A curry chef from Watford got a tasty surprise when he was shortlisted for a national award.

Mihad Rahman, who is head chef at the Indian Sizzler, in Longspring, Watford, will attend a gala event in London this autumn to find out if he will be crowned the king of curries at the 2017 Curry Life Awards.

He said: “It’s lovely to get shortlisted for a national honour like this. I don’t get out of the kitchen much so look forward to sitting back and being served myself for a change.

“It’s a team effort at the end of the day so this is a reflection on the whole team’s work. We’re a big family and will celebrate like one.”

Founder of the Indian Sizzler, Mohammed Atikur Rahman, added: “We were stunned when the judges from the Curry Life magazine turned up at the restaurant and told us that we’d been shortlisted for the 2017 awards in the best chef category.

“They were meticulous in their assessment of the restaurant, speaking to the staff, visiting the kitchen, watching the food being freshly prepared and, of course, sampling the menu as well.

“Learning that we had been nominated for the award by our customers was especially wonderful. We’re all delighted that our customers have enjoyed themselves so much that they wanted to nominate us for the Curry Life award.”

The annual Curry Life Awards are a celebration of Anglo-Indian cuisine and its most innovative chefs.

Diners from across the country nominate their favourite chef and restaurant in the annual awards ceremony presented by Curry Life magazine in association with the takeaway food ordering app Just Eat.

This year’s ceremony of Curry Life Awards will be hosted by journalist and broadcaster Jon Snow at the Royal Lancaster Hotel London on Sunday, October 22.

The chefs also get the opportunity to showcase their talents at the Taste of Britain Curry Festival, which travels abroad every year taking the delights of the UK’s unique version of British curry cuisine to diners in countries as far afield as India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The awards and festival are organised and hosted by Curry Life magazine, whose Editor Syed Belal Ahmed said: “The UK’s curry chefs serve up millions of meals a year and still find the time to innovate and create new dishes.

“The industry is going through some tough times but creatively it’s never been stronger and is comfortably holding its own against other cuisines.”