, of course, commerce with his Britannia Spice restaurant. (more…)
Scottish and Bangladeshi cultures mingled in a day of Independence celebrations in Edinburgh in April. The highlight of the day was a vibrant fashion show put on by young Scots and Bangladeshis, with saris and kilts creating a colourful fusion. In the audience was the High Commissioner for Bangladesh in the UK, Sadihuddin Ahmed, and he was joined by the Bangladeshi community from all over Scotland for the celebration of 35 years of Bangladesh’s independence.
“We consider art and culture as one of the best mechanisms for bringing together diverse communities,” said Dr Wali Uddin, Chairman of Council of Bangladeshis in Scotland and Bangladesh’s Honorary Consul General in Scotland.
In the evening, Britannia Spice was the venue for a reception and dinner in honour of the High Commissioner, who was on his first visit to Scotland since taking up his post in the UK last year. Some of Edinburgh’s leading public figures attended, including Sir Tom Farmer, founder of KwikFit, Mark Lazarowicz, MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, and Ron Hewitt, chief executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce. The final day of the High Commissioner’s three-day visit to Scotland was focussed on promoting Bangladesh as a country to do business with.
Britannia Spice’s chief executive, Dr Wali Uddin, has been recognised for his work in the community. Dr Uddin was one of 50 people honoured by Channel S, the satellite TV channel, for his strong contribution to the community.
Britannia Spice has been in the running for more awards this spring. It was nominated in the Business in the Community category at the Edinburgh Evening News Business Excellence Awards in March. It missed out on the top award to a very worthy winner: Streetwork UK is the homeless organisation which helps protect those at risk on the streets of the capital.
Britannia Spice gained further recognition for its innovative approach to dining, collecting several honours in 2005. Named as one of the “Top Thirty” at the Best in Britain Awards on 13 June 2005, Britannia Spice was the only Scottish restaurant in this prestigious recognition of Britain’s curry culture. The Leith restaurant was repeating its Top 30 performance of 2001, 2003 and 2004 in the BIBA awards. It was awarded a “Gold Medal” in the 2002 BIBAs, which are in association with Menu Magazine and the Real Curry Restaurant Guide.
Founded by Dr Wali Uddin and Ranil Saparamadu as the new millennium dawned, Britannia Spice has already won widespread praise for its exotic multi-ethnic cuisine and stylish atmosphere. This year further recognition came from the Scottish catering industry. Britannia Spice was shortlisted for the Ethnic Cuisine Award in the prestigious CIS Excellence Awards at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow on 12 May, 2005. Britannia Spice was also one of the four restaurants who put up a creditable fight on behalf of Edinburgh in the Kingfisher Curry Capital and EthniCity competitions. The judges commended Edinburgh for its “very good standard of restaurant”. (more…)
By Anna Marsden
Back on course, the Edinburgh restaurant which regularly sails away with awards Dr Wali Uddin looks around Britannia Spice with satisfaction. Everything is in its place, and the first evening’s first diners are due in 20 minutes.
His calm demeanour belies the hectic pace of the last few days. First he picked up the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Asian Jewel ceremony at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United on Saturday. Then he returned quickly to Leith to oversee the finishing touches before Britannia Spice reopened after a fire two weeks previously.
“It was such an honour to be invited Old Trafford to receive the Asian Jewel Lifetime Achievement Award”, said Dr Uddin. “But in the back of my mind were our plans to open again so that we didn’t disappoint our loyal customers.”
“We had a tight timetable and thanks to our fabulous tradesmen we were back in business after just 14 days, right in time for Valentine’s Day.”
The Edinburgh entrepreneur and philanthropist, Dr Wali Tasar Uddin, MBE has received an award for Lifetime Achievement at the Lloyds TSB Asian Jewel Awards. Dr Uddin is Chairman and Chief Executive of Britannia Spice.
Dr Uddin, pictured at the awards ceremony right, is a respected leader of the Scottish Asian community with an unsurpassed and exemplary record in helping improve the lives of those living around him – and those in his native land of Bangladesh. (more…)