Hertford curry house wins national award

St.Andrew Street Indian restaurant Ruby has won a national accolade at the Asian Restaurant & Takeaway Awards.

Ruby was awarded the Champion of Champions trophy, as well as  Regional Restaurant of the Year for Hertfordshire.

The Asian Restaurant and Takeaway Awards promotes the South Asian cooking while recognising other areas in the hospitality industry, such as exceptional service or restaurant management.

Over 100,000 restaurant customers nationwide vote for their favourite local restaurants every year.

Salik Mohammed Munim, founder of the awards, said: "The ARTA Awards 2022 are a celebration and recognition of Britain's vibrant Asian restaurants, takeaways, and chefs. Since the inception of ARTA, we have clearly seen the phenomenal quality of entrants, and the bar set by each, and every nominee has been increasing each year.

"I am truly blown away by the standards set by the competition and having been privy to exceptional quality and service extended by the nominees, I can confidently assert that Asian culinary industry in Britain is in safe hands. Every nominee and winner should be proud of their work.

"ARTA 2022 is extremely special for us, as it has returned after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The gathering was emotional and symbolic, as it brought together members of the Asian cuisine industry during an exceptionally difficult and testing time. The cost of energy crisis is a real threat to the sector, and many are faced with the prospect of closing doors after having served their local communities and patrons for decades.

"This has been a back-to-back assault on the sector, which was recently reeling and recovering from the pandemic, and staffing shortages post-Brexit. It was a poignant moment for us all, to be together and extend moral support and well-wishes. I truly wish us all the very best."

The St.Andrew Street restaurant was opened in 2010 by Abdur Rahman, known as Naz, who had previously worked at a number of Indian restaurants in Hertfordshire, after leaving school in Enfield with no qualificaions.

The restaurant has a food rating of 5 from East Herts Council.