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Leading Indian restaurant Saffron has been voted the best in the region for its food and wine choice and presentation skills.

The Academy of Food & Wine, the hospitality industry's professional training body, adjudged the popular eatery in Wolverhampton Road, Oldbury as the Midland winner in the 2010 Gastronomy Team of the Year Competition. 

It will now go forward to compete with the four other national finalists including Harvey Nichols' Fifth Four Restaurant in London at Westminster Kingsway College on July 19 for a 'cook off' to decide the 2010 Gastronomy Team of the Year.

Saffron received the regional award for producing an innovative two-course menu with matching wines and an explanation of its use of ingredients and cooking methods.

The entries had to include Parma ham or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese whilst matching wines from a choice of Port, Burgundy and wines from the Douro Valley in Portugal as specified by the competition sponsor Discover the Origin.

The Saffron team of executive chef Sudha Shankar Saha and sommelier Aklasul Momin submitted a starter of pan-fried spice-scented sea bass and Parma ham parcel, spiced chickpea salsa, ginger and sweet chilli dressing and salad greens, matching it with a Domaine Matrot Bourgogne Chardonnay 2008.

It mains entry was Indian shepherd's pie with Parmigiano-Reggiano and coriander crumble, served with korma sauce, paired with an Altano Organic Douro Red.

The restaurant will be given the opportunity to prepare and serve its dishes and matching wines to a judging panel including Academy Vice-Chairman Paul Breach, Lexington Catering Chef Director Robert Kirby, 2008 UK Sommelier of the Year Gearoid Devaney and Discover the Origin Account Executive Amy Batchlor.

The winning restaurant will receive an Academy training bursary worth £3,000 and its individual team members a ten-day trip to France, Portugal and Italy.

Helen Glen, Event Manager for the Academy of Food and Wine, said: "All five regional finalists stood out for their innovative use of the Discover the Origin products in their dishes, impressive descriptions about why they chose their wines and their detailed write-ups of the Food & Wine match."

Aklasul Momin, Director of Saffron said: "We are delighted to have been officially recognised by such a prestigious training organisation for our outstanding gastronomic skills and are eager to show we can go on and win the top UK award."

Saffron recently won the Midland title in the 2010 Good Food Guide Readers' Restaurant of the Year Awards for its innovative cuisine and outstanding service. Its Executive Head Chef Sudha Shankar Saha has worked in restaurants across the world and recently starred in the Channel 4 TV series IronChef.

Award-winning Indian restaurant Saffron in Oldbury is championing the very best that the Midlands has to offer at a special ‘pay-what-you-want' event.

The regional winner of the 2010 Good Food Guide Readers' Restaurant of the Year Award will be visiting a Midland farm to source the freshest local ingredients for a special four-course table d'hote menu on Monday June 21.

B&S Nurseries, part of wholesale group Worcester Produce, grows celery, celeriac, green kale, basil, parsley purple sprouting and Savoy cabbage as well as four varieties of beetroot in 600 acres of the Vale of Evesham.

The ‘Let's Go Local' event in which guests pay what they feel is a first for the restaurant, whose executive head chef Sudha Shankar Saha has worked in restaurants across the world and starred in the Channel 4 TV series ‘IronChef'.

Sudha said: "I want to support Midland farmers and growers by buying their fresh seasonal produce and flavouring it with authentic spices to create innovative multicultural cuisine. I also want as many guests as possible to enjoy the experience, which is why we are not putting a price on the menu and only asking guests to pay what they feel their meal was worth.
"All the local food that we buy on the morning of the event will be used in our special menu and regular and first-time diners, top chefs and food critics will be invited to let us have their views about the dishes afterwards."

He added: "I believe that sourcing low-mileage local produce and fruit and vegetables is vital for sustaining both the regional economy and the environment."

Paul Routh, New Business Development Manager for wholesale group Worcester Produce, said: "Using local produce not only supports growers but it reduces food miles, increases sustainability and improves taste.

"Unlike importers, we don't harvest produce too early but allow the full flavour to develop by taking it from the tractor to the plate within 24 hours."

He added: "Saffron is leading the way among ethnic restaurants by using local produce to create a fusion of flavour in its Western and Asian cuisine."

Saffron, located on Wolverhampton Road, was voted regional winner of the Good Food Guide Readers' Restaurant of the Year Award partly on the strength of using locally source produce in its dishes.

Sudha beat off national challengers including Gordon Ramsay's restaurant at Claridge's to win the Alaska Seafood Recipe Challenge organised in association with the Craft Guild of Chefs and held at London's Covent Garden earlier this year.