They’ve all doner good! Winners are announced in the British Kebab Awards (with vegetarian Jeremy Corbyn among the hundreds at the gala dinner)

• The 7th British Kebab Awards took place in the ballroom of the Park Plaza Hotel
• In attendance were more than 1,200 guests including more than 110 politicians 
• Thousands of members of the public had voted for 5,000 local restaurants 

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The kings and queens of the kebab industry were crowned tonight at a glittering ceremony to celebrate their £2.8billion contribution to the British economy.

The 7th British Kebab Awards, presented by BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills, took place in the ballroom of the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in front of more than 1,200 guests including more than 110 MPs and members of the House of Lords.

Labour Party leader and vegetarian, Jeremy Corbyn, attended and addressed the event, to a mixture of boos and cheers – and revealed his love for falafel. 

Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party leader delivers a prize during the British Kebab Awards

Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party leader during his speech at the British Kebab Awards

Just Eat Best Delivery Winner, Batman Grill in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex 

The prestigious event brings together MPs and other celebrities to celebrate growth, popularity and success of the kebab industry in Britain 

Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party leader and vegetarian, arrives at the British Kebab Awards

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He added: ‘Its strange really. As one who chooses not to eat meat and chooses not to drink… I love kebab shops. I love what they do!’ 

Research in support of the event showed that 44% of Labour remainer respondents had eaten a kebab in the month prior, compared to 25% of Conservative respondents.    

Winners took to the stage triumphing in 16 categories, ranging from Chef of the Year, to Fine Dining, to Kebab Van of the Year, as well as eight regional awards for the best kebab restaurants across the UK.

The crowd was also entertained by live music and belly dancers.  

Among the winners was Uni Kebab, of Southampton after receiving the prize for customer satisfaction

A dancer is seen entertaining at the British Kebab Awards, accompanied by musicians

Corbyn addressed the event, to a mixture of boos and cheers – and revealed his love for falafel

Among the winners was Uni Kebab, of Southampton, after receiving the prize for customer satisfaction. 

Tens of thousands of members of the public had voted for more than 5,000 local restaurants and takeaways in the competition, around one in four of the estimated 20,000 throughout the UK.

The winners were taken from a shortlist of 155 entries judged by a panel including Labour MP Jonathan Reynolds; Assistant General Secretary of Unite, Steve Turner; Chief Political Correspondent of the Financial Times, Jim Pickard; and Cobra Beer Sales Director, Samson Sohail.

The annual event is the only one to recognise the contribution made by the kebab industry to the British economy – worth more than £2.8 billion a year, supporting around 200,000 jobs across restaurants, suppliers and the food industry.

Jeremy Corbyn and wife Laura among other guests stand for a minute silence in light of the New Zealand attacks  

The winners were taken from a shortlist of 155 entries judged by a panel including Labour MP Jonathan Reynolds. Jeremy Corbyn is pictured with guests at the Park Plaza Hotel 

The UK’s first kebab shop, Istanbul Restaurant in Soho, opened during the Second World War and pictures of it feature in the Imperial War Museum.

However, it was not until 1966 that the famous doner kebab – cooked on a vertical spit – first appeared with the opening of the Hodja Nasreddin Kebab House by Çetin Bukey and Kojay Hüsey in in North London’s Newington Green.

The British Kebab Awards were established in 2003 by Lambeth restaurateur Ibrahim Dogus to help celebrate the unsung achievements of the kebab restaurant and takeaway industries.

He said: ‘The kebab is an unsung cornerstone of high streets across the country, and the simply superb quality of this year’s entries shows that British small businesses can more than compete on a world stage of cuisine. 

Skewd Kitchen in Barnet, North London won the award for being the best fine dining restaurant

Addressing the crowd, Jeremy Corbyn said: ‘Its strange really. As one who chooses not to eat meat and chooses not to drink… I love kebab shops. I love what they do!’

‘What is also just as important is that we must not let Brexit hinder the UK’s flourishing restaurant and takeaway industries, which employ so many people often from migrant backgrounds.’

He added: ‘Immigrants work hard, pay their taxes and make a net contribution to the UK economy. It’s not where you are from, but what you bring that matters. Immigrants put the Great into Great Britain’. 

Graham Corfield, UK Managing Director of awards sponsor Just Eat, said: ‘There are so many brilliant finalists in this year’s 16 categories, all of which have been nominated due to their significant contribution to the industry. 

‘It’s incredibly important to celebrate the thousands of kebab restaurants across the UK and we’re delighted that we’re able to sponsor the British Kebab Awards for another year.’ 

Chaska in Enniskillen, Fermanagh was voted the best kebab restaurant in the north of Ireland 

Jeremy Corbyn taking his seat at the event which was hosted by BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills

Every day, more than 1.3m kebabs are sold across Britain from over 20,000 kebab outlets selling 2,500 tonnes of lamb and chicken doner each week, while 200 doner kebab manufacturers see a combined turnover in excess of £750m.

When it comes to the kebab itself, the iconic doner remains king with 41% choosing it as their favourite, followed by shish (18%) and kofte (5%). 

For fillings, lamb comes out on top (33%) followed by chicken (28%), beef (9%) and vegetarian (4%.) 

This year the awards raised money for the bone and soft tissue cancer charity Sarcoma UK.

List of Britain’s best kebab houses  revealed – is YOUR local on the list? 

Just Eat Best Delivery

Winner: Batman Grill – 147 Battle Road, St Leonards-on-Sea

Highly Recommended: Wallington Express – 119 Stafford Road, Wallington

Customer Satisfaction

Winner: Uni Kebab – 190 Burgess Road, Southampton

Best Value Restaurant

Winner: Veyso’s Romford – 19 Clockhouse Lane, Romford

Highly Recommended: Ruyam – 230 Commercial Road, London

Fine Dining Restaurant

Winner: Skewd Kitchen – 12 Cockfosters Parade, Barnet

Best Kebab Restaurant in North and West London

Winner: Testi Restaurant – 38 Stoke Newington High Street, London

Best Kebab Restaurant in South and East London

Winner: Lara Grill – 20 Whalebone Lane South, London

Best Kebab Restaurant Regional

Winner: Alim-Et Restaurant – 753 London Road, East Malling

Highly Recommended: Turknaz Restaurant – North Parade, Whitley Bay

Best Takeaway in London

Winner: Archway Kebab – 26 Junction Road, London

Best Takeaway Regional

Winner: Master Kebabs – 20 Park Parade, London

Kebab Van of the Year

Winner: Ahmed’s Bar-B-Q – 90 High Street, Oxford

Best Newcomer Restaurant

Winner: Doner & Gyros Aylesbury – 75 Buckingham Street, Aylesbury

Highly Recommended: Usta – 249 Kilburn High Road, London

Highly Recommended: Antep Kitchen Oxford – 228 Cowley Road, Oxford

Best Kebab House in Scotland

Winner: Ada Restaurant – 9/3 Antigua Street, Edinburgh

Highly Recommended: Verdo BBQ Restaurant – 21 Newington Road, Edinburgh

Best Kebab House in Northern Ireland

Winner: Chaska Enniskillen – 14 Forthill Street, Enniskillen

Best Kebab House in Wales

Winner: Golden BBQ – 112 Caerphilly Rd, Cardiff

Winner: Wales Kebab – 7 Thomas St, Abertridwr

Chef of the Year

Winner: Ahmet Kabayel / Pircio – Drill Hall, Bishop’s Stortford

Young Chef of the Year

Winner: Bekzod Khamrakulov / Hazev – 2 South Quay Square, London

Sustainability Award

Winner: I Am Doner – 23 Otley Road, Leeds

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