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The
Journal Review
August 2005, Food review reprinted courtesy
of The Journal Magazine, CIN,Pictures:
Gordon Watt, CIN
Recipe for success.
Mango Tree has just been placed among the best ethnic
restaurants in the country. Michelle Russell pays a
visit.
The
best lobster in the Midlands!' writes one diner as he
scrawls in the comments book before leaving the restaurant,
satisfied his meal will be one to remember. Mango Tree
surprises me. It was started up by four people who had
no knowledge or experience in the restaurant industry,
yet within two years the restaurant has scooped four
awards, three of those won this year. The first was
the Staffordshire Good Food Award for Best Ethnic Restaurant
of the Year 2004. The remaining three were for the Best
of Britain Awards for Ethnic Restaurants 2005, for which
they won Wine List of the Year category, were a finalist
in Seafood Recipe of the Year and were voted into the
Top Thirty of the Best Ethnic Restaurants in the UK
- all organised by Menu Magazine. The award ceremony
was held at The National Theatre on London's South Bank
and owner Raj Ram was there to pick up their accolades.
"The awards are a recognition of all the hard work we
have done and a testament to the different dining experience
and standards we give," he told The Journal. "We are
only in our second year in business and we were up against
the best in the industry.
We worked really hard for this." Raj opened the restaurant
with his wife Sangeeta and in-laws George and Anita
Kattapuram, and from the start they knew what they wanted.
"We all used to eat out quite regularly and we knew
what we liked and what we didn't. We have tried every
dish on the menu, so we can recommend and serve with
confidence." And, when you know that the restaurant
has a chef who has worked closely with Keith Floyd,
it's unsurprising they were finalists for the Seafood
Recipe of the Year award. "We submitted a dish which
had to be seafood-based, quite innovative, but simple
to make," Raj explained. The chosen dish was Allepey
King Prawn Curry - king prawns, cooked in a sauce of
raw mango, with fresh coconut, coriander and pepper.
And it seems it was these ingredients that impressed
the judges most. "They said they liked the raw mango
and fresh coconut combination as it was unusual, but
it worked really well." As one of only a few restaurants
in the West Midlands serving South Indian cuisine, Mango
Tree prides itself on its innovative menu which places
a large emphasis on coastal seafood dishes. Raj also
believes wine plays a central part in the whole dining
experience, which is clearly reflected in their award
for Wine List of the Year. "Some people think wine doesn't
complement Indian food but we've worked closely with
our suppliers. We get a lot of discerning diners who
like their wine, too, so it's important we get it right,"
Raj smiles. "There is so much competition, people don't
just come to eat, they come for a night out, and we
want the whole experience to be right for them. "We
have a very good team here and we offer something different,
something authentic, so the awards are very important
to us - it's important that we keep flying the flag
for the Midlands."
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