Congratulations to Duet Cuisine, winners of the Best Birmingham
Balti Competition 2011!

Following a rigorous application procedure, six of the city's finest Balti establishments came together for a fiercely-contested cook-off, to find out just whose balti is the best in Birmingham - and a panel of top judges unanimously selected Duet Cuisine, based in Fort Dunlop, as the worthy winners.

Established last year as part of Birmingham City Council's £1m Tornado Recovery Programme for the Balti Triangle in Sparkbrook, and hosted by University College Birmingham, the brief was to come up with an Asian dish that reflects the best of Birmingham, its people, its culture and its history – and that tastes delicious! The competition was a great showcase for restaurants to display their flair and creativity, and on the day the restaurants really rose to the challenge.

A panel which included top food experts had the tough challenge of judging the contest and selecting the winner. Luke Tipping, Executive Chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant Simpsons, said: "There were some great dishes created here today, and everyone showed that they deserved to be in the final. In the end though, Duet Cuisine came up with their delicious Beef Bhurban recipe, which had wonderful textures and flavours – their passion for their food was clear to see."

Fellow judge Aktar Islam, Chef Director of Lasan restaurant and recently seen as the triumphant winner of Gordon Ramsey's F-word competition, said: "Duet Cuisine used good, basic ingredients, kept it simple and natural and then built on that with skill and flair – worthy winners".

Abid Hussain of Duet Cuisine said: "We're honoured to have been judged Birmingham's best balti – we pride ourselves on using the best fresh, natural ingredients to create honest, authentic food. Our Fort Dunlop restaurant is unique: our dual kitchen concept means that customers can order from either an Indian or Italian menu and have their meals served at the same time as their companions."

Cllr Timothy Huxtable, Cabinet Member for Transportation and Regeneration said:
"Congratulations to Duet Cuisine on their well-deserved victory. The sheer quality of the food on display today though demonstrated that the ultimate winners are Birmingham's diners, who have such an excellent range of restaurants to choose from, not just in the Balti Triangle but across the city."

The Council will now explore opportunities to use the winner as an official supplier of Asian food for civic functions.

For more information on Duet Cuisine go to: www.duetcuisine.co.uk

 

 

VIDEO - Judges Aktar Islam & Luke Tipping discussing what the Best Balti competion means to Birmingham and its restaurants.