British Kebab Awards

The British Kebab Awards are an annual event to celebrate local kebab restaurants across the UK. The awards were founded by Ibrahim Dogus, an entrepreneur, restaurateur and founder of the Centre for Turkey Studies (CEFTUS), in 2013.

The British Kebab Awards 2019

Since their creation, the awards have attracted politicians from different political parties to network and present awards,[1] including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Sadiq Khan MP in 2016.[2][3][4] The awards are sponsored by internet fast food delivery provider Just Eat, and have attracted significant attention in both traditional and social media, being dubbed the KeBAFTAs by fans on Twitter.[5]

Founder Ibrahim Dogus is a former waiter, owner of Troia restaurant in Waterloo, London, and the son of Kurdish refugees from Turkey who arrived in the UK in 1994. Dogus became a community activist in the early 2000s, and was shot while trying to combat drug crime in Hackney, where he lived.[6]

Ibrahim Dogus with a sample of his beer for drinking with kebabs at Troia restaurant, Waterloo

The British Kebab Awards are organised by Dogus' thinktank, CEFTUS, whose aim is to 'build bridges between Turkey and the UK, and between Turkish, Kurdish and Cypriot communities.'[7] The 2017 awards were held at London's Westminster Park Plaza Hotel in February 2017.[8]

In 2016, Dogus announced a business venture to create the first beer made for drinking with kebabs, Bira London.[9] Dogus stated in the programme to the 2017 British Kebab Awards that he believes that the uncertainty caused by Brexit will create economic problems for small businesses.[10] In comments at the 2017 awards, Dogus paid tribute to "the places around the world which many of us feel an affinity with (that) have been struck by violence".[11]

The 2019 awards were held on March 18 in London.[12] Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn attended the 2019 awards, giving a speech in which he said that he liked kebab shops, despite being a vegetarian. "I love having a falafal wrap in a kebab shop", he revealed.[13] Other political guests included Conservative mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey, Angela Rayner, Bob Seely and Mark Francois.[14] The Mirror noted that the awards ceremony has "become a popular event on the Westminster calendar".[15]

References
  1. "I Went to the British Kebab Awards - VICE". Vice. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  2. "Vegetarian Jeremy Corbyn attends British Kebab Awards as he calls on nation to eat salad with them". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  3. "Entrepreneurs: The kebab king who has being an MP on his menu too". Evening Standard. 2016-06-13. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  4. "Typical Vegetarian Jeremy Corbyn Attends British Kebab Awards To Brag About Being Vegetarian". The Huffington Post. 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  5. "The British Kebab Awards is the event we all need right now". The Irish News. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  6. "Entrepreneurs: The kebab king who has being an MP on his menu too". Evening Standard. 2016-06-13. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  7. "British Kebab Awards 2017". British Kebab Awards. Archived from the original on 2017-02-27. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  8. Binns, Simon (2017-02-13). "Manchester restaurants nominated for British Kebab Awards". men. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  9. "World's first beer for kebab dishes introduced in London". DailySabah. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  10. "Brexit uncertainty a threat to small firms, warns British Kebab Awards founder - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  11. "Brexit uncertainty a threat to small firms, warns British Kebab Awards founder - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  12. Loney, Gillian (2019-02-26). "Two Glasgow restaurants are in the running for best kebab in Scotland". glasgowlive. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
  13. "Jeremy Corbyn reveals all at the British Kebab Awards". Coffee House. 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  14. "The Londoner: Corbyn skewers foes at kebab do". Evening Standard. 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  15. Smith, Mikey (2019-03-18). "Jeremy Corbyn admits he love kebab shops despite being vegetarian". mirror. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
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