Kochi chef wins House of Commons prize

A chef who cooks delicious Kochi-style fish dishes has so impressed MPs in the House of Commons that they awarded his Cardiff-based Indian restaurant the Tiffin Cup for this year.

Chef Anand George's Mint and Mustard restaurant which polled the maximum votes among MPs for the annual award for south Asian cuisine instituted in 2005.

Anand George wowed celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott and MPs from around the country with his pan fried sea-bass.

After being nominated by Cardiff North MP, Julie Morgan, George faced competition with nine other chefs at Bellamy's Restaurant in Westminster last week. After a tense final, his fish dish won the day.

George said: "I'm very proud to be rewarded for all the hard work that I've put in. All my family and friends were celebrating that I've won.

"I always had a dream to do something on my own and open my own restaurant and that's what I have done. Business is very promising at the moment." He honed his culinary skills at five-star hotels in India before moving to London. The inspiration for his fish dishes came from his upbringing in Kochi, the centre of the spice trade since the fourteenth century.

"Where I come from the focus is on very light sauces that are not too overpowering. I have changed it slightly to make it appealing to British tastes," he said.

Morgan said she was delighted a restaurant in her constituency had won the national competition.

She said: "This wonderful triumph is great news for Cardiff's culinary culture and a testament to Mint and Mustard's refreshing and innovative take on Indian cuisine.

"I am sure the Tiffin Cup award will make Anand's wonderful restaurant the hottest place to eat in Cardiff."

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