THE owners of a Wilmslow takeaway are smelling the aroma of success after sweeping up at a national award ceremony.

Aroma, in Grove Street, claimed the Takeaway of the Year prize at the Curry Life Awards in London, which celebrated the contribution of the nation’s multi-billion pound curry industry.

The takeaway is run by Muhammad Foysal Ahmed, its chef, with his business partner Syed Shamsul Kabir, who together have more than 30 years of experience in the industry.

Muhammad Foysal said: “We've worked hard to get where we are and it is nice for that to be recognised.

“Takeaways don't always get the recognition they deserve and it's nice to be in the spotlight.”

More than 600 people attended the awards ceremony at the Park Plaza hotel, in Riverbank, on Sunday, October 16.

The star-studded event featured a host of entertainment, and was hosted by BBC presenter Louise Minchin, who was herself a finalist of Masterchef in July.

Priti Patel, Conservative MP for Witham and secretary of state for international development, was chief guest at the awards.

“The Curry Life Annual Awards ceremony is a great opportunity to celebrate the enormous talent that is on display around the country, and the success of the Great British curry,” she said.

Other guests included MPs, councillors and Lord Karan Bilimoria, chairman and founder of Cobra Beer, who said he was “in awe of what the chefs do” in producing “some of the most exotic food in the world at the cheapest prices”.

Syed Belal Ahmed, editor of Curry Life magazine which organised the event, said: “Indian food has improved dramatically during the past 20 years to the extent that we are now seeing Michelin stars being awarded.

“That's a wonderful achievement and we want our chefs to keep raising the bar because the curry made in this country is unique and has developed independently of its birthplace on the Indian subcontinent.”