AN AWARD-winning Indian restaurant marked 10 years in business with a week-long celebration.
The Spicy Tadka, located in Westminster House, just outside of Festival Place, has enticed passers-by in with its distinct aromas for a decade.
Coming from humble beginnings, the business initially started out in the former Great Western Hotel in the town for 15 months, before moving into its current home, where it has operated from ever since.
Owner Gagan Joshi told the Gazette: "I am very very excited, it's a different feeling, it's a really great experience I can't express into words.
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"We started in 2014 as a small part of the Great Western pub, there wasn't a real concept of proper authentic Indian food in Basingstoke at the time and so we didn't know if Basingstoke would like it or not."
In honour of the landmark achievement, the restaurant held a week of celebrations from Monday, May 20 to Sunday, May 26, with a different theme for each day, ranging from a 'hottest curry challenge' to a cocktail night, culminating in a special weekend-long street food buffet.
Gagan said: "We are thankful to our loyal customers who have supported us throughout our time.
"I feel very blessed to have the kind of lovely people in Basingstoke that we do here. It's not like it was always flawless, there have been some tough times and people supported us through them.
"I am thankful to all staff who have worked with us for the last 10 years, and everybody who contributed to our success. All chefs past and present contributed something different to the menu and we keep something from all of them on there.
"You see restaurants closing but yours is surviving, so we must be doing something good."
The restaurant, which picked up a national award last year, being named Restaurant of the Year at the National Curry Awards, has provided a lot of opportunities for residents of the town over the past decade, for many, it was their first place of work.
Gagan said: "A lot of people choose us as a first job, so we train a lot of young locals who have never worked before."
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The Spicy Tadka offers a wide menu featuring different food from numerous regions of India.
Gagan said: "Our dishes cover the whole of India, not just one region, in India every 15 to 20km you find a new dish.
"We keep changing our menu on a regular basis to bring new flavour to the town. Our focus is freshness and quality of food - we try to make it how we do back home - so for example most of the spices we prepare ourselves and our food is spiced to compliment the drinks we serve.
"We probably make around 100 birianis a week, our Lababdor dish is very popular and so is our Rajistani lamb maas. Nobody else does those dishes in Basingstoke, it's why people come to us.
"Every dish marked for allergies and can be made to cater nut-free, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan."
Speaking about the future, Gagan revealed that he will be opening a second Spicy Tadka in Staines upon Thames in the near future, and doesn't plan on slowing down any time soon.
He said: "I'm keeping my fingers crossed for another 10 years. I have no plans to stop yet."
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