Popular takeaways Mehmet Kitchen and Efes Kebab in Portsmouth reach British Kebab Award finals

Mehmet Kitchen in Copnor Road and Efes Kebab in Fratton Road have made it to the final stage of the competition, which will be held at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London hotel on Tuesday February, 28 next year.

Now in its eleventh year, the event will feature over 1,200 guests including several high profile politicians, actors and broadcasters.

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Kebab Alliance director Ibrahim Dogus, who founded the annual awards, said: ‘Kebab eateries are a key part of the local community and it’s great to see so many entries at the end of a year that has tested every business operating in the hospitality sector.’

Among this year’s attendants will be Conservative party chairman Nadhim Zahawi, who said: ‘When I sponsored the first Kebab Awards nearly thirteen years ago, I never would have thought it would have turned into such a Westminster fixture.

‘Forget the Spectator Summer Party, the Kebab of the Year Awards are the place to be seen. But these awards are also a recognition of a massive industry that contributes so much to communities up and down the country. I'm looking forward to another wonderful evening!’

Among a panel of 22 judges for this year's final are LBC presenter James O’Brien, Labour MP Carolyn Harris, Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner, SNP MP Angus Brendan MacNeil, and actor Adil Ray known for his role as Mr Khan in the BBC comedy Citizen Khan.

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Former chancellor of the exchequer Sajid Javid is one of many MPs who have endorsed the awards ceremony in previous years. Ahead of last year’s competition, Javid said: “The economic, cultural, and culinary impact of restaurants and chefs across the country is on such a scale, that I fear it would be more controversial for the Health Secretary not to support them.”

According to the British Kebab Awards website, there are roughly 20,000 kebab outlets in the UK which support 200,000 jobs and contribute £2.8 billion a year to the British economy.

You can vote in the competition by visiting voting.britishkebabawards.com.