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Four awards
were announced at the event, which included the BCA Honour Award,
Meritorious Student Award, BCA Gold Caterer of the Year and the BCA
Silver Caterer of the Year. Some of the winners who scooped top
honours included Dr Kabita Izdihar Mahtab, who was one of the award
winners for the Meritorious Student Award for obtaining a Post
Graduate degree in Medicinal Science from Newcastle Upon Tyne
University; Mr A Rahim - the mentor of the new image of the BCA - one
of eleven award winners for the BCA Honour Award; Jehangir Haque of
Fetcham Tandoori Restaurant, Surrey was one of the award winners for
the BCA Silver Caterer of the Year for his remarkable track record on
community services and charity; and young and successful restaurateur
Hellal Malik of The Star of Surrey was one of the five winners for
the BCA Gold Caterer of the Year award.
An exciting
charity raffle prize draw also took place with giveaways including
return flights to Dhaka, Bangladesh, return flights to New York, a
high tech lap top and PC desktop unit and a camera to name but a few.
Over £1100 was raised from raffle with proceeds going to the
Friends of the Centre of Rehabilitation of the Paralysed in
Bangladesh (FCRP).
The Bangladesh
Caterers' Night 2006 represented the largest, annual congregation of
Bangladeshi restaurateurs, who attended to meet and exchange views
with other fellow restaurateurs concerning their personal success
stories, future policies affecting curry business, and to meet
high-level Government policy makers. An array of dignitaries
including Frank Dobson MP, the Mayor of Tower Hamlets, former
Ministers, High Commissioners, and business magnates attended this
prestigious event. The event was hosted by Channel 5 presenter Tasmin
Lucei Khan, and featured a plethora of entertainment including
singing sensations Sonchary Music Group and eclectic dance routines
from The Dancing Nikita Company.
In speaking
about the event, President of the Bangladesh Caterers Association, UK
Ltd Mahmadur Rashid comments:
"As
President of the Bangladesh Caterers Association, UK Ltd, I am proud
to declare that BCA is for all caterers, to contribute and share
knowledge and experience and to promote the industry and meet the
challenges of the new millennium. We are honoured at this event to
pay tribute to patrons, past and present, and the future of this
association - their children."
Cobra Beer
said it was proud to sponsor the Bangladesh Caterers' Night 2006, and
will always be the first to support the fine work the Bangladesh
Caterers Association does to promote and encourage the thousands of
Bangladeshi-owned restaurants in the UK. Cobra is extremely proud of
its long and close relationship with the restaurant industry and with
the Bangladeshi community, and of the remarkable entrepreneurial
spirit of Bangladeshi restaurateurs. Cobra is truly grateful for all
the support it has received from the Bangladesh Caterers' Association
and the Bangladeshi community, and wishes the Association and its
members every success in the years to come.
The Bangladesh
Caterers Association (BCA), UK Ltd. has been playing a vital role in
promoting a bilateral relation between Bangladesh and Great Britain
since its establishment. The Association says it is now proud to
represent approximately 12,000 Bangladeshi restaurants and takeaways
employing over 85 thousand employees with a turnover of £2.5 billion.
The BCA claims
to have had a profound impact on the recruitment of skilled and
unskilled labourers from Bangladesh and through their knowledge and
work contributed greatly to Great Britain's industrial revolution of
the 1960s. In recent times, the BCA has worked closely with the
British government with the sector-based scheme a programme that was
introduced to recruit unskilled labour from Third World Countries
into the UK's catering industry, renowned for suffering a shortage of
labour. Since restaurateurs of Bangladeshi origin own the majority of
Indian restaurants in the UK, the BCA lobbied to ensure that the pool
of labour was derived from Bangladesh since unskilled labour
originating from non-Subcontinent countries such as European
countries would have time and communication related barriers.
In debating
with the government, the BCA assisted them in the recruitment drive
for the catering industry, recruiting more than 12,000 unskilled
labour from Bangladesh. Subsequently the BCA with the government
administered a nation wide survey targeted at Bangladeshi caterers in
order to gauge how much Bangladeshi restaurateurs benefited from the
sector-based scheme.
Complete
list of winners:
Meritorious
Student Award 2006:
Afsana Rahim, Brent
Kabita Izdihar
Mahtab, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Juned Ali,
Milton Keynes
Sahara Akther, Paddington
Runa Jahan Ara
Rahmat, Surrey
Nabihah Islam, Putney
Mohsin Miah, Kent
Shanaj Khanom, Kent
Auropa Babliy
Ali, Kent
Bushra Yousuf, Eltham
BCA
Honour Award 2006:
A Rahim (award
received by Afsana Rahim, daughter), Brent
A Aziz, London
Mohammed
Motasem Ali, Coventry
W. A Kutub, Birmingham
Wahid Us Samad
Chowdhury, London
Ismail Ali, Camden
Keith Best, London
Tasadduk Ahmed
Mir A Razzaq, Leytonstone
Shirajul Islam
A Kahir
BCA Silver
Caterer of the Year:
Jehangir
Haque, Fetcham
M. Abdul
Hakim, Surrey
Muzahid Ali
Choudhury, Palmers Green
Mamunar
Rahman, Middlesex
Saiful Alam, Herts
BCA Gold
Caterer of the Year:
Haji Kalamdar
Ali, Milton Keynes
Riaz Ali, Kent
Bashir Ahmed
Khan, Aldgate
Hellal Malik, Surrey
Abdul Hai,
Milton Keynes
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