Burnham restaurant is 'very thrilled' after first curry award win in 20 years

A Burnham eatery has been crowned Best Indian Restaurant in South Bucks at a major awards ceremony honouring the finest curry houses in the UK.

Peppers Finest Indian Cuisine, in High Street, took home the impressive title at the Euro Asia Curry Awards 2025.

The annual event celebrates excellence across the UK’s £3.5 billion curry industry, with awards recognising top restaurants, takeaways, newcomers and chefs.

Mintu Hussain, who opened the restaurant in 1998 with his uncle and has been the sole owner since 2015, said: "I feel proud of myself but especially of my hardworking team.

“At Peppers, we pride ourselves on delivering truly authentic Indian flavours using traditional cooking methods and fresh ingredients.

“Our customers have been incredibly supportive. We have received lots of kind reviews and personal messages saying how much they enjoy the food and atmosphere.”

More than 450 establishments and individuals from across the country entered the contest, with around 50 winners announced in both regional and national categories.

This year’s ceremony was held on Monday, October 27, at the ILEC Conference Centre in West Brompton, London.

Peppers was previously named a winner in a local South Bucks curry awards and a regional winner in the National Curry Awards, and this is the restaurant’s first award nomination since 2001.

Mintu said he felt ‘very honoured and happy’ about another award win, two decades on, and says he will ‘definitely’ apply to more competitions in the future.

“I felt motivated to apply due to the positive customer feedback I’ve been receiving,” the 47-year-old added.

“It will make the restaurant appear more appealing to customers.”

After winning at the Euro Asia Curry Awards, Mintu said his staff were ‘very thrilled’ and shared a ‘delightful’ meal.

The Burnham resident has always been in the catering business, having worked at other companies before opening Peppers, which serves a mixture of Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine.

Judges tried three dishes from Peppers across different spice levels and meats, and Mintu previously said he is constantly researching new dishes to ‘keep up’ with other establishments.

The Euro Asia Curry Awards were founded nine years ago by Bangladeshi chef and businessman Shorif Khan.

Mr Khan said: “It was wonderful to be back again this year to celebrate the fantastic businesses and people that make the UK curry industry as loved as it is.

 “Despite the long-term impacts of the pandemic and rising costs, these restaurants and takeaways continue to offer incredible food, service and value.

“What’s also very encouraging is that we’ve seen a lot of new openings in the past 12 months, many of which have been honoured at this year’s awards.”

For more information about the awards, visit euroasiacurryaward.com.