TWO Cheshire restaurants were given national acclaim at this year's Asian Restaurant Awards which took place in Manchester this week.

Held at the Hilton Manchester Piccadilly on Monday (June, 27) the prestigious gala dinner, saw Panda Mami joint winner of the Best Buffet award, whilst Golden Park on Chester Road received Best Chinese.

Siam Thai on City Road was also shortlisted for an award in a successful campaign for Chester restaurants.

The event was hosted by BBC news anchor Samantha Simonds and sponsored by Just Eat and Booker Wholesale. More than 500 of the country's leading Asian restaurant owners, chefs and local dignitaries attended the ceremony which celebrates the finest Asian cuisine in the country.

Yawar Khan, Chairman of the Asian Catering Federation (ACF), spoke of the industry's need to: "Adapt and embrace change, or risk becoming just become another statistic, amid widespread restaurant closures, against ever-rising rising costs, with no Government plan to help alleviate the pain being felt through the hospitality sector."

Despite the celebrations, the tone was one of sustaining success. Restaurant consultant George Shaw warned against this year's winners failing to take advantage of their accolades, saying: "I've seen some past winners double their turnover inside two months, after they celebrated their achievement with customers in style, securing coverage on local TV, radio and in newspapers, hitting their marketing database and social media followers and investing wisely in targeted advertising."

Mr Shaw recounted a cautionary tale to the audience of a previous winner of the Asian Curry Awards, also organised by the ACF, that had neglected to make the most of the opportunity through media coverage, social media presence or indeed any recognition of the award on their restaurant website. After the initial recognition of the awards, the business began to lose money, with Shaw asking "is it any wonder?"

Winners from this year's event will be included in the ACF's new One Hundred Top Curry Restaurants guid, which is being published region-by-region at www.Top100curryRestaurants.co.uk, with a printed version to follow next year.