Bradford voted Curry Capital of Britain 2013, third time in a row

Bradford had first won the Curry Capital award in 2004, making it go neck to neck with Glasgow which too has been crowned the curry capital for four times.

On a score of 100, Bradford won 83.6 points and narrowly beat Glasgow (81.3) to win the title. Wolverhampton was voted third with 71.7 points.

The city of Bradford, which has one of the highest percentages of South Asian settlement in the UK, is home to several award-winning curry restaurants in the country. It was the runner-up in 2003 and 2010.

The group of restaurants chosen from the city to represent Bradford in the 2013 competition included Akbars, Kiplings, Omar Khans and Shimla Spice.

Bradford offers a variety of Asian cuisine including Kashmiri, Mughal, Balti, Punjabi and Tandoori cuisines to celebrate Asian cooking, according to Khadim Hussain, the Lord Mayor of Bradford.

The Curry Capital award, now in its 11th year, is organised by the Federation of Specialist Restaurants and Peter Grove, the organiser of National Curry Week in October every year.

22 UK areas participated in the 2013 annual curry capital competition including London East, London North, London South, London West, and London Central. It also included Birmingham, Leicester, Cardiff, Bradford, Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Leeds, Wolverhampton, Nottingham, and Northampton.

For the first time, two new cities -- Brighton and Oxford – also entered the competition.

Curry Capital of Britain winners

2013 - Bradford 2012 - Bradford 2011 - Bradford 2010 - Glasgow 2007 - Leicester 2006 - Glasgow 2005 - Birmingham 2004 - Bradford 2003 - Glasgow 2002 - Glasgow 2001 - West London

The curry capital is chosen by a combination of public votes and expert judges’ remarks. Each competing city has to demonstrate the importance of curry to its community as part of the contest.

According to the curry awards organisers, Indian cuisine is an integral part of British food culture with curry being a national cuisine in the UK today. Britain’s curry industry was worth £3.6bn a year in 2012.

“The Curry Capital of Britain Awards help to demonstrate the talent, passion and enterprise of all those involved in the British Indian food industry as well as highlighting the richness and cultural diversity of Britain’s cities,” according to the organisers.

From the London areas, only West London has been crowned the Curry Capital of Britain in 2001.

The Curry Capital 2013 trophy will be presented to Bradford on Thames curry cruise on Sunday, 27th October.