THE Raj Balti House has risen from the ashes of a fire and faithful customers are flocking back to the Skipton eatery.

Young owner Mastab Ali was devastated after his restaurant was damaged five weeks ago, and he had to tell his loyal staff there would be no trade for a while.

The 23-year-old award winning chef and entrepreneur arrived at the scene of the blaze to find his prized business in ruins. He is still convinced it was caused by arsonists, though fire investigators have said it was caused by a cigarette butt.

But Mastab is trying to put the setback behind him and proudly reopened his doors last weekend.

He said: "It has been very hard to get through the last few weeks for the staff and myself.

"But we have all survived for that time and now we are back in business and it's booming.

"I would like to thank all my loyal customers for coming back. We try to cater for a decent clientele, rather than the after-pub scene.

"People work hard all day and then come here for a pleasant meal and nice atmosphere."

Mastab won a Bangladesh Restaurant Association Young Chef of the Year national competition when he was just 20 and now trains all his own cooking staff.

The Keighley Road restaurant has been kitted-out with top quality furnishings and tasteful spot-lighting and the bar area has been completely renovated.

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