Sanjay Anand, of Indian restaurant Madhu’s, has been awarded an MBE, in the Queen's birthday honours list, for services to the hospitality industry. Sanjay Anand’s contribution to the £3.2billion Indian restaurant industry* has continuously been recognised by the array of industry accolades he has collected throughout his career. His previous accolades include being the winner of ‘Best UK Restaurant’ at The 2004 Cobra Good Curry Guide Awards, being nominated at the 2005 Tio Pepe ITV London Restaurant Awards in the ‘Indian Restaurant of the Year’ category, winning a Best In Britain Award for being ‘best’ in the restaurant category, winning ‘Industry Personality of the Year’ at the 2004 BIBA Awards, in association with The Real Curry Restaurant Guide and more recently Sanjay won the Best Outside Caterer Award at 2007 Cobra Good Curry Guide Awards.

Sanjay Anand, in speaking about collecting the MBE says: “I am thrilled to have received this coveted award. It is a great honour since it is a huge accolade for the hospitality industry. Considering our humble beginnings never did we anticipate this type of recognition for our work. It is truly rewarding to see the fruits of our labour recognised in such an honorary way.”

Sanjay started the business as a 17 year-old Punjabi who enlisted his mother as head chef in the 36-seat restaurant. Today, Madhu’s in Middlesex is a two level restaurant that attracts gourmet diners and celebrities from across London.

With forefathers originally from India , in the 1930s Sanjay’s grandparents moved to Nairobi , North Kenya, to set up their family empire. ‘The Brilliant Hotel’ was where Sanjay’s late father made his name with his exceptional and unmatchable cooking talent. With Kenyan political unrest in the 1970s, the Anand’s moved to the UK and with this move, the empire followed. Madhu’s Brilliant restaurant opened on the 28th November 1980, with the aid of Sanjay, aged 17 and his brother Sanjeev, 16. The rest as they say is history.

In the first four years of the restaurant opening, the clientele was mostly Asian, however after Madhu’s received countless awards and positive reviews, including Timeout and The Good Food Guide, many non-Asians now dine at the fine restaurant. The Indian Hyatt trained chefs cook some of the Anand signature dishes, Punjabi cuisine with a unique Kenyan Asian twist.

Following a disastrous fire in 2002, Sanjay refurbished the restaurant with a chic new style that now includes a calming water feature underneath the glass floor at the entrance, black granite features, modern high chairs and polished floorboards. Moving from strength to strength, Madhu’s is established in the catering industry as the top UK Asian outside caterer.

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