Customers praised the service and flavourful food at Clay Oven Takeaway in Whalebone Lane South
A family-run Dagenham business has won a top prize at national curry awards ceremony.
Clay Oven Takeaway in Whalebone Lane South won ‘Best Takeaway of the Year’ at the Curry Life Awards 2026, with customers praising the service and flavourful food.
More than 500 guests gathered in London last month for the 17th edition of the awards, hosted by BBC presenters and journalists Jon Kay and Luxmy Gopal.
The evening brought together British Asian entrepreneurs and professionals from across the hospitality industry to celebrate the best of the curry sector and highlight its excellence, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Addressing the audience in an impassioned speech, Dawn Butler MP described the British curry industry as “an extraordinary success for the UK” and urged support for its businesses: “We have to make sure that you survive.”
A total of 41 awards were presented, after thousands of customers cast their votes for their favourite restaurants, takeaways and chefs before judges went through a rigorous selection process to choose the shortlist and the winners.
Against that national backdrop, Clay Oven Takeaway’s award recognises 18 years of the family-run business serving customers in Dagenham.
Owner Millul Chowdhury established Clay Oven after running a restaurant. Today, his sons and other family members work alongside him, while Millul remains hands-on in the kitchen, blending his own spices and passing on the knowledge he has gained during his years in the industry.
Fresh ingredients and careful preparation are central to the food, while the menu is revisited twice a year.
The current menu describes it as fairly hot, giving customers something with plenty of flavour and heat beyond the more familiar favourites.
“The jalfrezi dishes and chicken tikka masala are very popular,” said Millul. Another highlight is the rajeshwari, one of Clay Oven’s signature dishes, which combines chicken tikka with tomatoes, chutney, green chillies and garlic.
Winning best takeaway “feels really good” adds Millul, who shares the recognition with his sons, wider family and team, as well as the customers who have supported Clay Oven over the years.
Organised by Curry Life magazine, part of Curry Life Media Group, the Curry Life Awards honour professionals and business leaders in the curry industry who have demonstrated exceptional performance, achievement and culinary excellence.
The British curry industry boasts a turnover exceeding £4billion annually. The UK’s more than 10,000 curry restaurants and takeaways are mostly small and medium-sized businesses, many of them family-run, making an important contribution to local economies, employment and communities across the country.
Curry Life editor Syed Belal Ahmed said: “The UK’s curry industry features some of the country’s most inspiring businesspeople and restaurateurs. We are delighted to give them a national platform from which to shout about their hard-won achievements so that they can continue to thrive. The British curry industry has once again done itself proud.”
