Curry proves to be real hot stuff

If there's been one success story in Shropshire food during the past three years it's been Café Saffron.

Rewind the clock to the end of the last decade and Café Saffron was a jobbing curry house. It was on the beaten track for town centre users, but few outside the centre knew of it. And then something happened.

Shropshire Council launched a Curry Chef of the Year contest. The local authority reasoned that the county had plenty of South East Asian chefs but no vehicle to promote them. It enlisted a group of judges – including your regular correspondent – and hosted a judging at Radbook College, in Shrewsbury.

Dozens of curry houses from across the county took part in the event, including Café Saffron. Chef-patron Abdul Husen wanted to show off his flair and finesse and took the crown, being named the inaugural the county's curry chef of the year. With most winners, that would be that. There'd be the obligatory popping of champagne corks – or Cobra lids – a collective slapping of backs and then a return to quieter times.

Abdul, however, had different ideas.

His success at the awards was simply a springboard to greater things. He developed a taste for competitions and soon entered a series of them; winning a number of national accolades along the way.

Soon, he found himself featured on the pages of trade magazines, as well as local newspapers, and his star began to rise. The people who make TV programmes soon noticed him and he was asked to feature on John Bishop's Britain. Within a year of his initial success, Abdul was cooking to an audience a more than 10 million on prime time Saturday night TV.

The wheel continued to turn and Abdul himself became a local celebrity. He was spotted in banks, people drove from Liverpool and London to eat his food and he was even asked to sign the occasional autograph.

His business started to boom and he extended his Hill's Lane premises, opening a new restaurant to serve an additional 40 customers.

His penchant for awards was undiminished and he submitted his entry for the next Shropshire Council Curry Chef of the Year, where he finished runner up. Last year, his new head chef won the award for a second time and Abdul and his business partner, Mohammed Azad, opened a new restaurant in Baschurch.

He was at it again this year, finishing runner-up.

While it's easy to admire Abdul's chutzpah and marketing skills – other winners have enjoyed 15 minutes of fame and then faded – Abdul has continued to shine. That's all well and good, of course: but in the final analysis, it's not the entrepreneurial flair of local restaurateurs that matters, it's whether or not they can cook decent food and provide service with a smile. I've eaten at Café Saffron on plenty of occasions, though not too often: there are plenty of great curry houses across the region and I'm ever keen to unearth new finds.

I visited with a friend in recent weeks, to enjoy a midweek service at the venue.

It's located in Shrewsbury town centre on the first and second floors of a terraced property. It has been refurbished in recent years. The first floor is light and airy with a contemporary design. It's like Italy-meets-India, with plush fixtures and fittings. The second floor is more in keeping with a traditional curry house. There's no red flock wallpaper, but there are murals on the walls with Café Saffron inscribed.

One of the qualities that does not come under scrutiny in the curry awards is service – and, as far as Café Saffron is concerned, that's a great pity. Because the service at Café Saffron is exemplary. I think that just about every waiter had memorised my name by the time I'd made my third visit to the venue. It's the same for every customer. I suspect Abdul and Azad put their team on a rigorous memorization course before they are given their first job. Their powers of recall are astounding. In the past decade, I've only met one waiter with better powers of recall – a first class chap who plies his trade at the Albright Hussey and who managed to remember details of a conversation three years after a one-off visit.

The staff at Saffron don't fake it. They are quite sincere in their welcome. Hands are proffered and shook, there are enquiries about work and family, about favourite dishes and much more besides. Rockin' up at Saffron is like visiting your local pub, in many ways. They all know your name, they're always glad to see you.

And so to food. My friend and I worked our way through the menu, picking out small sides to start and finished with exceptional mains.A grilled chicken starter got us started. Large chunks of breast meat had been marinated in moderately hot spices and cooked in a tandoor, so that they were seared on the outside and tender within. They were served with a hot, chilli sauce and griddled pieces of green pepper and tomato, which had been dressed with coriander leaves.

The food was simple – and all the better for it.

A sag aloo was similarly good. It was served in a hot skillet and there were overtones of garam masala, turmeric, cumin, garlic and ginger. The balance of flavours was good and the vegetables were cooked through.

All half-decent curry houses have speciality dishes and Café Saffron is no different. On previous occasions, I've eaten Abdul's multi-award-winning Tawa Labra, a marinated chicken dish with ginger, garlic and fresh herbs. That was the dish that started his rise, having won the 2010 curry chef competition.

On this occasion, I opted for his latest award-winner, a chicken capsilla. The capsilla featured roasted honey chicken with chilli and lemon. It was a triumph. The acidity of the lemon was a perfect match for the sweet sugary honey while the chilli gave it body and depth – as well as a little kick.

My friend opted for a chicken jalfrezi, and very pleased with it he was too. It was also served on a hot skillet and was dressed with finely chopped pieces of coriander. The dish was dotted with spicy green chillies, which my friend didn't hesitate to eat. They added an element of daring to his main.

We were feeling particularly hungry and ordered a chicken tikka masala to share. That took the edge of my friend's fiery jalfrezi and provided a wonderful contrast to my capsilla. Chicken tikka masala has overtaken fish and chips as being the nation's best-loved dish – and if all restaurants make them as well as Café Saffron, that's no surprise. It was served in an iron dish and dressed with cream. The crowd-pleasing dish was sweet and tomato-ey. We were delighted with it.

We shared a naan bread and saffron pilao rice with the dishes. The naan was as light and fluffy as a pillow filled with goose down while the saffron rice was beautifully seasoned and enchantingly coloured.

The waiters visited our tables on numerous occasions, refilling our glasses and answering our enquiries about the food. They provided exceptional service.

It's one of the oddities of the restaurant industry that Abdul Husen, for all of his success in competitions and on TV, is not one of the county's best known chefs. Yet he's one of its smartest. Rather than simply basking in moments of fleeting glory, he has put his cachet to good use. He's reinvested in his business, employing new staff and opening an offshoot in nearby Baschurch. He's also worked hard to maintain standards – after all, there's no point in running a business if you forget what it is that made you successful in the first place.

His food has ring-a-ding-ding flavour: herbs and spices fill dishes with flavour, fruit and vegetables add sweet and savoury notes while meats are grilled or fried with great skill, so that they remain moist and tender when they arrive at the table. Abdul's been on a roll for the past few years and it's difficult to see him stopping any time soon. He's already on his second restaurant and I wouldn't bet against him doubling that number. Good food, great service and value-for-money-prices have made him a class act: he deserves his success.

By Andy Richardson