Winning Suffolk BME Business of the Year provided an Indian restaurant with local recognition it had never had before, the co-owner has said.

Montaz restaurant in Old Station Road, Newmarket, received the Business of the Year award for Catering in 2019 in recognition of its reputation for high quality food and fresh local produce, offering new and innovative Indian cuisine.

Ziaur Choudhrey, who runs Montaz with his business partner and nephew Golam Mobin, said: “Suffolk generally in terms of restaurants does not get much recognition so the Suffolk business award helps us locally to be recognised and it is obviously a great achievement for us.”

He described the ‘rollercoaster ride’ the restaurant had been on since receiving the award as the COVID-19 pandemic struck soon afterwards, resulting in lockdowns that affected trade.

The Omicron wave impacted the business during the first two quarters of this financial year, although the situation has been improving during the last quarter.

The downside currently is that the hospitality industry is facing rising energy and raw food costs linked to the Russian invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, although Mr Choudhrey said Montaz had received a lot of support locally which was helping the business to weather the storm.

In addition, the staff at the family-run restaurant have been there for a long time, but other restaurants had lost workers from the EU as a result of Brexit.

He added: “It is still a huge struggle for a lot of businesses because a lot of businesses went into debt and that debt is now being recuperated but the prices have doubled or tripled in terms of raw goods and energy so it is a horrible time to be in the hospitality industry.”

But the award is not the only recognition the restaurant has received as in 2021, the business made headlines nationally when the prestigious British Curry Awards, known as the Oscars of Indian cuisine, rewarded Montaz in the East Midlands category.

“The Suffolk BME awards help us to get that little bit of publicity and promotion and remind people that we are still there and doing the best we can and as a restaurant, still trying to achieve those high standards,” Mr Choudhrey added.

Nominations for the Suffolk BME Business Awards 2022 are open until October 16.

To nominate a business or person for any of the categories, you can download a nomination form from www.bscmulticulturalservices.org.uk

Forms must be completed and returned to BSC Multicultural Services, Room 29, 19 Tower Street, IP1 3BE.

An evening of celebration will be held on Tuesday, November 15 at the University of Suffolk's Waterfront Building, from 6.30pm to 9pm.