If you follow Cool As Leicester you’ll be no stranger to just how much we love the city’s curry scene. And now it’s official. Yes, the England Curry Capital competition has returned for the first time since 2016 and Leicester has been crowned as the 2024 winner.
The original UK Curry Capital competition was established by the late Peter Grove, who passed away in 2016. Peter was passionate about Britain’s love for curry and wanted to highlight the culture and cuisine in the UK. The competition ran for 15 years with Bradford the last city to hold the title ‘Curry Capital’, back in 2016. Other winners included Glasgow, Leicester, Birmingham and West London.
Pukaar Group has revived the competition as an online event for English cities. The public vote ran until 31 May 2024 and alongside a judging process, Leicester was triumphant. Over 11,300 people voted in the online poll and via social media, with Leicester gaining 89 per cent of the votes.
Leicester representatives received the award on 18 June at a ceremony at the King Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester, hosted by Pukaar Group. The city will hold the title for two years before other cities can be nominated in 2026 and the public will be asked to vote again.
DID YOU KNOW? Leicester has the highest number of Indian restaurants per capita in the UK, with an average of 47 restaurants per 100,000 people! The city specialises in a wide range of South Asian dishes – with curries hailing from countries like Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, each country having its own unique flavours and cooking techniques. Leicester’s passion for curry is also shown as the host of the annual Leicestershire Curry Awards – an event which is continuing to grow in popularity. The city’s campaign has been backed by popular curry houses in Leicester including Chutney Ivy, Spice of India, Royal Leicester pub restaurant, the Owl and Pussycat and others.
We at Cool As Leicester were proud to also be part of the judging panel for this year’s competition, visiting other destinations to see how Leicester compares.
Romail Gulzar, founder of Pukaar Group and the Leicestershire Curry Awards, and Curry Capital judge said: “It is great for Leicester to be named England’s Curry Capital! The city’s passion for curry, plus the quality and diversity of its dishes is unrivalled, as I’ve seen year after year through the Leicestershire Curry Awards.
“Pukaar is proud to host these awards annually and to shine a light on Leicester’s fine and hardworking curry loving community!”
Mike Denby, Director of Inward Investment and Place Marketing at Visit Leicester said: “This is a fantastic accolade that recognises and celebrates the diversity of the curry available in Leicester. Visit Leicester has shown its pride in our curry offer through the #TasteThePlace campaign, which highlights Indian street food outlets and top curry houses, including a Leicester Curry Diploma to test your knowledge of this popular dish.”
Where is your favourite curry spot in Leicester? Let us know @coolasleicester.