INNOVATIVE: Celebrating their Asian Curry Awards success are Abigail Tatchley, Josh Verdon, Zak Ahmed and Rhys Keeling
INNOVATIVE: Celebrating their Asian Curry Awards success are Abigail Tatchley, Josh Verdon, Zak Ahmed and Rhys Keeling

A BARNARD Castle restaurant has tasted success in a major industry awards scheme.
Babul's, in Market Place, was judged best innovative restaurant in the north of England at the Asian Curry Awards.
The popular eatery received the award for its efforts throughout the pandemic while undergoing a major rebranding at the same time.
Zak Ahmend, of Babul’s, said: “We've worked hard to make sure our new brand is innovative this year.
“We transformed the restaurant into a modern Indian street food eatery and have done our best to bring exciting new ideas to our customers and community.
“We wouldn’t still be here at the end of 2020 during this pandemic without these new ideas. It is an honour to be recognised for our achievements.”
During the first Covid-19 lockdown, the restaurant also provided thousands of free meals to key workers across the dale.
Asian Curry Awards founder, Yawar Khan, said despite the industry being rocked by the pandemic, there was much to celebrate as restaurants across the country had adapted the way they did business.