Mad Turk kebab restaurant finalist in competition
A Stamford kebab restaurant is to fight it out with other businesses across the country in a national competition.
The Mad Turk in Stamford has been unveiled as a finalist in the British Kebab Awards 2018 in the Best Kebab Restaurant Regional category.
Members of the public nominated 5,012 of their favourite kebab shops.
The Mad Turk, which is the number two rated restaurant on the TripAdvisor website will find out if it is a kofte king at an awards ceremony on Monday, March 12 in London.
Ertunch Kazim, owner of the restaurant, said: “We are very excited to work here in Stamford.
“This [getting to the finals]is a big thing. Even if we don’t win it will be a nice evening out for us.
“We are very successful because we cook everything fresh on a daily basis. I think that makes all the difference. A lot of businesses cook things in the microwave.”
The businesses nominated in the competition were whittled down to a shortlist of 153 based on the number of public votes received with bonus points for nominations from MPs and councillors.
The annual event is the only one to recognise the contribution made by the kebab industry to the British economy - worth more than £2.8billion a year, supporting around 200,000 jobs across restaurants, suppliers and the food industry.
This year’s awards will raise money for the bone and soft tissue cancer charity Sarcoma UK.
The winners of the sixth annual awards will be announced after a final round of judging by the British Kebab Awards judges including former Tory chairwoman Baroness Warsi.
Founder of the Kebab Awards Ibrahim Dogus said: “Kebab is fast becoming the nation’s favourite food so it is only right that the superheroes behind this phenomenon are recognised.
“This, the sixth year of the competition, is the toughest. Every British Kebab Award finalist should be congratulated for making it through in our most hotly contested year yet.”
Every day, more than 1.3m kebabs are sold across Britain. The UK’s first kebab shop, Istanbul Restaurant in Soho, opened during the Second World War and pictures of it feature in the Imperial War Museum in London.
There are now over 20,000 kebab outlets in the UK.
