Outstanding Small Consultancy
CIPR PRide Midlands Awards 2009
- Cadbury World attracts record visitor numbers
- Give the gift of Love this Valentine’s Day
- Looking back on 2011 at Birmingham Hippodrome
- We’re recruiting: Account Manager
- ORB lands smear test brief
- Southside gets Rewired
- The Nightingale Club welcomes new ownership
- WAE+ aims to challenge office supplies giants
- Kraft Foods volunteers lend a helping hand at homeless charity
Lasan Crowned Top Local Restaurant By Gordon Ramsay
08th January 2010. Posted by Sam Dowling.
Birmingham’s Lasan has beaten off competition from 10,000 restaurants to be crowned The F Word’s Best Local Restaurant 2010 as part of Gordon Ramsay’s Channel 4 series.
Ramsay’s nationwide search came to a climax last night when Lasan went head-to-head against British restaurant, The Pheasant, to win the prestigious title of Best Local Restaurant.
Jewellery Quarter-based Lasan faced their toughest service ever preparing a three-course feast incorporating rare breed beef and chicken provided by Janet Street-Porter fresh from her farm in Yorkshire.
Lasan’s Chef Director Aktar Islam rose to the challenge and impressed the F Word diners, made up of the world’s most prestigious food critics. After a night of intense competition, the critics gave Lasan the highest score and Ramsay also chose them as his top restaurant.
Throughout the series, Ramsay has championed Aktar’s talent, calling his methods ‘genius’, but the celebrity chef has also commented on his over-confidence in the kitchen. With the realisation that he may have finally met his match in the kitchen, Ramsay could not doubt the culinary talent of the 29-year-old Birmingham chef.
Aktar said,
“Winning The F Word is a dream come true; it has been amazing journey to the final and despite my confidence in the team, I’m still so proud that we’ve won. Chef Ramsay’s support throughout the series has been incredible and I feel very privileged to have cooked in his kitchen.
“Winning the title is a massive step in raising the profile of Indian cuisine beyond takeaways and Tikka Massalas. My menus are designed to challenge perceptions, whilst still retaining authentic and original recipes, and the restaurant aims to be the height of sophistication and fine dining.”
Lasan reached the final after beating off competition from 17 other restaurants chosen from over 10,000 public nominations. The final 18 fought in 9 different categories; Italian, Indian, French, Chinese, Spanish, Thai, The Americas, British, and Rest of the World; with a final six chosen for the semi-finals, which took place earlier this week.
Winning The F Word’s Best Local Restaurant title continues Lasan’s recent successes, which include retaining their title at the British Curry Awards for the third consecutive year and receiving a Michelin Guide recommendation. They were also recently listed in the Guardian’s ‘Top 10 Indian Restaurants in the UK’, joining a similar endorsement from The Independent and The Times received last year.
For more information on Lasan, visit www.lasan.co.uk.