The UK is home to some of the finest South Asian cuisine in the world, and the Vale of Glamorgan is no exception. I have been asked by the Parliamentary Tiffin Club to nominate the most popular curry restaurant in the Vale of Glamorgan to compete with restaurants across the country for the prestigious Tiffin Cup. To make my nomination this year I need your help determine the most popular British Indian, Bangladeshi or Pakistani eatery here in the Vale.
I have launched a survey which will run until April 1st. Please visit: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SHMH5JQ and vote for your favourite. Once your votes are in, I will make my nomination and cross my fingers that they are short-listed for the special cook-in at Westminster where the winner will be announced.
Previous winners include the Purple Poppadom in neighbouring Cardiff West who, with their contemporary take on Indian cuisine, wowed judges in 2014. I put my faith in your judgement to gain the Vale a victory in 2017, and demonstrate that the quality cuisine here is no lesser than in Cardiff.
Despite being less multi-cultural than the Welsh capital, we punch above our weight in curry here in the Vale. There are truly excellent restaurants bringing spice-induced happiness in Barry, Dinas Powys, Rhoose and Cowbridge. This is our chance to celebrate what they do and the positive impact on our well-being.
In Britain we know that there is no food quite as readily enjoyable as an Indian, with the cuisine accounting for two thirds of all eating out nationwide. We can be proud too, that so much of the South Asian cuisine we enjoy has been developed here in Britain.
We have enjoyed aspects of Indian food since the days of the Raj, with kedgeree, chutney and Mulligatawny soup all entering the British cuisine in the 18th Century. The lust for curry that is such a part our national character also developed at the same time. Britons would eat curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner in India and, back home, no dinner would be complete without a curry dish. The first curry house in the UK opened in 1809, and with post-colonial migration following the Second World War, the availability of curry became much wider still.
So I entreat you to help me to celebrate the Vale’s contribution to this national love affair, by sitting back, thinking of the best curry you have had here and voting at: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SHMH5JQ