beyond reports on the growing success of The Ashiana restaurant and takeaway and how their success is all down to a family history of cooking which inspired them to serve up the award-winning Bangladeshi dishes they are now so famous for.

Forhad Miah’s overriding memories as a child were of sitting down with his three brothers in the family kitchen and watching his mother and grandmother create some of the most amazing curries from recipes that had been passed down from generation to generation.

It was the taste of their grandma’s famous tandori chicken curry that left such a mark on Forhad and his brothers that they felt compelled to open up a restaurant in 2009 and share the magic of her cooking with a wider audience.

It was a move which has since seen them win a raft of awards and become the success story they are today.

Bursting with traditional spices and recipes that have been passed down from their Bangladeshi ancestors, the menu at Ashiana is one that was inspired by those meals Forhad’s grandmother and mother lovingly cooked for them and after opening the family’s third outlet in Ilkley two years ago, the accolades for their cooking keep on coming.

Last year, Forhad and the Ilkley team picked up the title of Best Takeaway in the UK at the prestigious Curry Life Awards to add to the string of awards he and his brothers have won at their other restaurants in Nottingham and Newark.

And Forhad puts their success down to the family traditions and the fact that all their cooking methods, spices and ingredients continue to come from the small village of Tajpur in Bangladesh where his family grew up and where he and his brothers often return to source further inspiration and ingredients.

Forhad said: “My grandfather came to the UK in the 1940s and after marrying my grandmother in 1953 they settled here before returning to Bangladesh in later life and my visits there as a child with my parents and brothers gave us a real insight into the magic of cooking and that is something that has always stayed with us.

“What many people don’t realise is that there is a big difference in the flavours, ingredients and cooking processes between the many varieties of Indian food and Bangladeshi food, and we pride ourselves on maintaining those traditional methods.

“What stands us out is that we don’t use the same spices and base gravy across the menu so each of our 50 dishes use different individual spices to create the unique flavours we lovingly create.”

The Ashiana story began in 2009 when Forhad’s elder brother Sia took the brave step of buying an old pub on the outskirts of Nottingham and with the help of his brothers and father, who re-mortgaged the family home in Keighley, the business was born.

Looking back Forhad says it was a big gamble but with everybody pulling together, it became a huge success picking up numerous awards and earning rave reviews from customers and industry critics alike.

The 250-seat restaurant remains a big hit and provided the blueprint for the family to open a second restaurant in Newark in 2015 before taking on the Ilkley venue in 2023.

It was Forhad who helped identify the famous spa town as the ideal place to open up a takeaway that would offer locals such a unique and tasty menu.

Two years on and that decision has been justified, they have become hugely popular in the town and their victory at the Curry Awards last year was testament to the hard work and delicious food they serve up so consistently.

Forhad said: “We can’t thank the people of Ilkley enough for our latest success because without their custom and votes we wouldn’t be where we are today.

“Our plan in the near future is to expand our offerings in Ilkley with a restaurant that will bring all our dishes to the table and we look forward to sharing the next chapter of the Ashiana story with our loyal customers.”

7 Wells Road, Ilkley LS29 9JB

01943 601456/604456

ashianatakeaway.com