Restaurants and takeaways across the county have been nominated for an esteemed industry award with a star-studded ceremony in London.
After a challenging few years for takeaways and restaurants, the British Kebab Awards are celebrating the best of local kebab shops this February.
The awards are in their eleventh year and have attracted a “huge volume of incredibly high standard entries”.
Run in association with Just Eat and the Kebab Alliance, more than 1,200 guests will descend on the Park Plaza, Westminster Bridge Hotel in February to recognise and champion local kebab takeaways and restaurants across the UK.
A spokesman for the award said: “As a nation we’re proud of our locals. Our local kebab takeaways and restaurants are the beating hearts of our high streets and now, more than ever, kebabs are becoming part of our daily lives.
“From once being seen as a humble late-night snack after a night out in town, they are now enjoying a glow-up and revolution as part of a sit-down meal with family and friends, as a quick healthy lunch or delicious takeaway on the way home from work.”
Brighton-based vegan kebab shop Beelzebab have been nominated for the Best Vegan Kebab. They are the only shortlisted vegan eatery based south of the Thames.
Luke Semlekan-Tansey is the owner of Beelzebab, which has been running for the last eight years.
He said it was nice to be recognised and shortlisted for the award.
He said: "I know our food's good, otherwise we wouldn't have been doing it for so long.
"The kebab is still really popular, but we have lots of other menu items as well."
Luke said he started the business after visiting Berlin, and inspired by the broad vegan selection on offer in the city.
He said: "I thought 'this is sick', why don't we have it in Brighton, or the UK at all?
"They were doing a street food market near me a few years ago, and I got talking to the lady that worked there."
Two weeks later, Luke set up a stall and "It's developed a lot since then."
To him, the kebab is more than something to eat after a night out.
He feels as if Beelzebab is an integral part of not just the kebab scene but the vegan scene in Brighton.
His stall is based in the Hope and Ruin in Brighton, and is themed around a caravan.
When he started the business, it was a "street food thing" and he feels that the caravan theming in the Hope and Ruin takes him back to his roots.
Other Sussex kebab shops shortlisted for the awards include:
- Zeytin, Horham (Best Regional Kebab Restaurant)
- Kambis, Brighton (Best Lebanese Kebab)
- Istanbul Grill, Crawley (Best Regional Takeaway)
- Beelzebab, Brighton (Best Vegan Kebab)
- Fatma Gungor/ Fatma’s Kitchen, Haywards Heath (Chef of the Year)
- Shandiz, Hove (Customer Satisfaction)
- Dem Shish, Eastbourne (Fine Dining)
- Ali Baba, Southwick (Best Delivery)
Among the guests to attend the awards will be Nadhim Zahawi MP, chairman of the Conservative Party. He said: “When I sponsored the first Kebab Awards nearly 13 years ago, I never would have thought it would have turned into such a Westminster fixture.
“These awards are a recognition of a massive industry that contributes so much to communities up and down the country. I'm looking forward to another wonderful evening”
There are currently around 20,000 kebab shops in the UK, with the industry bringing in over £2.8 billion to the British economy. Each day, over 1.5 million kebabs are sold.
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