UK's best start-up award goes to Bournemouth's Indian chef Sarah Ali Choudhury of Easy Curry
A CHEF whose work teaching Indian cookery earned her a slot on Channel 4 has seen her business named the UK’s best start-up.
Sarah Ali Choudhury, founder of Easy Curry, sent one of her YouTube videos to a production company and was selected from among 6,000 entries to be part of the TV series My Kitchen Rules.
Since then, her business has boomed and her food columns have appeared as far afield as Malaysia, Singapore, India and Bangladesh.
She collected her New Kid on the Block award from Bake Off host Sue Perkins at the Small Awards in London. The awards recognise the achievements of small businesses across 10 categories.
During her time on Channel 4, Sarah cooked for the likes of Michelin star-awarded restaurateur Michael Caines and food writer Prue Leith.
She has appeared at Britain’s biggest food festivals, where she gives demonstrations on preparing quick Indian curries.
She said: “I am overjoyed and incredibly humbled to have won this award. It has been a very busy but exciting year for me and my business. I am a big fan of Sue Perkins and of course Bake Off, so receiving my award and a hug from her was just a dream come true.
“I have no plans to slow down and will be using this year’s British Beach Polo Championships on the stunning Sandbanks beach, to officially launch my event catering business.”
The judges said Easy Curry had “taken the idea of a kitchen table business to the next level, building a community and social business from an impressively early age”.
They added: “Run by a full time mum and businesswoman, this business delivers both commercially and to its community.”
Sarah started Easy Curry in 2015 to show people how easy it could be to create home-cooked, healthy Indian food.
She makes regular appearances on That’s Solent TV and Channel S TV and was nominated for the Rising Star title at the Bournemouth Tourism Awards this year. She prepares dishes for business events and private dining along the south coast.
The mother-of-four was born in Bournemouth, where her parents owned the New Delhi Restaurant. At 16, she moved to Bridport, where she ran the Taj Mahal Restaurant. At 20, she was recognised as the youngest Asian woman to manage an Indian Restaurant.
Story courtesy of the Daily Echo Bournemouth.