Ashford’s Kouchin restaurant scoops Asian Curry Award
Kouchin restaurant in Ashford, Middlesex has won a prestigious Asian Curry Award for ‘Best South Asian Restaurant in the London Suburbs‘category. The popular Ashford curry house has also announced that if will be hosting Indian cookery courses lessons from January.
In November Kouchin’s owner Nural “Naz” Islam received the coveted Highly Recommended trophy at a glittering awards ceremony at Grosvenor House Hotel on London’s Park Lane, attended by over 1000 leading Asian restaurateurs, VIPs and embassy dignitaries to honour the winners of Asian Curry Awards 2013.
The evening was hosted by Sky TV’s Lukwesa Burak with Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy PM Nick Clegg both delivering messages of support by video link to the nation’s 35,000 Asian caterers. Her Majesty The Queen also sent a message of support. Awards were presented by high profile guests including Secretary of State the Rt Hon Eric Pickles, MP.
Kouchin has a repertoire of favourite modern Indian dishes backed with a heritage of ‘Dom Phukt’ Indian cuisine, dating back to the days of the Moghuls – the so-called mystical “Food of Kings”. The Moghuls were lovers of the “good life”; nature, the arts and music with a keen sense of aesthetics and sensual pleasures, with a passion for beauty and elegance.
The Kouchin menu includes poplar curry house favourite, plus an extensive ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ of dishes which are unique to head chef Jamil Hamed.
Kouchin received the award because of its, “Stylish presentation, with delicately flavoured mouth watering dishes, and superb silky sauces, delivered with style, panache and distinction,” according to Asian Curry Awards Chairman, Yawar Khan.
In response to requests from customers who fail to recreated their favourite Indian dishes in their own kitchens, Kouchin is to introduce lunchtime cookery courses in the restaurant in the New Year
Participants can just learn how to cook their favourite dish or sign up for a full 6-week programme. A two-hour lesson will cost £60, including ingredients for a meal for two people with a side dish and rice, which they can then take-away or eat in the restaurant. The 6-week course costs £300.
“Many amateur cooks just chuck in the ingredients and hope for the best,” said Naz, adding “We teach the art of preparing an authentic base, when to add which spices and skills such as how to caramelise vegetables and chillies.”
People can join an existing group or form one their own, with lessons covering Kouchin’s most popular dishes: Chicken Tikki Masala, Korma, Jalfrazi, Balti and Madras, but these can be customised on request.
“It’s not just a question of generating an additional income stream by making greater use of the assets we have, it’s fun and a great way of building customer loyalty and expanding our clientele,” said Naz.
In addition to its Asian Curry Award, Kouchin also tops the rankings on the TripAdvisor customer review website rated #1 of 15 restaurants in Ashford.
In the New Year the restaurant will announce a monthly lunchtime Curry Club for local business owners to network with a fixed price “office friendly” menu of lighter dishes.
For more information, visit kouchin.co.uk.
