They are often dubbed the Oscars of the kebab world and the winners have now been revealed for the British Kebab Awards 2019.

Alim-Et Restaurant in East Malling and Master Kebabs in Gillingham were crowned at the seventh British Kebab Awards in London on Monday night (March 18).

The awards took place at Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in front of more than 1,200 guests and awards were presented in 16 categories, ranging from Chef of the Year to Fine Dining, as well as eight regional awards for the best kebab restaurants across the UK.

Tens of thousands of members of the public had voted for more than 5,000 local restaurants and takeaways in the competition, around one in four of the estimated 20,000 throughout the UK. The winners were taken from a shortlist of 155 entries.

Founder of the British Kebab Awards, Ibrahim Dogus, said : “The kebab is an unsung cornerstone of high streets across the country, and the simply superb quality of this year’s entries shows that British small businesses can more than compete on a world stage of cuisine."

So what's so great about the Kent winners?

Alim-Et Restaurant

Alim-Et Restaurant in East Malling was crowned the best Kebab shop outside of London

The winner of the Best Kebab Restaurant Regional award was Alim-Et in East Malling.

The family-run café, restaurant and take-away has two kitchens; one specialising in Turkish meze and grill for lunch and dinner time and the other specialising in British breakfast in the morning.

The name Alim-Et is a combination of the names of the brothers that founded the restaurant, Ali and Ahmet.

They have more than 28 years of experience in the industry and say they are continuing to strive for a great culinary experience.

Speaking to Kent Live manager and Ali's daughter Merve Carcabuk, 27, said the whole family had worked very hard in the years leading up to the award.

Alim-Et Restaurant

She said : "We are quite a busy restaurant, especially at weekends.

"It's a family run business, my uncle and father are the founders and my sister is the director.

"And we closed the business yesterday so we could attend the ceremony.

"The event was amazing there were loads of mayors, councillors, MPs and even Jeremy Corbyn was there.

"We wasn't expecting it to be so, well, wow.

"We were in tears when they asked us to come up to the stage.

"We were like 'what are you sure?' We couldn't believe it but we knew how much effort we put into the business."

Master Kebabs

The Master Kebabs team at the awards

And Master Kebbs in Medway takeaway won the Best Takeaway Regional award for the second year running. 

The team from the Gillingham eatery took to Facebook to thank their customers for the support.

Speaking to Kent Live they said: "We are honoured and proud to have won the best takeaway award for second time.

"It is a very important event and award to show how important this industry is in the food sector.

"We have been in Medway doing this business for nearly 30 years and have never failed on quality or taste."

Master Kebabs in Watling Street

They added: "Our expertise has paid off. We want to thank our staff for their hard work and our customers for their loyalty and support. Also I feel proud to highlight Gilligham town too.

"Kebabs have been around for hundreds of years and we hope to carry this legacy on for many more years with future growth. Thank you to British Kebab Awards for the acknowledgement."

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