Management and staff at the Taj Bar and Kitchen are this week mourning the loss of one of the UK’s greatest curry entrepreneurs – who helped the Prestwick Indian restaurant achieve nationwide fame.
Enam Ali MBE died aged 62 after a two-year battle with cancer.
Ali founded the annual British Curry Awards in 2005 which was described as the “Curry Oscars” by former Prime Minister David Cameron.
In 2012, The Taj was named the best restaurant in Scotland at the awards in front of 1,500 industry guests.
The glittering event included a video message from then PM Mr Cameron and a written note from Her Majesty the Queen.
For Taj owner Bobby Singh, it was one of the greatest nights of his life.
He recalled: “The whole family went down to the Battersea Evolution by train and we took four good customers with us.
“Between the 12 of us, we must have spoken to hundreds of people on the night and none of them knew where Prestwick was.
“Enam came to our table and introduced himself to us. He was very charming and pleasant and wished us the best of luck. We enjoyed a seven-course curry banquet and when we were later announced as winners Enam came up to me and gave me a big hug.
“Despite his great stature within the industry, he was very down to earth and humble.
“That night we celebrated with champagne and malt whisky – and we carried on celebrating on the train all the way home.
“I’m very sad he has passed away but I hope he is at peace now. I’ll never forget the kindness he showed me and my family.”
Bobby’s son, Perry, has since taken over the day-to-day operations at The Taj and still works closely with his father and mum, Deisho.
He was with the family at the British Curry Awards and remembers Ali with great affection.
“It came as a great shock to hear he had passed away because he was such a lovely guy," said Perry.
"There was no doubt that this was his show but he treated us and everybody else with the greatest of respect.”
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