Milon Miah wins International Indian Chef award in UK

Chef Milon Miah of Spice Island Restaurant at Barnard Castle in County Durham, UK, has won the coveted International Indian Chef of the Year award.

He beat about 10,000 entrants in the competition and received the trophy from Princess Anne who was present as the guest of honour at a glittering ceremony in London last week.

There were a total of 20,000 applications from Indian chefs and restaurants around the world for the competition.

Bangladeshi-born British celebrity chef Tommy Miah founded the International Indian Chef of the Year Awards in 1991.

In the final, winner Milon Miah prepared a four-course menu including a dish of venison steak and asparagus with traditional Indian spices.

The world-renowned culinary competition was held at Billingsgate Seafood Training School in East London.

“I wanted to show that Indian food doesn’t have to be a stereotypical curry and rice dish,” he told media after the victory.

According to the report, Milon is also keen to “push the boundaries of what we perceive an Indian meal to be”.

“The menu is always evolving. These days, people are trying the more traditional spicy food and are willing to try new things.

Other finalists this year included executive chefs from regional Indian restaurants including Sunil Kumar of Asha’s Birmingham, Sanker Pandey of Everest Inn Ashford, and Sarah Ali Choudhury -- a celebrated food columnist and the former star of Channel 4’s My Kitchen Rules - as well as other expert home chefs from Harrow, Coventry, Dhaka, and Kolkata.