Prime Minister David Cameron presented a Special Recognition accolade to Aagrah restaurant boss Mohammed Aslam at the ‘Curry Oscars’ in London.

The family-owned Aagrah business was set up 36 years ago in Shipley and now has 16 branches in Yorkshire, employing just under 500 staff.

The award acknowledges his contributions to services to the curry industry.

The 2,000 strong audience gave a standing ovation to Mr Aslam, managing director of Aagrah Restaurants.

Aagrah Restaurants are regarded as pioneers of the Kashmiri cuisine and Mr Aslam, who has already received an MBE for his work, has made it his mission to promote Kashmiri cuisine to be recognised as a cuisine in its own right.

He has worked with schools, colleges and other organisations like The Prince’s Trust and Mosaic to help inspire young people into a career of their choice and in particular in hospitality, producing training manuals and recipe books.